A merger between two insurers, Kooperativa and Pojišťovna České Spořitelny is poised to create the country’s largest insurance company. Kooperativa is currently the second largest in the country with market share of 20.4 percent, while Pojišťovna České Spořitelny controls an additional 5.4 percent. The merger is expected to demote market leader Česka Pojišťovna to second place.
Kooperativa spokesperson, Martin Káňa, says that Kooperativa’s Austrian owner VIG was attracted by PČS’s distribution channels for its non-life insurance products. “We’ve already penetrated a bit of Česká spořitelna’s property insurance sales but we would like to increase that. We would also like to offer our auto insurance programme more,” she says. The merger is awaiting approval from Czech National Bank and the anti-monopoly office.
