15 April 2004

Statements by Dr. Lothar Meyer, Chairman of the Board of Management of the ERGO Insurance Group

Balance sheet press conference on 15 April 2004

Meine Damen und Herren!

The ERGO Insurance Group has set course for a return to profitability. Of key importance is the new management organisation at ERGO, with the new structure's cornerstones:

• —
  Consistent control of the ERGO Group by segment — life, health and composite insurance
• —
  Centralised Group-wide management of corporate functions

• —
  Consistent responsibility for business segments means uniform management and clear distribution of competencies. The new corporate functions will ensure the continued refinement of the proven principle of a single back office in ERGO.
• —
  The new management organisation will help ERGO to take more advantage of market opportunities. Efficient processes will enable the Group to further enhance its customer services and allow it to react to changes more quickly. In this way, ERGO will operate cross-selling within the Group even more successfully. We seek to exploit the broad customer base and excellent market position of our well-known brands, with their enormous potential. The Group companies — in Germany these are in particular VICTORIA, Hamburg-Mannheimer, DKV, D. A. S., KarstadtQuelle Versicherungen and MEAG — are among the top providers in their respective fields of operations.

Outlook

• —
  In the growth market of corporate pensions schemes, ERGO is the number two provider, a strong position that is likely to be further expanded in this future market.
• —
  ERGO is European market leader in health insurance and is breaking new ground in healthcare management.
• —
  In property-casualty insurance, ERGO demonstrates its expertise by virtue of its sustained and excellent combined ratio.
• —
  And in funds business, MEAG has recorded good growth in third-party business, not least due to the strong ERGO sales channels and highly awarded top-class products.