A provincial High Court has increased a farmers sentence for keeping a worker under inhumane conditions for 30 years.The Styrian High Court in Graz ruled yesterday (Thurs) that Peter P., 63, must serve six months behind bars. The elderly farmer was given a suspended 18-month prison term by judges in Leoben last year. The new […]
Insurance company UNIQA Versicherungen AG (UNIQA) said its 2010 performance could have been better than expected.The firm said today (Fri) that some weeks ago it expected profits of around 120 to 135 million Euros, while analysts predicted profits of 142 million Euros. Now the Vienna-based insurer has explained that it may have achieved a pre-tax […]
The property insurance chief of a leading insurer has expressed doubts over the recently presented figures showing a decline in crime.Federal Crime Office (BK) director Franz Lang said earlier this week that 2,617 car thefts were reports across Austria in 2010, significantly fewer than in the previous year when 5,297 such offences occurred. He also […]
Around one million Austrians now and then work illegally, according to a new study.Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz said today (Tues) that a million of the overall 8.5 million Austrians occasionally work without letting labour officials and insurance companies know of their activities.The university professor explained “around 100,000 to 200,000” Austrians […]
A young woman from Salzburg coughed up thousands of Euros for a cat she was supposed to receive for free, it has emerged.The Thalgau resident transferred more than 22,000 Euros to anonymous businessman after having received a response to her online ad.The crooks offered a British Shorthair from Cameroon, but told the woman she must […]
Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) reported increased profit today (Thurs).The company announced net profit had risen by 9.2 per cent from the first six months of 2009 to 194.4 million Euros during the same period this year. Profit before taxes jumped by 11 per cent to 255.6 million Euros, it added. Analysts had expected profit before […]
Flights and hotel stays are significantly cheaper when booked at airlines and hotels websites than via internet travel platforms, a new survey has shown.Officials at motorists association ÖAMTC said today (Mon) they had discovered differences in price of up to 142 Euros in tests in which they booked flights and hotel stays for three-day trips […]
Around 100,000 Austrians do not have health insurance, a social issues expert has revealed.Speaking on the occasion of passage of US President Barack Obamas health reform by the US Congress, Martin Schenk said today (Tues): “Austria has a good health insurance system compared to the United States, but gaps in the network need to be […]
Customers would be the most affected party if the government decides to set up a new tax for insurance companies, a top branch representative has warned.Günter Geyer, Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) chairman and head of the federal insurance companies association, said today (Weds): “Eighty per cent of the money managed by insurance companies belongs to […]
By David RogersThe Vienna insurance firm Allianz has called for more environmentally-friendly car repair.Firm board member Johann Oswald said today (Thurs) that a study by the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology in Germany had shown that smaller repairs instead of the installation of new spare parts resulted in significantly lower emissions of greenhouse gases.Oswald said such […]