Munich Re

The carrier is consolidating its venture capital activity into asset manager MEAG.

Munich Re is among the insurers with a stake in the German carrier.

The reinsurer stressed it “did not shy” from cat business in 2023.

The carrier has hired José David Jiménez García as managing director for Germany.

Continental composite carriers aim to smooth volatility with new initiatives.

Being conservative and stable is the name of the reinsurer’s game.

Stefan Golling also said Munich Re’s appetite for agg covers was unchanged.

The insurer has been under review with positive implications since March.

The mid-year renewals point to mounting pressure on reinsurance pricing.

The reinsurer chair said the frequency of losses today “will prevent prices from slipping too much.

The P&C re segment’s combined ratio improved by 12.7 points to 61.0%.

Insured losses produced the second highest first-half tally since records began in 1980.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Improved book value, a healthy CoR and disciplined underwriting mark the CEO’s time at the helm.

CFO Christoph Jurecka will succeed as management board chair.

The carrier reported preliminary profits of EUR2.1bn, driven by “very low” major-loss expenditure in P&C re.

The $2.6bn deal provides Ergo with an entry point to the US SME market.

Hannover Re’s CEO is lowest paid among peers, despite their pay growing 77% since 2015.

New entrants to the line of business have heightened competition for talent.

P&C combined ratios were higher than Q1 2024, and wildfires impacted Hannover Re most.

Plus the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The carrier’s share price dropped 3.6% on its Q1 results.

The executive said secular heightened risk trends would fuel the carrier’s primary expansion.

The carrier booked EUR800mn in LA losses in the P&C segment.

Simon Horton spent 10 years at Marsh before joining AIG last year.

It is understood that Marsh brokered the tower, which is exposed to claims from a 2024 breach.

Several insurers and MGAs have launched into the class of business over the past year.

The executive has managed both casualty and personal lines reinsurance books.

Reinsurance made up 12% of the syndicate’s 2024 GWP.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Ahead of the deal, Ergo owned a 29% stake in Next, which generated top line of $548mn last year.

Some of the Big Four are slowing growth as the market softens.

Navigating its path to global specialty growth will require operational dexterity.

Plus, the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The carrier will look to grow business outside North America.

The carrier expects the market loss to land at $35bn-$40bn.

The carrier pegged its claims expenditure for the LA wildfires at EUR1.2bn.

The portfolio tracker facility is led by Canopius.

Hurricane Milton resulted in the largest insured loss of the year at $25bn.

Christa Schwimmer has joined the leadership team alongside Stefan Golling.

The P&C re unit will aim for a 79% combined ratio next year.

The carrier attributed the intensification of storms this season to climate change.

The underwriter has spent his career so far with Talbot.

The carrier said it expected its Milton losses to fall below its EUR500mn ($537mn) Helene loss.

Major-loss expenditure doubled to EUR1.6bn for the quarter

Assuming Munich Re takes roughly a 3% market share of hurricane losses suggests a ~$20bn industry loss for Helene.

The reinsurer said three Canadian loss events in the quarter will lead to similar claim expenditure as Hurricane Helene.

The new product adds to its existing portfolio of upstream energy and marine and energy liability business.

The carrier is looking to grow its specialty offering across Europe and APAC.

How is the market positioned to withstand Hurricane Milton?

The Madrid branch will look to begin underwriting primary specialty insurance in 2025.

The executive joins Munich Re from Amwins Global Risks.

Patrice Michellon, who has spent more than eight years with the reinsurer, will report to Clarisse Kopff.

Munich Re's core message this year is that its risk appetite is “quite stable”.

Plus the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

Scor disclosed L&H troubles while Swiss Re continued reserving for US casualty.

Plus the latest people moves and all the top news of the week.

The reinsurer also said it expected no significant impact from the CrowdStrike losses.

Its combined ratio stayed under 80%, which may give it room to outperform on annual targets.

Over 75% of insured losses attributable to severe thunderstorms, flooding and forest fires.

The ratings agency said Munich Re demonstrated its ability to optimise its market-leading position.

Combined ratios improved all around thanks to better pricing and a benign cat quarter.

The carrier has ambitious growth plans for its rebranded Munich Re Specialty segment.

CFO Christoph Jurecka declined to give a loss estimate for the Baltimore Bridge loss.

The carrier reported a P&C re net result up 44% to EUR1.8bn.

The carrier’s Q1 P&C re combined ratio is around 75%.

Hitesh Kotak has been appointed CEO for Japan, India, Korea and South East Asia.

The syndicate posted a combined ratio of 84.6% and GWP of more than £1.2bn.

Last summer’s hail loss has crept significantly for many Italian cedants.

The carrier is partnering with Munich Re Syndicate and Tokio Marine HCC.

Hard-won profitability has given carriers room to salt away reserves.

Opportunities for profitable growth remain in 2024, the agency said.

It also highlighted loss deterioration on its 2015-2018 casualty books.

The carrier announced a capital repatriation plan of EUR3.5bn.

The segment has bounced back from its mid-2022 nadir, but its current zenith is not that much to shout home about.

The uptake on war exclusions, which was followed by other reinsurers, could signal the end of "endless" discussions on the topic.

The binder has a line size of $2mn and will enable the MGA to write international property risks in a number of international territories.

The primary insurance subsidiary buys around EUR700mn of property cat protection from the wider market.

Charlotte Macey started her career at CNA Hardy in 2008 and was most recently class manager for property D&F.

CFO Christoph Jurecka said losses for 2023 were in line with its expectations, but he added that the events producing the losses differed from those of years previous.

The (re)insurer also predicted its return on investment would improve “noticeably” next year, to more than 2.8%.

Cat losses were within budgets despite high levels of minor events.

The carrier reported EUR770mn of losses in Q3, and the Maui wildfires were the costliest event, with losses amounting to EUR200mn.

The carrier reported major losses for the quarter of EUR770mn, a significant reduction on the EUR2.1bn reported in the same quarter last year.

The carrier has raised its projection for the year to EUR4.5bn, up from EUR4bn.

Executives said geopolitical uncertainty, economic stagnation, cyber, cat events and inflation will drive demand on the Continent.

The incoming president succeeds Christian Lay, CEO at Marsh McLennan UK.

Our virtual roundtable polled industry leaders on critical questions for the reinsurance market. Today, we explore how the industry can collaborate on net-zero objectives after insurers exited the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) in droves.

Executives said the cyber market would be “dead” if it does not control accumulations.

AM Best said market hardening was likely to continue through 2024, given global market conditions.

The ratings agency believes Munich Re will defend its “excellent” competitive position and conservative capital management over the next two years

Swiss, Munich, Hannover and Scor all delivered optimistic messages on pricing for next year.

The executive also lambasted the growing tide of corporate regulation in Germany and the EU.

Flooding in Italy during the second quarter cost the German reinsurer around EUR200mn.

The carrier announced the launch of the green solutions portfolio in May as it looks to become a market leader for sustainable risks.

Lucas Beckmann has spent just over 15 years at Munich Re in several senior roles.

The quota share cyber reinsurance market is finely poised, with good appetite for strong cyber writers, but reinsurers are cautious of new writers or fronted MGAs.

After founder members Axa and Allianz dealt a potentially terminal blow to the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance by withdrawing, the NZIA is exploring limited options to continue.

The executive first joined the group via Munich Reinsurance America. 

The ongoing debate raging in London on the nuances of cyber war wordings threatens to wreak more reputational damage on the industry if a consensus is not found.

Most carriers were keen to talk about how they are taking on the ongoing hard market in Q1, but some complexities partly offset their good news.

A memo from the reinsurer raises concerns for cyber insurers over whether they could face a coverage gap after renewals.

The reinsurer has cat capacity available at 1.6 and 1.7 where pricing meets its margin targets.

The result was impacted partly by EUR600mn of losses caused by the earthquake in Turkey in February.

The news follows months of speculation in the energy market about James Grainger’s plans after his resignation from Munich Re.

The executive said surging demand for coverage would address the supply-demand mismatch in the renewables space.

The business is looking to become a lead presence in green risks in London, following Syndicate 457’s exit from oil and gas business.

Overall the group’s net result is likely to exceed consensus at EUR1.3bn.

Ransomware will remain the primary loss driver in 2023 in terms of threats for businesses and individuals.

The market veteran left Aegis London, where he was CEO from 2015, in June last year.

Beneva has signed up to net-zero targets as a member of the NZIA, following a period of turbulence in which Munich Re, Zurich and Hannover Re have left the alliance.

Aviva has said it is committed to the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, in the wake of withdrawals from the group by Zurich, Munich Re and Hannover Re.

Hannover Re has followed Zurich and Munich Re in announcing its departure from the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, though it offered no explanation for its decision.

Capitola operates as a digital market that connects brokers with carriers using AI for risk-appetite matching.

Industry climate alliances have received allegations from conservative politicians and regulators in the US that such commitments are illegal group activities that violate antitrust laws.

Monica Tigleanu will be succeeded by Simone Hardy, who has been appointed senior underwriter, joining from The Channel Syndicate.

The executive will stand for election at RenRe’s AGM in May.

The longstanding Chaucer underwriter left when the carrier exited the FI market last year.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is creating investor fear across the global financial services sector. 

The release of Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re and Scor’s year-end reports provides an update on market conditions.

Highlander has $300mn of insurance coverage, placed by Ed Broking and led by Munich Re Syndicate.

The reinsurer’s retro programme was renewed at a smaller size for 2023.

The P&C segment also booked 2.3% risk-adjusted price increases at the 1 January renewal.

The shares will be bought back for a maximum total value of EUR1bn, following a proposed dividend announced by the firm for voting at its AGM.

Michael Kerner, who joined Munich Re in 2018, has been appointed to lead the operation.

The carrier is predicting its insurance revenues to reach around EUR58bn, while ROI will be at least 2.2%.

The year 2005, which featured the devastating Hurricane Katrina, remains the most expensive storm season.

Carriers reassured analysts that unrealised investment losses will not seriously affect solvency while sounding a bullish note on renewals.

Personnel movement in the contingency market has been elevated following Covid-19 upheaval.

The carrier has reduced its full-year projected consolidated result for reinsurance and expects a worse P&C combined ratio.

The reinsurer said it will be “significantly more challenging” to hit EUR3.3bn 2022 profit target.

Thomas Blunck has been appointed to succeed Torsten Jeworrek as chair of the board of management’s reinsurance committee, effective 1 January 2023.