Munich Re

Munich Re Group
Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG

Type	Aktiengesellschaft (FWB: MUV2)
Industry	Financial services
Founded	19 April 1880
Headquarters	Munich, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Nikolaus von Bomhard (CEO and Chairman of the executive board), Hans-Jürgen Schinzler (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products	Reinsurance, primary insurance, asset management
Revenue	€45.54 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income	€3.978 billion (2010)[1]
Profit	€2.422 billion (2010)[1]
Total assets	€236.36 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€23.03 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees	46,915 (end 2010)[1]
Website	munichre.com

Munich Re Group (Munich Reinsurance Company, German: Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft) is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers.^[2] ERGO, a Munich Re subsidiary, is the Group’s primary insurance arm.

Munich Re's shares are listed on all German stock exchanges and on the Xetra electronic trading system. Munich Re is included in the DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Euro Stoxx 50, and other indices.

In 2010 the company's equity amounted to €23.0 billion. The group’s premium income for the year (gross premiums written) was €45.5 billion, with its consolidated profit amounting to €2.430 billion.

In February 2010, U.S. investor Warren Buffett became Munich Re's largest single shareholder with 10.2 percent of the company. ^[3]

The BBC reported in May 2011 that in 2007 a subsidiary of ERGO, Hamburg-Mannheimer, held an orgy with around 100 guests and 20 prostitutes in order to "reward" salesmen. Prostitutes were stamped for every service rendered, and those wearing white wristbands were reserved for board members or top performing salesmen.^[4][5]

As a result of this ERGO has adopted a package of measures improving the quality of advice and strengthening compliance within the company. Independent agents will undertake, by means of a code of conduct, to comply with strict rules governing relations between the company, its sales agents and customers. ^{[6] [7]}

History

Main building with courtyard on Königinstraße

In 1880, Carl von Thieme, a native of Erfurt, whose father was the director of Thuringia, founded Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft together with Wilhelm von Finck (co-owner of the Merck Finck & Co bank) and Theodor von Cramer-Klett. This was followed by the founding of Allianz Versicherungs-Gesellschaft in 1890. Carl von Thieme was head of Munich Re until 1921, and Wilhelm von Finck served as Chairman of the supervisory board until 1924. Munich Re became renowned after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 as the only insurer that remained solvent after paying out all the claims.

Structure

Besides its reinsurance business, the Munich Re Group also transacts primary insurance business through the ERGO Group, and, since 1999, asset management through MEAG (MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH). In 2010, the Group’s gross premiums written totalled around €45.5bn.

Reinsurance

Munich Re has around 5,000 clients (insurance companies) in about 150 countries. It assumes part of the risk covered by these insurance companies, as well as providing comprehensive advice on insurance business. In addition to its Munich head office, Munich Re has more than 50 Business Units around the world. Munich Re provides reinsurance cover for life, health, casualty, transport, aviation, space, fire and engineering business. In 2010, gross premiums written in the reinsurance segment amounted to around €23.6bn.

Primary insurance: ERGO Group

Walking Man by Jonathan Borofsky in front of the business premises on Munich´s Leopoldstraße

Munich Re’s primary insurance operations are mainly concentrated in the ERGO Insurance Group. ERGO writes all types of life and health insurance and most types of property and casualty insurance. Outside Germany, ERGO is present in more than 30 countries around the world, servicing around 40 million clients. Members of the ERGO Group include the insurance subsidiaries D.A.S., DKV and Europäische Reiseversicherung AG, and the IT service provider ITERGO. With a gross premium written of €17.5bn in 2010, ERGO is Germany’s second-largest primary insurance group following Allianz AG.

Asset management

Founded in 1999, MEAG MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH manages the assets of Munich Re, ERGO, and external clients. Their purpose is to manage and increase investments of Munich Re and ERGO and third parties. It now manages for institutional and private investors in and outside of Munich Re and ERGO around € 207 billion (as of 31 December 2010).

Munich Health

Until the end of 2009 this segment of the company was under reinsurance and primary insurance however since the beginning of 2010 it is the company's fourth major division. It oversees all of the group's health reinsurance as well as health primary insurance business abroad (outside of Germany).

Ownership (as of 02/2010)

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (10.2%)
• BlackRock, München (6.2 %)

Free float is stated to be 90%, with around 140,000 shareholders (February 2011).

Shareholder profile:

• Institutional investors (70.4 %)
• Private shareholders (10.6 %)
• Investment companies (7.3 %)
• Insurance companies (1.2 %)
• Banks (0.3 %)

Most shareholders are located in North America (around 30.6%), Germany (28.9%), followed by other European countries (27.2%), before the UK (12.7%).

Key figures

Accounts prepared according to IFRS.

Key figures Munich Re^[1]

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Gross premiums written (€bn)	38.2	37.4	37.3	37.8	41.4	45.5
Operating result (€bn)	4.156	5.877	5.573	3.834	4.721	3.978
Taxes on income (€m)	1,014	1,648	801	1,372	1,264	692
Consolidated result (€bn)	2.751	3.519	3.923	1.579	2.564	2.422
Investments (€bn)	177.2	176.9	176.2	174.9	182.2	193.1
Technical provisions (€bn)	154.0	153.9	152.4	157.2	163.9	171.1
Equity (€bn)	24.3	26.3	25.3	21.1	22.3	23.0
Return on equity (%)	12.5	14.1	15.3	7.0	11.8	10.4
Number of employees as of 31. December	37,953	37,210	38,634	44,209	47,249	46,915

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Annual Report 2010". Munich Re. http://www.munichre.com/publications/302-06773_en.pdf. Retrieved 10 March 2011. 
2. ^ Aglionby, John (3 May 2009). "Munich Re pilots Jakarta flood policy". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/30869104-3800-11de-9211-00144feabdc0.html. Retrieved 2009-05-09. 
3. ^ "Warren Buffett now Munich Re's biggest shareholder". Finanz Nachrichten. 12 February 2010. http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2010-02/16133346-warren-buffett-now-munich-re-s-biggest-shareholder-020.htm. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 
4. ^ Evans, Stephen (20 May 2011). "German insurer Munich Re held orgy for salesmen". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13454160. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 
5. ^ "German insurance firm organised sex party for salesmen". BBC News. 20 May 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13470731. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 
6. ^ "ERGO presents findings of investigations and measures". Ergo Insurance Group. 3 August 2011. http://www.ergo.com/en/Presse/Overview/Presseinformationen/Aktuell/20110803. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 
7. ^ "Versicherer Ergo verpasst sich nach Skandalen neuen Regelkatalog". Reuters. 3 August 2011. http://de.reuters.com/article/companiesNews/idDEBEE77209S20110803. Retrieved 17 November 2011. 

External links

• Official website
• Yahoo! - Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft Company Profile

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