"It doesn't look as if we've reached the end of the road," Wenning said at the New Year's reception in Munich on Tuesday evening. The only element of uncertainty is the pricing cycles in property and casualty reinsurance, which is currently benefiting from a hard market. "This is the only question mark." However, stable growth in life reinsurance and primary insurance subsidiary Ergo could compensate for this. Last year, Munich Re achieved the expected profit of five billion euros. "It will be a record year – and a good one at that."
Within five years, by 2025, Munich Re will have more than doubled its profit. "In terms of earnings, we are at the top of the competitive environment – and we want to stay there," said Wenning. In December, the reinsurer wants to set its goals for the following years. "We continue to look to the future with great confidence."
The forest fires that have been raging for weeks around Los Angeles are also a concern for Munich Re. Estimates of an insured loss of between 20 and 30 billion dollars are plausible, said Wenning. The economic loss is likely to be more than 100 billion. For Munich Re, it will certainly be a major loss. However, this is covered by the provisions for natural catastrophes, emphasized Thomas Blunck, member of the reinsurance board. "So this will not throw us off course at all."
Blunck rejected accusations that reinsurers had withdrawn from California in the face of repeated forest fires. "We have a normal appetite for risk there." However, the deductibles for primary insurers had already been increased in recent years.
(Report by Alexander Hübner, edited by Myria Mildenberger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and business) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)