Munich Re - statistics & facts
Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft – commonly known as Munich Re - is a German reinsurance company with a global presence and was the world’s leading reinsurance company by net premiums written in 2022. In 2021, the combined property/casualty ratio of Munich Re fell below 100 percent and remained below 100 percent through 2023. Combined ratio is a measure used by insurance companies to determine how well it is performing in its daily operations. Expressed as a percentage, a ratio below 100 percent - such as Munich Re’s - indicates that the company is paying out less money in claims than it is receiving from premiums, or simply put that the company is making an underwriting profit.
Climate change and the rise in natural disasters presents a challenge for all reinsurance companies and Munich Re is no exception. Nonetheless, Munich Re is likely the remain the global market leader given its significant lead over its competition in recent years.
How does climate change impact Munich Re?
Munich Re is a reinsurance company and thus assumes part of the risk covered by the insurance companies counted among its clients. Ultimately, the goal of reinsurance is to reduce exposure to loss by passing on the risk to a reinsurer or a group of reinsurers. Natural catastrophe losses account for the majority of reinsurance losses of Munich Re and this is likely to continue as natural disasters increase in both frequency and severity. This development affects all reinsurance companies and Munich Re is no exception, even as the market leader. Many reinsurers are increasing their prices, limiting coverage, and exiting some markets to reduce their losses and improve profitability.Munich Re’s financial performance
Munich Re's net income fluctuated significantly over the past 15 years and reached a peak in 2022 before falling in 2023. The value of gross premiums written by Munich Re amounted to almost 70 billion euros in that year. A subsidiary of Munich Re, ERGO, carries out the regular insurance business of the group. ERGO deals with insurance segments such as health, life, international, property-casualty, direct and travel insurances. In 2023, the total premium income of ERGO amounted to more than 20 billion euros.Climate change and the rise in natural disasters presents a challenge for all reinsurance companies and Munich Re is no exception. Nonetheless, Munich Re is likely the remain the global market leader given its significant lead over its competition in recent years.
