Global reinsurer Hannover Re delivered a 6.9% year-on-year rise in net income to €2.1 billion for the first nine months of 2026, as the property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance combined ratio strengthened to 83.7%, with large losses in the period comfortably below expectation.
Group-wide, Hannover Re has today announced gross reinsurance revenue of €19.5 billion for 9M’26, down on the prior year’s €19.7 billion. The net reinsurance service result increased by €200 million year-on-year to €2.6 billion.
Operating profit across the business amounted to €2.9 billion, reflecting a 16.5% increase year-on-year, with earnings per share of €17.42, compared with €16.29 in 2025. The annualised return on equity amounted to 21.1% for 9M’26, so is lower than the prior year’s 22%.
The net contractual service margin, which quantifies the unearned profit still to be recognised on the business written in the period, increased by 8.3% to €8.6 billion.
Within P&C reinsurance, Hannover Re says that it succeeded in writing an increased profitable volume in the various rounds of treaty renewals, which enabled the firm to partially offset price declines and exchange rate effects. The P&C reinsurance new business CSM decreased by 11.9% year-on-year to €2.3 billion.
Gross P&C reinsurance revenue reduced by 4.9% year-on-year to €13.2 billion for 9M’26, and would have decreased by 2.4% at unchanged exchange rates.
Large loss costs for Hannover Re totalled €1.316 billion across the nine month period, compared to €1.177 billion in 9M’25, and is far below the budgeted expectation of €1.786.5 billion for the period. Hannover Re confirms that it booked the entire large loss budget for the first nine months and used it as the basis for calculating the nine-month result. For full -year 2026, Hannover Re’s large loss budget is €2.3 billion.
The largest net individual losses from natural catastrophes in 9M’26 were the August earthquake in Colombia at a cost of €215.7 million, the severe Atlantic windstorms that impacted the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco at €135.5 million, and Winter Storm Fern in the United States and Canada at a cost of €107.6 million.
Hannover Re set aside around €200 million in Q2’26 for possible impacts of the Iran war, and provision was also made for additional risks in the reporting period, while the resilience of the loss reserves was further strengthened.
The reinsurance service result increased by €200 million year-on-year to €1.9 billion, while the combined ratio strengthened from 86% to 83.7%, and so beat the full-year expectation of less than 87%. Operating profit within P&C reinsurance totalled €2.2 billion, an increase of 20.2% on the prior year.
Turning to the life and health (L&H) reinsurance business, net new CSM generation decreased to €502.8 million in 9M’26 from €584.8 million a year earlier, while the net contractual service margin increased by 3.9% to €6.5 billion.
Gross L&H reinsurance revenue increased by €500 million year-on-year to €6.3 billion, as the net reinsurance service result rose to €717.2 million in 9M’26 from €671.3 million in 9M’25. The operating result in L&H reinsurance was up by 3.5% to €668.2 million, compared to €645.3 million last year.
Clemens Jungsthöfel, Chief Executive Officer of Hannover Re, commented: “We are thoroughly satisfied with the development of business in the first nine months. Our consistent focus on disciplined underwriting and our lean operating model enable us to grow profitably across all market phases, particularly in property and casualty reinsurance. Therefore, we are very confident of achieving our full-year guidance.”
On the asset side of the balance sheet, net investment income rose by 40.4% year-on-year to €1.9 billion for 9M’26, primarily driven by active loss realisation in the previous year and higher ordinary income from fixed-income securities. The annualised return on investment totalled 3.7% and was thus ahead of the full-year target of around 3.5%.
Christian Hermelingmeier, Chief Financial Officer of Hannover Re, said: “In the first nine months of this year we have once again demonstrated our earning power. The profitable growth in our reinsurance portfolio continuously increases our investment volume, while we also benefit from the higher interest rate environment in our reinvesting activities. Both factors reinforce our current investment income and the reliable contribution made by our investments to the Group profit.”
Given the strong performance over the nine month period, Hannover Re has today confirmed its full-year 2026 guidance. The firm expects Group net income of at least €2.7 billion for 2026, based on the premise that large loss expenditure does not significantly exceed the expected level of €2.3 billion and that there are no unforeseen distortions on capital markets.
In P&C reinsurance, the firm expects to deliver a combined ratio of less than 87%, and expects a net reinsurance service result of roughly €925 million in L&H reinsurance. The return on investment is projected to reach around 3.5%.
