Munich Re, one of Europe’s big four reinsurance companies, has announced the formation of a new Board division designed to further expand its specialty primary insurance business as it looks to become a “powerful global player in this field”.
Effective January 1st, 2023, numerous primary insurance businesses of Munich Re that are part of its reinsurance unit will be managed together in a new division called Global Specialty Insurance (GSI).
“The aim of this restructuring is to continue to support the very good business performance primary insurance has seen and to drive forward further expansion in specialty primary insurance business in order to become a powerful global player in this field and to leverage synergies, for example in the areas of IT infrastructure, marketing and services,” explains the firm.
GSI will mainly comprise units from the Risk Solutions field, such as American Modern Insurance Group, HSB, Munich Re Specialty Insurance, Munich Re Syndicate and Aerospace, and also Great Lakes Insurance.
In the course of the integration of these units, the reinsurer expects premium volume to rise from roughly €7.5 billion at present to nearly €10 billion by 2025, which is in line with the carrier’s Ambition 2025 strategy.
The new GSI division will be led by Michael Kerner, who was appointed to the Board of Management by the Supervisory Board effective January 1st, 2023.
Kerner, who has more than three decades of insurance industry experience, joined Munich Re in late 2018 and has been responsible for Munich Re Specialty Insurance in North America.
Joachim Wenning, Chair of the Board of Management, commented: “The expansion of less volatile fields of business, such as specialty primary insurance, is becoming increasingly important within our Group. The new Board division will help us to develop the full potential of this business. I wish Michael Kerner every success in this important task and look forward to our continued cooperation.”
This announcement comes after the reinsurance giant announced a new profit guidance of €4 billion for 2023 amid the implementation of the IFRS 17 reporting standards.
