Jean-Jacques Henchoz, the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of reinsurance giant Hannover Re, appears to have embraced the company’s culture and is expected to maintain a consistent approach to capital management and underwriting, according to analysts from Morgan Stanley.
An Annual General Meeting of Hannover Re in May saw Jean-Jacques Henchoz appointed CEO.
Now, after having met with Henchoz, analysts appear confident that he will continue to be supportive of Hannover Re’s strong underwriting culture and to foster long-term relationships with business partners.
“Our first impression was positive, as the new CEO aims to remain consistent with Hannover Re’s core principles,” read Morgan Stanley’s report.
A strategic update is anticipated for October, while it’s hoped that a new strategy will be communicated in 2020.
Analysts have also stated that Henchoz believes the rating environment remains challenging in P&C and that, while insurance prices have improved significantly in loss-affected areas, these are still not sufficient.
“In response to this, he believes that the group will have to focus on other areas of opportunity. We expect much of the focus to be on reinvigorating Hannover Re’s proposition in Asia and increasing the focus on longevity de-risking in the UK and Canada.”
Analysts add that the new CEO also discussed opportunities around cyber insurance, where the group is currently underwriting roughly €250 million in premiums.
Prior to taking a more aggressive stance in this space, analysts say he believes Hannover Re will need to develop “appropriate accumulation control systems and to focus on prescriptive policy wording with specific exclusion to minimise silent cyber risk.”
