ven, Déc 15th 2023
Higher prices for reinsurance cover are boosting Munich Re’s profit prospects for the coming year.
Group CEO Joachim Wenning expects a surplus of around 5 billion euros for 2024, as the world’s largest reinsurer announced on Friday.
This is 11% more than the 4.5 billion euros that the manager has set himself for 2023. The primary insurance subsidiary Ergo is also set to grow further.
Munich Re is the last of the world’s three largest reinsurers to announce a jump in profits for next year. The industry runner-up Swiss Re had already announced a profit of more than 3.6 billion US dollars for 2024 at the beginning of December. This would be the highest profit since 2016. Swiss Re is known to be aiming for a profit of more than 3 billion this year. And Hannover Re, number three in the industry, is targeting an increase of almost a quarter to at least 2.1 billion euros for 2024.
Munich Re CEO Wenning had raised his profit forecast for 2023 from EUR 4 billion to EUR 4.5 billion in October. However, the Group benefited from comparatively low major losses this year, as the hurricane season in the North Atlantic was rather mild.
In addition, Munich Re pushed through significant premium increases with primary insurers such as Allianz and Axa in order to compensate for claims that are becoming more expensive due to inflation. According to management estimates, this trend is likely to continue in 2024.
©Keystone/SDA