Munich Re confidence returns

Munich Re announced a Q3 consolidated profit of €651m up from €2m for Q3 2008 and said it expects a profit of between €2.2bn and €2.5bn for 2009 – at least €700m more than in 2008.

CFO Jörg Schneider said: "We have continued to gear our operations resolutely to profitability and are once again presenting good results. Our shareholders are glad to rely on this continuity from Munich Re.

"If the rest of the financial year 2009 goes so well, we may even reach our ambitious RORAC target of 15% after tax."

• Investments were up 47.5% on the 2008 figure to €5.8bn
• The Group recorded an operating result of €3,318m (2,654m) from January to September, €1,211m of this in Q3.
• Gross premiums written rose by 10.4% to €31.0bn (28.1bn). at constant exchange rates premium volume would have increased by 9.9%.

Primary insurance

Operating result for the first nine months €506m (825m), of which €226m (240m) from the third quarter.

The consolidated result amounted to €95m (374m) up to September and €89m (44m) for the third quarter.

For the first three quarters of 2009, the combined ratio in property-casualty insurance was 94.2% (90.0%). In the third quarter, it was 93.3% (88.6%).

Reinsurance

Below-average claims costs for major losses and a good investment result of €2,891m (2,978m), meant Munich Re recorded an operating result of €2,995m (2,775m), an increase of 7.9%, with €991m coming from Q3. Reinsurance contributed €1,861m (1,980m) to the Group’s overall profit, €562m of this (–€41m) in Q3.

The combined ratio was 96.3% (100.1%) for the first three quarters and 93.4% (101.2%) for Q3,

Claims costs for natural catastrophe losses were low at only €27m (335m). Premium income grew by 15.5% in the first nine months year on year and totalled €18.7bn (16.2bn), of which €6.5bn (5.5bn) was Q3. Adjusted to eliminate the effects of changes in exchange rates, premium grew by 13.2% in the first three quarters and by 17.7% in the third quarter.

Torsten Jeworrek, Munich Re's Reinsurance CEO, said: "This September in Monte Carlo, we presented our sharpened value proposition. Traditional reinsurance is our core business and will remain so. At the same time, we aim to expand our client base and make even better use of our risk expertise to tap profitable new business segments."

All of the reinsurance units will in future appear under the uniform brand of Munich Re.