Munich Re posted a net result of €1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, down from €2.1 billion in the same period last year, amid a sharp rise in major-loss expenditures, particularly from the January wildfires in Los Angeles.
Insurance revenue from issued contracts increased to €15.8 billion, compared to €15.1 billion a year earlier. The total technical result fell to €2.1 billion from €2.6 billion, primarily due to higher claims in reinsurance. The currency result turned negative at –€506 million, down from a positive €277 million in Q1 2024, largely driven by exchange rate losses tied to the US dollar.
CFO Christoph Jurecka said that strong contributions from life reinsurance and ERGO helped balance elevated combined ratios in other areas.
“We’re sticking with our profit guidance of €6bn for the 2025 financial year – thanks in no small part to ongoing favorable market conditions and the high quality of our portfolio,” he said.
Munich Re's operating result for the quarter was €1.5 billion, compared with €2.9 billion in the prior-year period. The effective tax rate decreased to 22.3% from 25.8%. Group equity increased slightly to €33.3 billion at the end of the quarter, up from €32.9 billion at the start of the year.
The solvency ratio stood at 285%, marginally lower than the 287% reported at the end of 2024, but still above the target range of 175–220%. The ratio includes the impact of the €2.0 billion share buyback announced earlier.
Return on equity (RoE) for the quarter was 13.3%, down from 27.2% a year ago.
Earlier this month, shareholders at Munich Re’s annual general meeting notably approved a dividend of €20 per share for the 2024 financial year, up from €15 the previous year.
The payout, totaling approximately €2.6 billion, follows the company’s record net profit of €5.67 billion in 2024, which surpassed its €5 billion target. It marks the fourth consecutive year that Munich Re’s annual profit exceeded expectations.
Revenue from insurance contracts issued reached €60.83 billion for the full year 2024, up from €57.88 billion, indicating organic growth across all segments. Return on equity for 2024 was 18.2%, compared to 15.8% in the prior year. The fourth-quarter net result came in at €979 million, slightly below the €1 billion recorded in Q4 2023.
Starting this quarter, Munich Re has begun reporting Global Specialty Insurance (GSI) as a separate segment within its reinsurance division. GSI includes global primary specialty insurance activities managed by the reinsurance organization. Comparatives have been restated accordingly.
The reinsurance business delivered a net result of €853 million, down from €1.9 billion in Q1 2024. Insurance revenue rose to €10.3 billion from €9.9 billion. The total technical result declined to €1.5 billion from €2.1 billion, while the operating result dropped to €1.1 billion from €2.6 billion.
Life and health reinsurance recorded a technical result of €608 million, up from €484 million, with the net result also increasing to €501 million. Insurance revenue in this segment rose slightly to €3.1 billion.
The property-casualty reinsurance business posted a net result of €343 million, down from €1.2 billion. Insurance revenue increased to €4.9 billion from €4.7 billion. The combined ratio deteriorated to 83.9%, compared to 69.7%, while the normalized combined ratio was 78.8%.
Claims related to major losses in property-casualty reinsurance totaled €1.0 billion, more than double the €450 million recorded a year earlier. These include gains and losses from prior-year events. Major-loss expenditure accounted for 21.3% of net insurance revenue, exceeding the company’s expected 17% threshold.
Man-made major losses were €251 million, slightly down from €262 million, while natural catastrophe losses rose sharply to €757 million from €189 million. The Los Angeles wildfires represented the largest single claims event for the segment at approximately €0.8 billion.
The newly separated GSI segment reported a net result of €8 million, down from €163 million. Insurance revenue climbed to €2.3 billion. The combined ratio rose to 95.5% from 87.6%. The wildfires were also the largest single claims event for GSI, contributing around €0.2 billion in losses.
Munich Re also expects total claims from the Los Angeles wildfires to reach €1.1 billion.
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