The global framework conditions in life and health reinsurance remain favourable. In industrialised nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Germany the progressive demographic shift is generating steadily growing demand for seniors’, long-term care and annuity insurance products. In emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil – as well as in Russia – the trend towards urbanisation continues. A middle-class with purchasing power is emerging here, and its ranks are increasingly interested in preservation of their wealth, healthcare and provision for their surviving dependents.

Primary insurers benefit from tailored reinsurance protection when it comes to optimising their capital, liquidity and risk management as well as reducing their underwriting risk. Particularly with an eye to Solvency II, we expect to see growing demand for individual reinsurance solutions through which the required risk capital can be reduced for primary insurers. Under these conditions, we are convinced that the life and health reinsurance market will offer pleasing earnings opportunities for our company in the years ahead, as it has in the past.

In general terms, life and health reinsurance is characterised by its stable growth and minimal exposure to random fluctuations in results. There are nevertheless economic risks (such as the interest rate risk, default risk and exchange rate risk) and technical risks that need to be borne in mind; the latter include, most notably, mortality and longevity, morbidity and disability as well as lapse. These factors are fully integrated into our risk management. We conduct regular adequacy checks with respect to the underlying pricing assumptions, carry out fundamental research into developments affecting the biometric actuarial bases and ensure complete reserving of all technical liabilities as well as risk diversification (both geographically and in terms of risk types, e.g. between mortality and longevity). In this context we take account of the preeminent importance of risk management and safeguard corporate profitability.