MUNICH RE RAISES PREMIUM TARGETS FOR 2021

Munich Re has reported a profit of €589m in the first quarter of 2021, more than double the €221m posted in the same period of 2020, reflecting lower Covid-19 losses. The German reinsurer said it is on course to meet its annual earnings target of €2.8bn and has raised its forecast for gross premiums to €57bn in 2021. Anticipating “advantageous business prospects” in reinsurance Munich Re has increased its gross premium target for reinsurance by €2bn to €39bn.Property-casualty reinsurance business contributed €358m to the group result compared with the first quarter of 2020, while the combined ratio improved 7.1 points to 98.9%. The p/c result included a tripling of natural catastrophes losses to €646m, which included €450m from the US winter storm in Texas. Munich Re also recorded Covid-19 losses of around €100m from p/c lines and €167m from life and health. Group premiums increased by 1.9% to €14.55bn while p/c reinsurance premium rose slightly to €6.33bn. At the April renewals, Munich re increased premiums by 17.1% to €2.3bn, with average rate increases of 2.4%.