Latest news with #HannoverRe
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
I'm an expat and mail service is slow - why does my pension provider need regular signed letters? STEVE WEBB replies
I'm a British male aged 73 and and live in the Philippines. I have lived here for over 15 years and I'm married. Each month I receive a small private pension payment of £69.53 from Hannover Re based in the UK. Occasionally, I receive a Proof of Life Certificate by post which I duly sign and send them a good scanned copy. The incoming post into the Philippines is extremely slow and it's notriously labelled as snail mail. It can take months to arrive. On a couple of occasions I have noticed my monthly payment hasn't come through. Then I have to phone Hannover Re and it emails me a certificate to sign. The last time I told it to only contact me by email and not by post. Or it could alternatively call me. Anyway, it's happened yet again and my payment for 1 May 2025, which I rely on, hasn't been paid into my bank account in the UK. I've phoned and emailed and apparently they're going to contact me within 10 working days. That's not good enough. My question is this: Surely it has a statutory duty to me as a customer to supply me with the correct documents on time and before it suspends my payments. Why can't it simply email me the documents? Can it suspend payments without prior notice? It didn't inform me it was going to stop it. I'd be extremely grateful if you could look into this matter, not just me but for the other millions of expats who live abroad and receive a pension. Steve Webb replies: We regularly hear at This is Money from readers outside the UK who are having problems with payments being stopped, whether state pensions from the UK government or private pensions. It is frustrating that your payments are repeatedly stopped without notice, and that you are dependent on the national postal system which sounds highly unreliable. You have since told me that you have now got the latest payment reinstated and that you managed to do this by phoning up and passing security checks, and without having to provide a 'proof of life' certificate. This of course raises the question as to why the provider couldn't simply email you and ask you to phone in once a year so it can check it is still paying a living person. It would not necessarily need to do this for all overseas customers but could do it in countries where the postal service is known to be more unreliable. Where you challenged your provider, it initially said it was: 'unable to send these forms to individual members via email due to technical limitations'. It did accept 'the speed and reliability of overseas postal services varies by country', but the best it could do was suggest you phone proactively once a year at around the time that the letters go out. It said if you called and completed the security questions to verify your identity 'we will accept this as confirmation instead of a paper form return'. However, I'm pleased to say the company have now told me it has upheld your complaint and will look to make changes which should reduce the risk of this happening again. Hannover Re said: 'Annual proof of existence information is contractually required to ensure that valid payments are being made. 'For overseas policyholders, this process is more complex as we are not able to use the screening services that are readily available in the UK. 'We therefore send initial requests for a Certificate of Existence at least four months in advance of the due date and follow this up with three more letters before taking any actions to suspend the policy. 'Historically these requests have been sent out via post, and for the vast majority of policyholders this works well. 'We do however recognise that for some overseas policyholders this may not work, and we will be updating our processes going forward to include reminders via email. 'We are able to accept proof of existence information via email and had advised your reader of this last year'. You have also since raised a second question relating to a different insurance company, namely Aviva, who you wanted to notify of a change of address. You wanted to be able to send it a signed letter confirming the change but it would not accept this. Instead, ot asked for an officially certified copy of your passport and a separate proof of address. You pointed out doing this was costly, inconvenient... and couldn't understand why a letter would not do. I put this point to Aviva and it said its approach was standard across the industry. It said part of the problem was it was easier to verify information about UK customers electronically, but this was not possible where customers are outside the UK. Aviva added: 'We always prioritise the security of our customers' funds and data. 'It is therefore important for us to conduct thorough due diligence to ensure our customers' protection. 'Documents from overseas may be more susceptible to forgery, which is why we require them to be certified by a trusted individual who can confirm their authenticity. 'We then verify the certifier's contact details to ensure the legitimacy of the certification, as stamps can also be forged. 'We are committed to safeguarding overseas customers from fraud in the same way as we do for our UK customers.' Clearly from the point of view of providers it is more challenging when they are making payments outside the UK and they want to avoid the risks for fraud or of making payments so someone who has died. But it is good that Hannover Re have undertaken to review their processes to improve matters for you and other customers going forward. Ask Steve Webb a pension question Former pensions minister Steve Webb is This Is Money's agony uncle. He is ready to answer your questions, whether you are still saving, in the process of stopping work, or juggling your finances in retirement. Steve left the Department for Work and Pensions after the May 2015 election. He is now a partner at actuary and consulting firm Lane Clark & Peacock. If you would like to ask Steve a question about pensions, please email him at pensionquestions@ Steve will do his best to reply to your message in a forthcoming column, but he won't be able to answer everyone or correspond privately with readers. Nothing in his replies constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons. Please include a daytime contact number with your message - this will be kept confidential and not used for marketing purposes. If Steve is unable to answer your question, you can also contact MoneyHelper, a Government-backed organisation which gives free assistance on pensions to the public. It can be found here and its number is 0800 011 3797.
CNBC
13-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
German reinsurers took a $1.9 billion profit hit from LA wildfires in first quarter
Germany's biggest reinsurers took a $1.9 billion profit hit in the first quarter from claims related to the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company, said Tuesday that it anticipated all claims attributable to the wildfires will total around 1.1 billion euros. Meanwhile, Hannover Re, the world's third largest reinsurer, said its largest net individual loss amounted to 631.4 million euros on the back of the wildfires. Combined, the two companies' wildfire costs amounted to around 1.73 billion euros, or $1.9 billion. Reinsurance firms offer policies to primary insurance providers, who typically deal directly with customers on the ground. Reinsurance policies usually only kick in after about 400 million euros ($444.4 million) worth of losses are absorbed by the primary insurance provider. Around 80% of Munich Re's claims arose in the company's property-casualty segment, while around 20% hit the firm's Global Specialty Insurance division. In both divisions of the business, the LA wildfires were the largest single claims event in the three months to March. The influx of wildfire claims saw overall claims expenditure in Munich Re's property-casualty segment more than double, pulling quarterly net profit in the division 72% lower year-on-year to 343 million euros. In the company's Global Specialty Insurance division, net profit nosedived 95% to 8 million euros. Despite the hit, the group reported an overall net profit of 1.1 billion euros, down 48% from the previous year. CFO Christoph Jurecka acknowledged that Munich Re "did not emerge unscathed from the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles," but argued that the group's earnings demonstrated resilience and "prudent management" of the firm's business portfolio. "We're sticking with our profit guidance of €6bn for the 2025 financial year – thanks in no small part to ongoing favourable market conditions and the high quality of our portfolio," he said in a statement alongside the company's first-quarter report. Frankfurt-listed shares of Munich Re and Hannover Re's stock were both trading around 4% lower Tuesday afternoon, making them the worst performing companies on the European Stoxx 600 index. Hannover Re also posted a drop in net profit for the quarter, with the metric falling 14% to 480.5 million years compared to the previous year. "Payments for large losses reached EUR 764.7 million in the first quarter — driven above all by the California wildfires — and thus came in significantly higher than the envisaged large loss budget of EUR 435 million," Hannover said in its quarterly statement. In a Tuesday morning note, analysts at RBC Europe said their sentiment on Munich Re was negative, although they noted that the company's total losses arising from the wildfires was "lower than the €1.2bn previously indicated due to currency effects and a positive effect from retrocession." Giving the company's target price of 559 euros — little changed from current prices — RBC's analysts said Munich Re had posted mixed first quarter results, with its net income coming in 2% below market consensus. Analysts at J.P. Morgan, meanwhile, said they had a neutral stance on Munich Re, with a price target of 530 euros. "Despite the small miss to expectations, we only see limited potential for downgrades given the limited scale of the miss to consensus," they said. On Hannover Re, Deutsche Bank analysts said the company's strong investment performance had helped it notch a quarterly net income that was 7% above consensus. The lender has a buy rating on Hannover Re stock, with a price target of 279 euros — a premium of around 4% on current prices.
Wall Street Journal
13-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Hannover Re Net Profit Declines on Losses From California Wildfires
Hannover Re's HNR1 -0.85%decrease; red down pointing triangle first-quarter net profit fell after costs linked to the wildfires in California meant its large-loss budget was exceeded, but the company reiterated its expectations for the full year. The German reinsurer said Tuesday that net profit fell 14% to 480 million euros ($532.2 million) mainly due to considerable natural-catastrophe losses. It booked large losses of 765 million euros in property and casualty reinsurance, with the California wildfires as the biggest event at a cost of 631 million euros. 'The devastating wildfires in California are another example of how climate change is exacerbating the risks of extreme weather events. The expenditures for the wildfires put us significantly above the large loss budget for the first quarter,' Chief Executive Clemens Jungsthoefel said. Gross reinsurance revenue rose 4.5% to 6.97 billion euros, with a 7.2% increase in property-and-casualty reinsurance offsetting a decline in life-and-health reinsurance. Analysts had forecast Hannover Re to report profit of 447 million euros on reinsurance revenue of 7.15 billion euros, according to consensus estimates compiled by the company. The company said it continues to expect a full-year net profit of around 2.4 billion euros. Write to Adrià Calatayud at
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BMS Group names ex-Hannover Re CEO as new board chairman
Specialist reinsurance broker BMS Group has appointed Jean-Jacques Henchoz as its board chairman, with the role to be handed over on 1 May. Henchoz was latterly the CEO and executive board chairman at Hannover Re. He has executive and board-level experience, including a stint of more than two decades at Swiss Re, where he held various leadership roles. BMS Group CEO Nick Cook said: 'Jean-Jacques' extensive industry credentials will be invaluable to us, and we expect to see sustained growth for BMS under his chairmanship. In addition, we are eager to benefit from his valuable strategic insights as we move forward as a scaled-up, thriving, global business. 'He is a proven industry leader with the ability to navigate complex challenges and identify dynamic opportunities, and I am confident that his vision will foster quality growth and innovation in our operations.' Hannover Re achieved double-digit earnings growth during Henchoz's six-year tenure as CEO, BMS Group said in a statement. This contributed to the doubling of Hannover Re's market capitalisation and its subsequent inclusion in Germany's DAX-Index, the statement added. Henchoz added: 'I look forward to contributing to the next chapter of BMS Group, building exciting new partnerships and strengthening existing ones. 'Joining the Board of a leading brokerage firm presents an attractive opportunity for me to leverage my global reinsurance industry experience, while supporting an agile, client-focused organisation that helps companies navigate the challenges of today and the future.' The latest deal continues BMS Group's recent acquisition spree. Last month, BMS acquired Spanish broker Rasher. This followed the December 2024 acquisition of UK-based David Roberts & Partners, and earlier last year, the acquisition of a majority stake in United Arab Emirates broker Berns Brett Masaood. "BMS Group names ex-Hannover Re CEO as new board chairman" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Munich Re faces $1.3 billion in claims from Los Angeles inferno
By Tom Sims and Alexander Hübner FRANKFURT - Germany's Munich Re expects about 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion) in claims resulting from the Los Angeles wildfires, it said on Wednesday, representing the biggest loss reported so far by a single European reinsurer for the January catastrophe. The wildfires killed more than two dozen people and destroyed or damaged more than 16,000 structures, charring an area bigger than Paris. "They were clearly the most substantial wildfire losses in the history of the insurance industry," Munich Re said. Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, said that its estimate was a high degree of uncertainty because the losses were complex. Analysts have estimated insurance claims across the industry could total $45 billion. Hannover Re, another German reinsurer, has said that it could face claims claims amounting to 700 million euros. Fitch, the credit ratings company, has said that European insurers had reduced exposure to California after a spate of fires in 2017 and 2018 but would still be "materially affected" by the 2025 fires because of their scale. Munich Re provided the estimate as part of its fourth-quarter earnings report, which showed a 2.5% fall in net profit, slightly worse than analysts had expected. Fourth-quarter net profit was 979 million euros, down from 1 billion euros a year earlier and short of a 1.02 billion euro analyst consensus provided by the company. Despite the hit from the fires, Munich Re expects net profit for 2025 to rise to 6 billion euros from 5.7 billion euros in 2024. ($1 = 0.9535 euros)
