Strong market position - one of the leading reinsurers worldwide
Our entire business operations are geared to our goal of being the best option for our business partners when they come to choose their reinsurance provider. It is for this reasons that our clients and their concerns form the focus of our activities.
As evidence of our financial capability, we seek to maintain a rating from the rating agencies most relevant to our industry that facilitates and ensures access to all desirable business worldwide. Currently, this means ensuring "AA-" from Standard & Poor's (with a "very strong" for Enterprise Risk Management) and "A+" from A.M. Best.
Low costs through an efficient organisational set-up
We generate competitive advantages to the benefit of our clients and shareholders by conducting our insurance business with lower administrative expenses than our rivals. In this way we deliver above-average profitability while at the same time being able to offer our customers reinsurance protection on competitive terms.
Broad diversification
We also strive for the broadest possible diversification and hence an efficient risk balance. This is achieved by accepting reinsurance risks with mostly little or no correlation in our Property & Casualty and Life & Health business groups across all lines of business as well as by maintaining a global presence. In conjunction with our capital management, this is the key to our comparatively low cost of capital.
Profitable growth
Profit and value creation are the cornerstones of our sustainable development as an organisation. This is in the best interests of our clients, shareholders, employees and business partners. This means generating profitable growth. Our goal is to increase the earnings per share and the value of the company - including dividends - in line with our return on equity target.
One of the most profitable reinsurers worldwide
We offer our shareholders the prospect of a sustained above average return on their capital. As such, we target an IFRS return on equity of at least 1,000 (since 2023) basis points above the risk-free interest rate. Measured by return on equity Hannover Re is one of the most profitable reinsurers worldwide.
Stable and attractive dividend
Going forward, Hannover Re intends to place even greater emphasis on the continuity of its dividend payments. From the financial year 2021 onwards, the ordinary dividend will at least be on the level of the previous year. This means that a practice already followed at our company over the past ten years has now been enshrined as a policy – one made possible by the resilience of our business model as a globally diversified and robustly capitalized reinsurer. The ordinary dividend will be supplemented by payment of a special dividend provided the capitalisation exceeds the capital required for future growth and the profit target is achieved.