Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München (ETR:MUV2) opened its annual general meeting in Munich with Supervisory Board Chairman Nikolaus von Bomhard highlighting oversight priorities from 2025, including strategy work, geopolitical risk considerations, digitalization efforts and personnel transitions at the top of the company.
Supervisory Board focus: strategy, geopolitics and digitalization
Von Bomhard said the Supervisory Board’s work in the past financial year was shaped “particularly” by the group’s future corporate strategy, geopolitical challenges and digitalization initiatives. He noted the board paid close attention to the company’s growth strategy, Ambition 2030, and said geopolitical developments were a “tremendous factor” not only for risk analysis but also for Munich Re’s global business and its capital investments.
Corporate governance remarks and auditor proposal
Von Bomhard pointed to Munich Re’s ranking by the German Association for Financial Analysis and Asset Management (DVFA), saying the company was again listed among leading DAX 40 companies, which he said confirmed “excellent corporate governance.”
He then addressed a broader governance debate: whether former management board members should be able to join—and potentially chair—the supervisory board of the same listed company. Von Bomhard defended Germany’s two-year “cooling-off period,” arguing it provides sufficient impartiality and citing support from the German Corporate Governance Code and a recent circular from Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, which he said confirmed that a two-year period ensures necessary independence without distinguishing between ordinary members and the chair.
Von Bomhard cautioned that categorical opposition to former CEOs chairing supervisory boards could lead to “discontinuity and wastes indispensable expertise,” particularly in financial services and reinsurance, where long-cycle judgment and industry knowledge matter. He added that checks and balances exist through co-determination, employee representatives, and an audit committee chair who, under the governance code, “ought not to be the chair of the supervisory board either.”
On agenda matters, von Bomhard said the Supervisory Board is proposing KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Berlin, as external auditor for the 2026 financial year following a tender process initiated in 2024. He said EY was also shortlisted. The Supervisory Board also proposed KPMG as auditor for sustainability reporting in 2026, subject to whether German legislation implementing the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires AGM appointment of such an auditor.
Leadership changes and supervisory board nomination
Von Bomhard recapped leadership changes announced in 2025. He said Joachim Wenning retired for personal reasons as of Dec. 31, 2025, and that the Supervisory Board appointed Christoph Jurecka as CEO effective Jan. 1, 2026. He thanked Wenning for his decades of service, including nearly nine years as CEO, and said the 2025 financial statements reflected the group’s achievements.
Following Jurecka’s move, von Bomhard said Mark Buchanan became CFO. He noted Buchanan joined Munich Re in 2011 and served as CFO of the reinsurance group from 2017 to 2025. Von Bomhard also said Mr. Johnson was appointed to the Board of Management as Chief Technology Officer on Aug. 1, 2025, calling it a new, dedicated technology division spanning business activities.
The meeting also included a proposal to elect a new shareholder representative to the Supervisory Board, as Mr. Booth resigned effective at the end of the AGM. Von Bomhard thanked Booth for nearly 30 years of service, including time on the Board of Management and 10 years on the Supervisory Board.
Proposed nominee Frédéric de Courtois introduced himself to shareholders, saying he is French, lives in Paris, and has worked in four countries. He said he spent 28 years at AXA and five years at Generali, holding roles including CEO of AXA Italy, CEO of Generali International Business, General Manager of Generali, and Deputy CEO at AXA with responsibilities spanning finance, risk management, strategy, technology and core insurance topics. De Courtois said he chairs Insurance Europe, and that after leaving AXA at the end of March he is “a free man.” If elected, he said he would “support and challenge the management team and contribute to Munich Re next successes.” Von Bomhard suggested de Courtois could be a future chair of the audit committee.
Jurecka: record 2025 results, shareholder returns and Ambition 2030 targets
In his first AGM speech as CEO, Jurecka said 2025 was “financially stronger than ever before,” and that Munich Re achieved all targets of its Ambition 2025 program while laying out its new Ambition 2030 strategy.
Key figures Jurecka cited for 2025 included:
- Net result: EUR 6.1 billion
- Return on equity: 18.3% (vs. a 14%-16% target range)
- Solvency ratio: 298% (vs. a 175%-220% target corridor)
- Women in management: 40.5% (above a 40% target)
- Capital returned for 2025: EUR 3.5 billion via dividends and buybacks, which he said was “nearly 90%” of net result
- Proposed dividend: EUR 24 per share, up 20% year over year
Jurecka said Munich Re’s shares more than doubled from the start of January 2021 through December 2025, and he put total shareholder return over the period at 180%, citing dividends and share-price increases.
He attributed resilience across recent crises to strategic foresight, operational excellence and greater diversification across life reinsurance, primary insurance and specialty insurance, which he said helped reduce volatility. He reported ERGO profit of around EUR 920 million in 2025, up around EUR 100 million year over year, and said ERGO’s international combined ratio was 90% while Germany property-casualty posted 88.9%.
For reinsurance, Jurecka said earnings contribution rose EUR 300 million to EUR 5.2 billion while insurance revenue fell to about EUR 38.7 billion, citing less favorable exchange rates and the group’s emphasis on profitability over volume. He cited a 73.5% combined ratio in property-casualty reinsurance and said the segment result totaled EUR 3.3 billion, noting no major hurricane hit the U.S. mainland in 2025 but that global insured natural disaster losses again exceeded $100 billion. He also highlighted Global Specialty Insurance (GSI), reported for the first time as a separate segment, with a combined ratio of 85.9%, net result contribution of EUR 562 million, and insurance revenue of EUR 8.6 billion, which he said was affected by currency effects.
In life and health reinsurance, Jurecka said Munich Re achieved EUR 1.7 billion under IFRS, exceeding a prior target of EUR 850 million by 2025, driven by “major transactions involving life portfolios” and demand for balance-sheet optimization solutions. He said claims experience in traditional biometric risk business was slightly higher than expected but “no cause for concern.”
On investments, Jurecka said the group increased return on investment to 3.2% in 2025, supported by active management, equity markets and a shift toward higher-yielding securities, while continuing to expand alternative investments such as private equity and infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Jurecka said Ambition 2030 aims to make Munich Re an even more diversified insurance group. He said the group wants life and health reinsurance, ERGO and global specialty insurance to rise from around half of net result today to around 60% by 2030. He also introduced a group-wide cost target—“total savings of EUR 600 million by 2030”—and said artificial intelligence will be key for efficiency and innovation.
Jurecka outlined Ambition 2030 financial goals of return on equity above 18% by 2030, earnings per share growth of more than 8% per year, and a solvency ratio “consistently above 200%.” He also said Munich Re plans to increase its total payout ratio to “over 80% per year,” from an average of 75% over the past five years. For the current fiscal year, he stated a net result target of EUR 6.3 billion.
Treasury shares update
Following the CEO’s remarks, an update was provided on share buybacks. Management, with Supervisory Board approval, acquired 3,674,952 shares between May 15, 2025 and April 10, 2026, representing 2.81% of share capital, for a total purchase price of approximately EUR 2.0 billion. The repurchased shares are to be retired.
About Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München (ETR:MUV2)
Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München engages in the insurance and reinsurance businesses worldwide. It also offers life and health reinsurance solutions, such as digital underwriting and advanced analytics solutions, health insurance management system, financial market risks, financing, portfolio risk management, digitalized investment-linked solution, MIRA digital suite, MIRA POS, MIRApply insured and physician, claims risk adjustment, CLARA plus, data analytics, underwriting and claims, medical research, capital management, and health market.
