The insurance group registers an increased demand for insurance.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich The insurer Talanx is once again increasing its profit forecast for the current year. The group, which has been listed in the MDax again since the end of September, is now aiming for the upper end of the range of 900 to 950 million euros.
It was only in August that the Hanoverians raised their previous profit target from 800 to 900 million euros to 900 to 950 million euros. After nine months, the group had already achieved a pre-tax profit of 723 million euros. “We are almost back to the level of before the corona pandemic in 2019,” said CEO Torsten Leue, assessing the result.
Talanx is doing in a similar way to many of its competitors. The burdens from the corona pandemic are still noticeable, the hurricane “Ida” in the USA and the severe storm surge “Bernd” in Germany led to high claims payments. However, Talanx itself was strongly covered by its own reinsurance solutions. Of a gross damage of more than one billion euros, only 321 million euros were left for the group in net damage.
In the case of the damage caused by the corona pandemic, the books are gradually easing. After nine months, 81 million euros still have a negative effect on the group result. In the third quarter, however, the charges were only nine million euros.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
However, due to the significant increase in the death rate in key Talanx markets such as the USA, South Africa and Latin America, CFO Jan Wicke expects further claims payments to be expected in the further course of the year and also in the coming year.
Demand for insurance is increasing significantly
Overall, the high number of claims this year has heightened customers’ awareness of greater coverage. As with many competitors, there was also increased demand for insurance services at Talanx. The Group’s gross premium income rose by more than ten percent compared to the same period in the previous year – to 35.2 billion euros after nine months. In the third quarter, with the particularly high damage caused by storm “Bernd”, premium income even rose by almost twelve percent.
However, CFO Jan Wicke does not yet recognize a general rethinking process, in which, for example, building may no longer be built near the shore. “We are surprised that building permits are being issued again in areas where heavy rain events are to be expected.” In the future, a lot will depend on the question of whether such properties will even be offered insurance.
On the other hand, Wicke welcomes the push towards partial compulsory insurance against natural hazards such as floods. A suggestion from politics and the industry is that such an additional module must be actively deselected when the contract is concluded. A customer would be made aware of the risk and can consciously decide against the protection.
Talanx remains optimistic for the coming year as well. For the first time, a group result of over one billion euros is to be achieved. The forecast is in a range of 1050 to 1150 million euros. The Talanx share, which had risen sharply in recent weeks, was down one percent on the stock market in the morning.
More: Two alternatives to the industry giants – why it is worth taking a look at Hannover Re and Talanx