When it comes to the management of natural catastrophe risks, we work together with governments, universities and research institutions and provide financial assistance to appropriate initiatives.

For example, Hannover Re has been a long-time supporter of the Geo Research Center in Potsdam and the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, whose mission is to develop a global earthquake model and hence make it easier to evaluate earthquake risks. By promoting science and establishing consistent standards worldwide, the public understanding and awareness of earthquake risks is improved and the impacts of earthquakes on populations can be mitigated through appropriate measures.

Through our active role in the Geneva Association working group on "Extreme Events and Climate Risks" we promote the development of initiatives to improve insurance protection for poorer sections of the population in order to ensure that natural disasters, in particular, do not lead to a loss of livelihood. The working group supports, among other things, the development of methods for assessing meteorological risks (heavy rainfall, flood and drought) and for better evaluation of the worldwide impacts of climate change.

With a view to also promoting the growth of legal disciplines relevant to the reinsurance sector, we have helped to fund a visiting professor position at the University of Göttingen with a concentration in Anglo-American contract and tort law since 2006. In this way we are seeking to encourage a more international approach to the study of law. With the establishment of the new "House of Insurance" in January 2018, we are working together with six other Hannover-based insurers to step up our cooperation with Leibniz University of Hannover. In addition to two new endowed professorships in insurance mathematics and insurance law, there are also plans to hold events for scientific and professional further training as well as graduate employment fairs and to arrange internships in the insurance industry.

Furthermore, we support the work of thematically relevant Associations of Friends at various universities, including for example the Förderkreis des Instituts für Versicherungswesen at Cologne Technical University and the Verein Braunschweiger Finanz- und Wirtschaftsmathematiker e.V. at the University of Braunschweig. We are also a member of a similar society at Leibniz University of Hannover and support the University of Ulm's association Studium und Praxis e.V. that fosters cooperation and contacts between students and graduates and the business world. Above and beyond our aforementioned involvement, we regularly offer field trips for students and systematically place various projects and topical issues with university departments.