Going about things differently to others – that is exactly what sets us apart. Established in 1966, we have evolved into one of the leading globally operating reinsurers with our lean structures and efficient organisation.
Long embodied in our daily practice, the claim to be "somewhat different" has served as an expression of the entire organisation's self-image since 2005. Drawing on our quick, flexible and undogmatic business approach, we have evolved into a professional reinsurer with extensive specialist expertise. We transact our insurance business with lower management expenses than our peers. This is to the benefit not only of our clients but also our shareholders.
In view of the fact that we write largely uncorrelated or scarcely correlated reinsurance risks across all lines of our business groups of Property & Casualty and Life & Health reinsurance and thanks to our global presence, we achieve broad diversification and hence an efficient risk balance. In conjunction with our capital management, this is the key to our comparatively low cost of capital.
We have a very robust capital base which is continuously reviewed with an eye to possible changes in the risk profile. Our rigorous risk management is geared to acting on business opportunities and hence securing our financial strength for the long term.
Tailor-made solutions for our business partners establish the basis for strengthening and further extending our position as one of the leading reinsurers. By identifying innovative business opportunities associated with newly emerging risks, we constantly enlarge the scope of our commercial activities.
In this connection we extended an invitation to attend our first international "Innovation Camp" in Berlin in July 2018. The primary focus of the two-day internal workshop attended by 40 members of staff was on strengthening the interconnectedness of our innovation landscape, making targeted use of big data and exploring future partnerships with insurtechs.
Going forward, as we have in the past, we want to respond to new developments and challenges with innovative ideas and concepts. Following the successful project wrap-up of the international ideas competition "Journey Re", in which young teams developed new business models for primary insurance and reinsurance, we launched the "Hannover Re Intrapreneurship Programme" (HIPE) in 2019. The programme is intended to generate novel business ideas within our own organisation designed to increase the company's profitability, better assess risks, strengthen customer relations or boost employee satisfaction. All members of staff are encouraged to contribute ideas. In a 13-week project phase these will subsequently be refined into an initial pilot project by interdisciplinary teams.