Company Profile
Munich Re’s operations encompass all aspects of risk assumption in primary insurance and reinsurance. We are one of the world’s largest re-insurers and the second-largest primary insurer in Germany.

When Munich Re was founded in 1880, it was one of the first independent reinsurance companies, i.e. a re-insurer not run by a primary insurer. Ever since this time, re-insurers have functioned as risk managers, assuming part of the risk covered by primary insurers. Thus, in the insurance industry’s value chain, re-insurers and primary insurers are two complementary elements.

5,000 insurance companies in around 160 countries rely on Munich Re’s reinsurance expertise and financial strength. Of the gross premiums totalling €22,4bn written in 2004, around 66% came from property-casualty and 34% from life and health business. Munich Re operates in virtually all classes of reinsurance and offers a full range of products.

Munich Re & CSR
As a leading risk carrier and provider of financial services operating worldwide, Munich Re acknowledges its responsibility for environmental protection and sustainability. Preserving the natural foundations of life is also a matter of good business acumen.

Sustainability has always been, and remains, our guiding principal. The reason is simple: as the world’s leading re-insurer, it is our daily business to “face up to risks” and give them a price. We know that sustainable development means making adequate provision for the long-term future, and that important decisions cannot be put off in the hope that the “storm will pass us by”. Failure to take action today will prove to be a much costlier enterprise tomorrow – whether we are talking about clean water, uncontaminated soil, or clean air.

Sustainability is not an objective that can be achieved by any one single company – but a goal in which we must all pull together. This is the reason why we joined UNEP FI in February 1999 to join forces with other companies from the financial sector. Within UNEP FI our main focus is on how the risks and opportunities of climate change can be integrated into business. Therefore Munich Re is member of the UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group.

Munich Re & CSR on the web
http://www.munichre.com/