For more than 200 years, Gothaer has lived the spirit of mutuality and consistently brought innovation to the insurance industry. ln 1820, Ernst Wilhelm Arnoldi founded the Gothaer Feuer-Versicherungs-Bank. He thus put into practice the idea of mutual assistance: the community bears the burden of the individual. ln 2001, the four insurance companies Gothaer Finanzholding AG, Gothaer Allgemeine, Gothaer Leben and Gothaer Kranken merged to form the mutual Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG. Today, Gothaer is a strong, broadly diversified insurance group.

Gothaer’s sustainability management activities already support many elements of the PSI principles. Gothaer has integrated ESG issues into its strategic and operational decision-making processes. This applies to their corporate strategy as well as to their investment management (Principle 1). Sustainability has a long history at Gothaer. For over 20 years, Gothaer has been one of the first insurers to develop special insurance concepts for renewable energies, e.g. the company was the first mover in the industry to insure wind turbines, back in 1995. Today Gothaer insures every third wind turbine in Germany and is represented in all segments of renewable energies – from wind and solar energy to energy storage. Gothaer Asset Management AG has been investing in renewable energies since 2013 – already one billion euros in 2018. ln 2018, they adopted their ESG concept for corporate bonds and equities. The Gothaer foundation was established in 2020 to fund projects in the areas of research, education and environmental protection, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of society. Gothaer also takes responsibility locally: by signing the City of Cologne’s climate declaration, it has committed itself to the goal of shaping a sustainable future and supporting the plan for a climate-neutral Cologne by 2035. Since 2019, their sustainability management has been part of the Group strategy and, since 2020, firmly anchored by sustainability management with currently four full-time employees.

Gothaer’s goal is to increasingly offer products and services that reduce risks, positively influence ESG issues and optimise risk management. Therefore Gothaer has already started to reach out not only to internal but also to external stakeholders to draw their attention to the ESG focus areas in order to jointly find solutions to the challenges of their time (Principle 2 and 3). Gothaer fully supports PSI Principle 4. They evaluate, measure and monitor their progress in addressing ESG issues and proactively and regularly disclose this information to the public. A sustainability report has therefore been published annually since 2021.