Munich Re is ready to accommodate strong demand from Europe & LatAm: Clarisse Kopff

Demand for reinsurance protection is strong in Europe and is expected to remain so in 2025, but it’s important that structural corrections achieved in the past two years are maintained, according to Clarisse Kopff, Member of the Board of Management at Munich Re.

Kopff is responsible for European and Latin American reinsurance at Munich Re, and in an interview with Reinsurance News at this year’s Rendez-Vous de Septembre, discussed the outlook for those markets in 2025 and beyond, as well as the focus for Munich Re at this year’s conference.

Looking ahead to the key January 1st, 2025, reinsurance renewals, Kopff explained that she anticipates property catastrophe structures to remain roughly the same.

“It is very important, and that is an achievement that we are not ready to let go,” said Kopff. “We cannot be happy with just one or two years of reset, we need to prove over a longer period that it actually works sustainably and that we can consistently generate returns above cost of capital.”

In terms of reinsurance pricing for property cat in Europe at 1.1, Kopff expects a continuation of firm rates, with some areas potentially seeing increases.

“Of course, it’s country specific, or even region specific, and certainly client specific. But, in Europe, 2023 was not too good, and in markets like Italy we had late declarations of losses post renewals, etc. So, even in some places, it is to be expected that for property some further correction could be seen,” she said.

Discussing demand in Europe for property reinsurance, Kopff said that it is still there and that Munich Re “still sees increasing exposures from higher concentration in coastal areas, from underlying inflation, from even organic volume growth at the clients.”

“So, we see demand staying pretty good. Supply is there also, but there is not a lot of additional supply pouring in the market,” she continued.

Importantly, Kopff emphasised that Munich Re is “ready to accommodate the demand,” and this is also the case for increasing demand from Latin American markets.

For European casualty reinsurance, Kopff told Reinsurance News that things should remain largely unchanged at 1.1

“We have large proportional motor relationships and after a couple of more difficult years we are participating in the restored margins on the primary side after clients increased their prices to compensate for claims inflation.”

“So, property, I’d say is overall still firm in Europe, with even places where we could see further increases,” she said.

Turning to Latin American markets, Kopff confirmed that demand here is also very strong, despite a challenging political environment.

“You have fundamentals which should drive the market. Mid-to-long term you have good demographics, and you have very low insurance penetration still and with a bit more economic growth we will see demand further strengthening.

“We have a strong historical footprint there, very well established client relationships, we have been supporting our clients in their growth journey and will continue to do so,” said Kopff.

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