FAQ

It is our conviction that only by bringing our entrepreneurial endeavours into harmony with responsibility for our business environment will we secure our long-term success. Munich Re’s business environment is in flux, presenting ever new opportunities and risks. Key factors such as climate change, technological progress, demographic trends and the effects of the globalisation of financial markets constitute major challenges. Munich Re meets these challenges actively and flexibly with tailor-made solutions.

Our experts in over 80 specialist fields and some 50 countries analyse the vast diversity of risks in our complex world, be they natural hazards, population trends or new diseases, and develop solutions on the basis of their expertise. It is also our aim to continually push back the boundaries of insurability. Munich Re assumes social responsibility and fulfils economic, ecological and social needs – an understanding of our role which we have put into practice in our corporate responsibility strategy. To make this strong belief in corporate responsibility values more clearly visible, Munich Re in August 2007 joined the United Nations Global Compact, the most important international standard for the implementation of sustainable corporate governance. Its ten principles – for instance on the subjects of environment, staff, human rights and anti-corruption – offer us important action guidelines and standards for realising corporate responsibility in our core business Group-wide.

Insurance and corporate responsibility are very similar in nature. At the heart of both lies a promise for the future. The concept of insurance is built on fulfilling obligations from insurance contracts on a sustainable basis. For us as a global risk carrier, a prospective, prudent and responsible approach is therefore self-evident.

A responsible and forward-looking approach is also our top priority with regard to investments, where our asset management company MEAG manages significant investments worldwide. In 2006, we thus became the first German company to sign the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In addition, our globally binding General Investment Guidelines in place since 2005 specify that at least 80% of all investments in shares and in government and corporate bonds should comply with sustainability criteria. And MEAG also attaches great importance to high sustainability standards in new building projects and real estate acquisition.

Moreover, since September 2010, Munich Re has chaired the insurance commission of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP FI), which is working on developing Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI). These new international principles, due to be signed in June 2012 (Rio +20), promote responsible conduct, in part by considering environmental, social and governance factors throughout the insurance value chain.

Munich Re’s business environment is in flux, presenting ever new opportunities and risks. Key factors such as climate change, technological progress, demographic trends and the effects of the globalisation of financial markets constitute major challenges.

That is why, through our business fields such as primary insurance and reinsurance, we are developing innovative insurance solutions, for example special cover concepts for renewable energies and rates for climate-friendly vehicles, and providing advice on holistic healthcare programmes. As a global risk carrier, we also offer microinsurance geared to the financial situation and living conditions of disadvantaged population groups. We also deal with this issue at the reinsurance level by entering into public-private partnerships with the public sector.

One example of our self-perception as an enterprise and our forward-looking approach is the industrial initiative Dii GmbH, which we established in 2009 in conjunction with the DESERTEC Foundation and other international enterprises. The declared aim of the Dii is to develop a suitable technical, economic, and political framework for carbon-free power generation in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.

At our own locations, we are concentrating our ecological activities in three areas:

• Cutting CO₂ emissions by reducing travel, power and heat consumption and the generation of waste
• Using the resources water and paper sparingly
• Replacing conventional power with renewable energies

A fifth of our staff works in buildings certified as fulfilling the international environmental management standard ISO 14001. We already achieved the first milestone in our climate neutrality strategy by making the Munich headquarters climate-neutral in 2009. Our declared objectives are to make our reinsurance group climate-neutral by 2012 and achieve climate neutrality for our entire Group by 2015. Our understanding of corporate responsibility also involves assuming responsibility for the community in which we live and work. In addition to systematically promoting education and science, Munich Re supports selected cultural and social projects at its business locations. Health is another cornerstone of our activities. Munich Re’s commitment is supplemented by foundations that contribute significantly to sustainable development.

Given its strong link with Munich Re’s business strategy, the field of corporate responsibility was assigned to a separate unit at our Munich headquarters in 2008. This unit is incorporated in the Group Development Division, which is responsible for developing Group strategy and reports directly to the Chairman of the Munich Re Board of Management. The unit performs tasks for the Group and for the Munich Health business segment. At ERGO, corporate responsibility is also an integral part of its corporate strategy and directly assigned to the Chairman of the Board of Management. A separate unit within our Group Communications Division coordinates implementation between the various departments.

Risk management is a key part of our corporate governance. It underpins our financial strength, enabling us to meet our obligations to clients, creates sustained value for our shareholders, and protects Munich Re’s reputation. We achieve these objectives through worldwide risk management that takes in all of our units, subsidiaries and operations.

To ensure the effectiveness of our risk management, we have established specific risk management functions and bodies. This guarantees that our risk management covers all units and all exposures in the Group, while creating transparency and ensuring that risks are dealt with in the appropriate manner.

Munich Re actively tackles questions from Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) rating agencies and traditional financial institutions and provides cogent answers regarding corporate responsibility at Munich Re. Our positive results in the ratings and inclusion in relevant indices and funds clearly show that we pursue a successful corporate responsibility strategy and take an effective approach to our commitment in this field.

Underlining this, Munich Re has been an ever-present member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the FTSE4Good since 2001. In addition, Munich Re is also listed in various other indices such as the Advanced Sustainable Performance Index (ASPI), the Ethical Sustainability Index (ESI) and the Ethical Indices. Our involvement in issues relating to climate change has moreover been recognised through our inclusion in the Global Challenges Index and the KLD Global Climate 100 Index.

Furthermore, Munich Re shares are recommended by Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, ISS, oekom research and Sarasin as an investment in sustainability.

Munich Re reports solely online about its corporate responsibility activities. The CR portal outlines the measures taken in the period from January 2010 to June 2011 and the successes we have achieved.

Our news channel on the CR portal homepage features reports on current results and developments in the field of corporate responsibility.

Please do not hesitate to contact our experts if you have any questions regarding corporate responsibility at Munich Re.

Munich Re can look back on a long tradition of social involvement – for example, the company has accommodated the Münchener Universitätsgesellschaft – the association of supporters of Ludwig Maximilian University – in its corporate premises since 1922.

Three foundations – the Munich Re Foundation, the Dr. Hans-Jürgen Schinzler Foundation and the ERGO foundation Jugend & Zukunft – also put the company's social commitment at the very focus of its sponsorship activities. Under the motto “From Knowledge to Action”, the Munich Re Foundation has set itself the aim of helping people in risk situations and improving their lot, especially in developing countries. The Dr. Hans-Jürgen Schinzler Foundation organises and coordinates the corporate volunteering activities in the reinsurance group. It supports staff members all over the world in their voluntary involvement in a wide range of social areas. ERGO's Jugend & Zukunft Foundation works to open up new opportunities and positive future prospects for teenagers and young people.

A new scheme for strategically orienting the company's involvement in social projects focuses on specific business-related topics with defined criteria for promoting non-profit projects. In addition to the support being provided in the social and cultural spheres at individual company locations, more backing is to be given in future to projects falling into categories such as "natural catastrophes" or "health", i.e. projects dealing with, for example, disaster preparedness or the promotion of health. Here, efforts will focus on establishing long-term cooperations with particularly suitable partners in the non-profit area and on getting staff members more heavily involved.

Our staff provide the basis for our success due to their specialist knowledge, experience, motivation and commitment. We invest continually in their development and provide all staff with equal opportunities and excellent working conditions. We want to recruit the best people available and imbue them with enthusiasm for our business. Munich Re has enjoyed a consistently low staff turnover rate for many years – further proof that it is an attractive employer.

In our human resources work, we concentrate on people. We are a successful and valued employer, not only adapting to the current demands of the labour market but also taking into account the changing needs of our staff. Flexitime, special conditions for employees with children, the promotion of healthcare, and social counselling services are just some of the factors that make Munich Re a respected employer.

Another matter of special concern to us is the equal treatment of persons with disabilities. Munich Re (reinsurance) in Munich has for many years cooperated very closely with institutions and agencies involved in integrating people with disabilities. In an agreement in 2008, Munich Re undertook to give greater consideration to people with disabilities in its staff recruitment. An integration team made up of representatives of the employees, Staff Council and staff with disabilities is responsible for ensuring that the requirements are applied in the long term. ERGO also invests in several training and health programmes for people with disabilities. At ERGO’s service centre in Spain, all customer telephone enquiries are dealt with by employees with disabilities. Inspired by this idea, ERGO Hestia in Poland has set up a foundation along similar lines.