Risk management

Functions and organisation of risk monitoring and control

Risk management is a key part of our corporate management. Its purpose is not only to safeguard the Group’s financial strength, enabling us to meet our obligations to clients and create sustained value for our shareholders, but also to protect Munich Re’s reputation.

We achieve these objectives through global risk management encompassing all areas of our operations. Organisational structure To provide for efficient risk management, Munich Re has established specific risk management functions and bodies. The Integrated Risk Management (IRM) division supervises risk management Group-wide, building on decentralised structures in all units of the Group. It is headed by the Group Chief Risk Officer (Group CRO), who, like the decentralised CROs at individual companies, is supported by interdisciplinary teams of highly qualified staff. Our extensive documentation, guidelines and instructions ensure that staff in our risk management structure and the Group as a whole are sufficiently informed about our risk strategy, organisation and processes.

This guarantees that our risk management covers all units and the Group’s total exposure. The resultant transparency enables the risks incurred to be actively controlled.

The role of internal auditing at the individual Group companies is to examine independently the risk management system and its further development. It also checks whether the controls and monitoring measures that have been implemented are appropriate and are being complied with.

Our risk management system is also checked by the external auditor as part of the annual audit.