Largest reinsurers worldwide 2020-2022, by net premiums written
German reinsurer Munich Re was the largest reinsurance company worldwide in 2022. In 2022, the net premiums written by Munich Re amounted to approximately 48.6 billion U.S. dollars. Swiss Re was the second-largest reinsurer with 37 billion U.S. dollars in net premiums.
Who are Munich Re?
Munich Re Group was founded in 1880 and is headquartered, unsurprisingly, in Munich, Germany. The gross reinsurance premiums written by Munich Re have been trending upwards since 2008. Munich Re's number of employees worldwide has mostly decreased during the same period.
Reinsurance losses
Reinsurers take on a portion of the risk portfolios of insurers, which reduces the losses suffered by insurers in the case of large insurance claims, e.g. after property damage from a hurricane. The reinsurance losses incurred by Munich Re were especially high in 2011 and 2017, due to the earthquakes and flooding of 2011 and the 2017 hurricanes, as well as from 2020 to 2022.