Talanx reports 92.8% combined ratio for Q1

By Scott Vincent, Michael Jones

May 15 - (The Insurer) - Talanx reported a first-quarter combined ratio of 92.8% on Thursday, with the German insurance group confirming its 2025 profit target of 2.1 billion euros ($2.35 billion).

Group net income rose 5.0% to 604 million euros, in line with a preliminary disclosure issued on April 29.

Primary insurance accounted for 60% of Talanx’s net income in the quarter, with the group’s reinsurance business, Hannover Re, affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.

First-quarter group insurance revenue rose 5.0% to 12.4 billion euros. Primary insurance revenue increased 5.0% to 5.7 billion euros, while the reinsurance top line grew by 4.0% to 7.0 billion euros.

Insurance revenue in the corporate and specialty division was up 10% in the first quarter to 2.6 billion euros, due to a mix of new business and inflation-related price adjustments.

Retail international insurance revenue rose 4.0% to 2.3 billion euros, while retail Germany insurance revenue contracted 5.6% to 812 million euros due to the expiration of the partnership with Targobank.

Talanx's insurance service result increased 2.8% to 1.1 billion euros, while 881 million euros in large losses exceeded the carrier's large loss budget by 276 million euros.

Losses from California wildfires contributed 640 million euros, Talanx said. Other losses included 25 million euros related to the Myanmar earthquake and 17 million euros from Cyclone Alfred.

Talanx's first-quarter return on equity of 20.1% was a 1.2 percentage point decrease on the prior-year period.

Alongside confirming its 2025 earnings target of more than 2.1 billion euros, Talanx said it was on course to achieve its medium-term targets of more than 2.5 billion euros in net income and an increase in the dividend to 4.00 euros per share for 2027.