R+V Versicherung AG Annual Report

Premiums written in € million
1000
Technical result
Increased claims volume impact results
Global concentration processes continued
in the year under review. The improved
capital resources of the market’s remaining
direct insurers tended to lessen the need
for reinsurance. In addition, new market
participants and different sales channels led
to increased competitive pressure on many
markets. International reinsurers were
affected by a single event as never before.
The terrorist attacks which took place in the
US on September 11, 2001 went down as
the single largest insurance claim in insurance
history – at least USD50 billion.
14
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
733
336
809
428
869
484
1029
613
1998 1999 2000 2001
Gross premiums written
Net premiums written
958
623
2002
Apart from the extraordinary expenses
resulting from the terrorist attacks, 2001
was also characterized by a large number
of large claims affecting the Company’s
earnings. These included the explosion of
a fertilizer plant close to Toulouse/France,
the total loss of the “Petrobras” oil platform
off the coast of Brazil, the earthquake in
El Salvador, tropical storm “Alison” in the
southern US and typhoon “Nari” in Taiwan.
The year under review also saw a high
number of basic claims. A departure was
made from the usual accounting practice
of deferral by one year in order to set up
provisions for the flood damage which
devastated parts of Germany, Austria and
the Czech Republic in August 2002, and
for the results of the storm “Jeanette” on
October 26/27, 2002.
Together, these circumstances led once
again to high gross claims expenses of
81.0% (previous year: 77.6%) in the non-life
classes. Not even retrocessions could
provide relief, and the net loss ratio for the
fiscal year totaled 87.0% (previous year:
77.1%). At 29.5% (previous year: 29.6%),
the gross expense ratio remained almost
unchanged, while the net expense ratio
improved from 31.3% to 30.6%.
Total Non-life business 2000 2001 2002
Gross loss ratio % 73.6 77.6 81.0
Gross expense ratio % 31.9 29.6 29.5
Gross combined ratio % 105.5 107.2 110.5
The deterioration in the earnings situation in
the motor vehicle class in the previous year
continued during the year under review,
principally due to developments in motor
vehicle liability insurance. Provision
reserves for the flood damage in Europe in
August 2002 caused earnings from motor
vehicle insurance, which had started to
recover in the previous year, to decline
again in the fiscal year. Only motor vehicle
accident insurance recorded a slight profit
in the fiscal year.