Best Reinsurer for Ability to Pay Claims (GWP of more than $2bn) winner: Munich Re

The reinsurer was closely followed by Swiss Re and Hannover Re, with 7.36 and 7.34 respectively.

Munich Re received numerous positive comments throughout the survey, repeatedly being described as financially strong. “We’ve had no issues so far. Munich Re has found solutions even where they didn’t have to pay,” said one respondent.

Another remarked that Munich Re has “stood the test of time”, while a further respondent added that Munich Re got their vote because of its customer service and knowledge base.

“Munich Re has a good financial rating and has been well received in terms of how it handles claims and claims payment and its speed of service,” said another respondent. A number of other respondents agreed that Munich Re responds in a timely fashion and makes reasonable enquiries.

Headed by industry leader Nikolaus von Bomhard, the reinsurer was also praised for its security and flexibility towards finding solutions.

“Munich Re has a good financial rating and has been well received in terms of how it handles claims and claims payment and its speed of service.”

In the financial year of 2013 the group, which combines primary insurance and reinsurance under one roof, achieved a profit of €3.3 billion ($4.4 billion). The result came on the back of the company writing gross written premiums of €51.1 billion ($67.8 billion) last year, a small decrease compared with the €52 billion ($69 billion) it wrote in 2012.

Its reinsurance business contributed 54.4 percent of this and its primary insurance operations 32.6 percent.

In the company’s 2013 results, Torsten Jeworrek, Munich Re’s reinsurance CEO, warned that the market is becoming more competitive on price and admitted the company walked away from 12 percent of non-life reinsurance business in the January renewals because it was not profitable enough.

Swiss Re came second with a score of 7.36, as it was praised for its experience, knowledge and familiarity with the claims process.

“Swiss Re takes a holistic approach to the claim settlement process, and their role in that,” said one respondent. Others added that the reinsurer had a long-standing presence and an impressive track record.

Slightly behind Swiss Re was Hannover Re with 7.34 out of 10. The reinsurer was commended numerous times for its timely payment of claims and its responsiveness.

SCOR and Berkshire Hathaway followed closely, with scores of 7.24 and 7.11 respectively. SCOR was praised for its track record, while Berkshire Hathaway was praised for its flexibility and discipline.

The companies in the shortlists seen here were selected based on the first stage of the research, conducted via phone interviews and open online polls. Respondents were asked to name three companies they regard highly in this category. They were then asked to give details of why they had chosen these firms.

The shortlist for this category reflects the companies mentioned the most frequently.

The researchers then approached the market a second time and, using this shortlist presented in a random order, asked respondents to score each company out of ten based on how they perceive the firm based on the criteria of this category. It is the results of this part of the survey that are shown here.

More than 500 respondents took part in each part of the survey respectively.

The score shows the average score out of ten that each company received in stage two of the survey.

The shortlist was presented to respondents in a random order.