Gothaer Versicherung achieves lower annual profit

Gothaer Versicherung achieves lower annual profit

Gothaer Versicherung recorded a declining annual profit last year, falling from 83 million euros to 78 million euros. This was below the target for 2025 of achieving an annual profit of 80 million euros. Gothaer's investments in the insolvent Signa Group of the Austrian real estate entrepreneur René Benko amount to at least 100 million euros, which are at acute risk due to participation certificates or other subordinated secured loans.

At a virtual press conference, Gothaer's CEO, Oliver Schoeller, expressed no regrets about the company's involvement with Signa, in contrast to his colleague from R+V Versicherung. Details of this engagement were not given. Instead, Schoeller and his fellow board members highlighted the company's strong growth above the market, particularly in property and casualty business up 7 percent, in health insurance up 5.2 percent and in life insurance up 1.7 percent.

Last year, Gothaer's gross premium income amounted to 4.9 billion euros, its equity capital amounted to 1.57 billion euros and the solvency ratio was 171 percent. These figures already exceeded the targets set for 2025. Schoeller described the past year as successful. The positive trend continued in the first quarter of the current year, with an increase in sales performance in property and casualty insurance by 17 percent, in life insurance by 65 percent and in health insurance by 84 percent.

The planned merger of Gothaer with Barmenia is scheduled to be implemented in the fall. This creates the tenth largest insurer in Germany with gross premium income of 8 billion euros.