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Claims and underwriting builds on engineering know-how
With technical expertise and risk know-how, experienced engineers at Munich Re enable complex industry projects and new technologies.
Engineers play a key role in successful underwriting and claims management
What we look for in engineers
Risk management adds value to projects
Large-scale projects – such as wind farms, high-rise buildings, LNG processing or power plants – need to manage risks not only to ensure successful completion but also to attract financers. Clarity on risks and their management assure investors and lenders of the viability of an investment. Munich Re engineers push the boundaries of insurability. They turn their technical know-how into risk insights to create much-needed risk transparency and tailored covers, facilitating project financing, technical progress and innovation in the process. Our engineers have invented a unique consultancy service – the Infrastructure Risk Profiler – for this very purpose.
Typical challenges for our engineers include pilot projects with scarce precedence for risk assessors to build on, and the ever-growing complexity of mega projects, with full risks on a billion-euro scale.
© Myrzik & Jarisch
It takes deep engineering expertise and a solid understanding of risks, underwriting and the bottom line to keep sight of the big picture of large-scale projects. Engineers at Munich Re walk that borderline daily – at home in different worlds.Stephan LämmleMunich Re Germany, MunichExecutive Manager
Seattle floating bridge: A customised solution for a project with large and complex risks
The Governor Albert D. Rossellini Bridge, often called Evergreen Point bridge or the SR 520 bridge, opened in Seattle in 2016. It is the longest floating bridge in the world. A Munich Re engineering team, Robert Gschwandner and Peter Hangen, contributed expertise and capacity not only to the construction of the bridge but also to the construction and transport of the bridge pontoons.
Meet our engineers
Bernd: Writing large, complex, single-risk construction projects
As an underwriter in the primary-insurance business, Bernd has a client-facing role, tailoring coverages to project needs. He represents Munich Re in communicating our risk appetite to customers and brokers.
A large part of his role is cover and pricing negotiations with clients and brokers. Bernd works in a buyer’s market: speed and quality of responses and decisions are crucial to success. Before Munich Re commits capacity, Bernd explores risks, needs and solutions with potential clients. These outside touch points result in a tightly controlled but varied daily schedule.
Between meetings, Bernd monitors London market and industry trends, assesses implications on a risk matrix and benchmarks risks to work out attractive coverages. Bernd gauges lines of business, such as cyber and pandemic, and submits product ideas, where his colleagues in product innovation pick up the ball.
What do you enjoy about your work?
The clients and the London market are stimulating – you never know how a day will play out. I find the responsibility my role affords rewarding. And, I value the “if not how” mentality of my co-workers in the global Munich Re network.
Is there a personal favourite among the projects you've handled?
A single project? No. But visiting the sites of completed major projects – their sheer scale, their capabilities – can be profoundly impressive. It’s the tangible added value of insurance, right there, at the tip of your fingers. Quite humbling, really.
Bernhard: Developing new risk transfer products for the energy industry
Bernhard’s work revolves around identifying product ideas with strong business potential. Once an innovation is deemed viable, he nurses it to maturity, from idea to marketability.
Ideation, data and business intelligence, analyses and risk modelling are all part of Bernhard's process. He assesses risks, from the likelihood of a windfarm sustaining hurricane damage to estimating the average yield of the same windfarm.
Bernhard’s job requires a clear understanding of the market at all times. His client-facing colleagues – like underwriting manager Bernd Luckey in London – are his ears to the market. At the same time, he keeps close tabs on technology and market trends in both the energy and the insurance industry.
To round out products, Bernhard works in teams with actuaries, data scientists and lawyers. Communicating ideas effectively in this multi-disciplinary environment requires sound translation skills. Once a new product is approved and a budget allocated, Bernhard accompanies it until it graduates to its first deal.
What do you enjoy about your work?
This job challenges me – to shift perspective and in assessing risks and opportunities of the most ground-breaking engineering projects of our time. It’s inspiring, as are interactions with people from different cultures, industries and market regions. I savour the global perspective in exchanges with international risk managers.
Is there a personal favourite among the products you’ve developed?
The Wind Energy Yield Cover is one of my favourites. We conducted several client interviews before we joined up with our teams, Weather & Commodity and Green Tech Solutions, to develop the product. It is now marketed globally and facilitates clean-energy projects. I’m grateful to be able to make an impact.
Career development: Engineering meets insurance in the Munich Re Engineering Pool
