Press release

• Munich Reinsurance Company's Annual General Meeting today: Supervisory Board and Board of Management motions passed by a large majority 
  
  
• Dividend for 2006 increased by 45% to €4.50 per share; dividend payout of almost €1bn 
  
  
• CEO von Bomhard: "With our Changing Gear programme, we are supporting and promoting profitable and intelligent growth at Munich Re." 
  
  
• 1st quarter: Munich Re on track despite Winter Storm Kyrill
   

Following its third record profit in succession (€3.5bn; +28.5%), Munich Re is to pay a dividend totalling €988m, or €4.50 per share. "The dividend of €4.50 per share puts our dividend yield at well over 3%, based on the current share price, and thus in the top third of DAX companies", said Chairman of the Board of Management Nikolaus von Bomhard.

"The excellent consolidated result of €3.5bn is due to outstanding results in both reinsurance and primary insurance", the Chairman went on.

There was also a marked improvement in all the other key figures: the return on risk-adjusted capital rose to 20.3%, and the Group set new best marks in its combined ratios, with 92.6% in reinsurance and 90.8% in primary insurance.

For 2007, von Bomhard is aiming at a profit of €2.8bn to €3.2bn for the Munich Re Group – around 10% more than the range of €2.6bn to €2.8bn envisaged a year ago for 2006. Von Bomhard emphasised that would like to see a "three" before the decimal point.

With regard to the growth programme Changing Gear, von Bomhard said: "In recent years we have listened to and registered very carefully what our clients, our investors, the media, and not least our employees, expect of us. Building on this input, we developed our strategy further with a view to tapping profitable new fields of growth. What we are concerned with now is clearing the way for this growth. That is the nucleus of Changing Gear. We will consistently remove obstacles in our structures and processes, making our organisation leaner."

He went on to say that Changing Gear mainly stands for a change in corporate culture. In other words, Changing Gear is not a cost-saving or staff-cutting programme: "What we are demanding is creativity and innovation, along with entrepreneurial thinking by our staff. Each employee has to ask how he or she can contribute to corporate profit", added von Bomhard in summary.

"For reinsurance, we aspire to be the most profitable of the big five reinsurers," he said. "As a primary insurer, we intend to proactively develop business segments and markets with growth potential. In the international health market, we aim to be market leader with our integrated approach."

Munich Re will publish its figures for the first quarter of the current financial year on 4 May. Von Bomhard commented on the situation as things stand at present: "So far we are on track. Apart from European Winter Storm Kyrill, it was a good quarter." Besides this, the investment result developed positively. Gains on the sale of real estate, already initiated last year, will partly compensate for the losses sustained from Kyrill.

Currently, more than 127,000 shareholders are entered in the share register, with the free float standing at 100% since March 2007.

The AGM adopted all the proposals of the Supervisory Board and Board of Management by large majorities:

 

• It voted for a dividend of €4.50 per share for 2006 (previous year: €3.10), thereby significantly increasing the dividend payout to €988m (707m).
• The AGM renewed the authorisation to buy back shares up to a total amount of 10% of the share capital. The authorisation granted last year would have expired in October 2007 and has thus been replaced. Derivatives may also be used for share buy-backs.
• Amendments to the Articles of Association were adopted regarding the publication of Company announcements, the notification of shareholders via remote data transmission (e-mail), and more flexibility in the chairing of the Annual General Meeting.
• Approval was also given for a domination and profit-transfer agreement between Munich Reinsurance Company and DKV International Health Holding AG, a wholly-owned Group subsidiary.

All voting results are available at www.munichre.com/agm. The shareholder portal provides shareholders with regularly updated information on the Munich Re Group.

Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft
signed Dr. von Bomhard           signed Dr. Lawrence

The Munich Re Group operates worldwide, turning risk into value. In the financial year 2006, it achieved a profit of €3,536m, the highest in its 126-year corporate history. Its premium income amounted to approximately €37bn and its investments to around €177bn. The Group is characterised by particularly pronounced diversification, client focus and earnings stability. It has approximately 37,000 employees in over 50 locations throughout the world and operates in all lines of insurance. With premium income of around €22bn in the year 2006 from reinsurance alone, it is one of the world's leading reinsurers. Its primary insurance operations are mainly concentrated in the ERGO Insurance Group; it is the second-largest provider in the German primary insurance market and a leading player in the European insurance market in health insurance and legal expenses cover. The ERGO Insurance Group is present in 25 countries, and 33 million clients place their trust in the services, competence and security it provides.

Disclaimer
This media information contains forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the management of Munich Re. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements given here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation and performance of Munich Re. The company assumes no liability to update these forward-looking statements or to make them conform to future events or developments.