German reinsurance giant Munich Re (MUV2) has said its profits will reach about €3bn (£2.4m) this year - despite the impact of likely claims arising from Hurricane Sandy. That's up from the €2.5bn originally anticipated for 2012 at the start of the year.
In an upbeat third-quarter statement, management reported underwriting profits for the nine months to the end of September in each of its three main divisions - reinsurance, health and primary insurance. The reinsurance side performed especially well, helped by solidly rising catastrophe-related premium rates after last year's big loss events, with a decently profitable 93.6 per cent combined ratio (of claims to premiums) - a big improvement on the loss-making 118.1 per cent ratio seen last year.
