China

China continues to rank as the most prominent growth market in Asia. Government subsidy programmes helped to drive sales of domestically built motor vehicles sharply higher. As a result, considerable growth in motor insurance – the dominant line in China – was recorded in the year under review.

In view of the fierce competition among local insurers, market conditions remained soft overall. The number of insurers is consistently rising, while at the same time an oversupply of reinsurance capacity prevails on the market.

Rates and conditions in the original market – aside from engineering business – again failed to improve in the year under review. Reinsurance, on the other hand, developed more favourably in some areas. We pursue an opportunistic underwriting policy in China, but were able to expand our treaty portfolio in the year under review thanks to good conditions. Our overall premium volume came in considerably higher in 2009.

We received a licence from the CIRC (China Insurance Regulatory Commission) in the year under review to write non-life reinsurance from our existing Shanghai branch. Hannover Re had previously only been licensed to transact life/health reinsurance in China. This licence extension gives us the optimal point of departure for further enlarging our position in China, one of Asia's largest insurance markets.