France, Maghreb and Arab countries

This market area is served by our life branch in Paris. The focus of activities in these regions is on bancassurance.

Due to a decline in single-premium business the gross volume contracted quite sharply and came in at EUR 452.0 million (EUR 494.1 million). Profitability was nevertheless highly gratifying: the operating profit (EBIT) amounted to EUR 49.2 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 11.6% on the net premium earned of EUR 425.8 million.

The reinsurance business of Islamic insurance companies (takaful operators) is written through our composite subsidiary Hannover ReTakaful in Manama, Bahrain. Growth in this market is extremely vigorous, and we were able to substantially expand our client relationships.

The main markets are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The premium volume surged by almost 60% to EUR 12.6 million (EUR 7.9 million); profitability was also thoroughly satisfactory.