Responsible corporate governance

As an internationally operating company, Hannover Re bears responsibility in various senses. This is true of compliance with relevant laws and regulations, but also applies to the relationship with staff, shareholders, the public at large and the cultures within which the company operates.

As a listed European company (Societas Europaea – SE) based in Germany, the formal framework that shapes Hannover Re’s corporate governance is determined by national law. The fundamental hallmarks of this corporate governance structure are a two-tier system with its transparent and effective split into management (Executive Board) and its oversight (Supervisory Board), the appointment of shareholder and employee representatives to the Supervisory Board and the rights of co-administration and supervision exercised by shareholders at the General Meeting. The interplay between these bodies is regulated by German stock corporation law and by the company’s Articles of Association. Furthermore, our Group Strategy, the Corporate Governance principles and our Code of Conduct form the basis of our enterprise management.

In addition to our continuous engagement with the changing general legal framework, since 2003 we have provided an annual Declaration of Conformity with the German Corporate Governance Code (DCGK) which is published on our company’s website and reproduced in the present management report. The Corporate Governance principles of Hannover Rück SE are also subject to regular review and fulfil the recommendations of the currently valid version of the German Corporate Governance Code as amended.

By aligning the remuneration structure with regulatory requirements and having the system of compensation reviewed by independent experts, we ensure that our remuneration policy is in keeping with our business and strategy and appropriately risk-adjusted. A detailed description of the remuneration scheme for both the Executive Board and Supervisory Board is provided in the “Remuneration report” of the combined management report. Given that the trust of our various stakeholder groups and an immaculate reputation advance the success of our company, we make every effort to continuously maintain an active dialogue with our stakeholders. For more information on the dialogue with stakeholders we would refer to the section “Stakeholder dialogue”.

In our annually published sustainability report we provide regular updates on our achievements as a responsible enterprise. In so doing, we follow the currently applicable and internationally recognised guidelines of the GRI. In our sustainability communication we also fulfil the transparency requirements of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating agencies, as reflected in the favourable evaluations of our company. Hannover Re is rated by the following rating agencies specialising in sustainability: FTSE4Good, Robeco SAM, Oekom Research, Sustainalytics, VigeoEiris, CDP and MSCI. In addition, we are included in the FTSE4Good Index, the Global Challenges Index initiated by the Hannover Stock Exchange parent company BÖAG Börsen AG as well as in major STOXX indices.