Global reinsurer Munich Re produced a lower net result of €1.742 billion for the third quarter of 2026 and a higher result of €5.667 billion for the first nine months of the year, driven by a strong operating performance across all business segments and below-average major losses in P&C reinsurance.
Munich Re announced preliminary results for the third quarter and nine month period in late October, revealing an uplift to its full-year net profit guidance from €6.3 billion to €6.6 billion after the strong performance so far in the year.
Today, the large reinsurer has released its full financial results, reporting Group insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued of €16.626 billion in Q3’26, compared with €14.575 billion in Q3’25, and €46.583 billion for 9M’26 compared with €45.162 billion in 9M’25.
For the quarter, the total technical result came down to €2.375 billion from €2.822 billion last year, and the operating result decreased to €2.472 billion from €3.036 billion.
The annualised return on equity amounted to 20.2% for Q3’26, compared with 24.2% in Q3’25, and for 9M’26 reached 21.9%, above 9M’25’s 20.8%.
Within the reinsurance segment, the net result decreased to €1.479 billion in Q3’26 from €1.693 billion a year earlier, but for the nine month period increased to €4.849 billion from €4.380 billion in 2025. Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued increased in Q3’26 to €10.434 billion compared to €9.262 billion in Q3’25.
The total technical result hit €2.190 billion in Q3’25, but decreased to €1.728 billion in Q3’26, as the operating result decreased to €2.113 billion from €2.477 billion.
Munich Re’s P&C reinsurance arm generated a net result of €938 million in Q3’26 compared with €1.187 billion in Q3’25, as insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued increased to €4.446 billion in Q3’26 from €4.241 billion in Q3’25. The P&C reinsurance combined ratio was 80% this quarter, up on the prior year’s 62.7% as a result of higher major losses year-on-year.
The reinsurer says that the year-on-year gross revenue decline of 9% in P&C reinsurance to €12.4 billion for 9M’26 is a result of currency and renewal effects.
Third quarter 2026 major losses amounted to €646 million after retrocession and before tax, including run-off profits and losses for major claims from previous years. In Q3’25, reported major losses were just €118 million. This quarter, natural disaster losses totalled €514 million, the costliest event being the El Choco earthquake in Colombia at a cost of €300 million. In total, major-loss expenditure corresponded to 14.9% of net insurance revenue, and was thus below the expected value of 18%, but above last year’s 2.9%.
The life and health reinsurance business generated a total technical result of €493 million in Q3’26, up on the prior year’s €314 million, driven by “strong growth in new business and very good biometric experience, particularly with regard to mortality.”
The segment’s net result rose to €340 million in Q3’26 from €286 million in Q3’25, as insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued rose to €3.769 billion from €2.868 billion, driven by significant business growth in all key regions.
Away from the reinsurance segment, the Global Specialty Insurance business delivered a net result of €201 million in Q3’26, down slightly on the prior year’s €221 million. Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued totalled €2.219 billion in Q3’26, compared with €2.153 billion a year earlier, as the combined ratio rose to 83.9% from 82.8%.
At Munich Re’s ERGO business, the result decreased to €263 million for Q3’26 from €304 million in Q3’25, and for the nine month period increased to €819 million from €796 million. Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued rose to €6.192 billion for Q3’26 from €5.313 billion in Q3’25, and for the nine month period increased to €17.36 billion from €16.019 billion.
On the asset side of the balance sheet, Munich Re delivered a Q3’26 investment result of €1.859 billion, down on the prior year’s €2.385 billion, with the strong return on investment of 4.7% in reinsurance being particularly noteworthy. Overall, the Q3 investment result represents a return of 3.2% on the average market value of the portfolio.
As mentioned, the strong 9M performance has led Munich Re to lift its full year net result guidance by €300 million to €6.6 billion. Additionally, the firm anticipates that the net combined ratio in P&C reinsurance will amount to less than 80%, and the net combined ratio in the Global Specialty Insurance segment will be less than 90%.
Andrew Buchanan, Munich Re’s CFO, said: “Munich Re achieved profitable growth in the first nine months of the year. The Group’s net result and insurance revenue rose significantly year on year. In the third quarter, we benefited from low major-loss expenditure and expanded our business, particularly in less volatile segments such as life and health reinsurance. The increase in our profit target to €6.6bn reflects the very pleasing operating performance across all business segments. This broad diversification of our earnings drivers is a core component of our Ambition 2030 strategy and ensures Munich Re’s continued success.”
