Forecast

Over the next two financial years we shall continue to strive to cement the long-term future security of the Talanx Group. Under our strategy we have defined broader diversification and an optimally balanced Group structure as a vital cornerstone of this future security. With a view to optimizing our portfolio of participating interests we are therefore aiming for further expansion, first and foremost in private customer business.

Now that Talanx has already enhanced its financial flexibility in recent years by opening up to the capital market, the further reinforcement of our financial strength and flexibility constitutes another major building block in the safeguarding of our Group’s future. The next logical step as we tap into the capital market should therefore be an Initial Public Offering, a move which is dependent upon both internal and external factors.

Sales markets

In the context of the targeted expansion in private customer business, a sizeable strategic acquisition could be financed with immediately available cash and through funds from a going public. In the primary insurance segments our stated aim is to continue to grow selectively in foreign markets. In the years ahead the structure of our premium income should evolve in such a way that half derives from the German market and half emanates from markets abroad. This would complement the existing strong focus in primary business on the German insurance market and further improve regional risk diversification. Yet this strategy in no way implies a turning away from the German market, in which we have appreciably stepped up our presence through the acquisition of the Gerling, BHW and PB companies. Using this reinforced basis as our platform, we intend to continue offering domestic customers our know-how and expertise on the level to which they have become accustomed.

In the reinsurance segment further strengthening of the portfolio – such as through acquisitions – is conceivable only in life/health reinsurance.

New methods, products and services

We regard the multi-brand strategy which enables us to tailor our products and services specifically to the needs of our customers and distribution partners as one of our Group’s major advantages. In our assessment, our decentralized approach is a proven strength, reflecting our Group’s intimacy with its various markets and clients. In the coming years we shall continue to make use of this edge in order to cater quickly and professionally to our customers’ expectations. The principle of high operational impact through locally positioned brands is complemented by the way in which Talanx AG bundles central Group tasks and in this role generates value added for the Group, for example by leveraging synergies.

A key starting point for the release of synergies within the Group companies is to be found, inter alia, in the organization of information technology – an area whose potential extends from the computer centre through procurement to software development. Over the coming years we shall consistently enhance our system landscape with the aim of putting in place state-of-the-art, flexible and secure systems that provide efficient support for our business processes. We do not see investment in IT merely as a necessary step to maintain our technical infrastructure, but rather as a match-winning performance factor in our competitive strength going forward.