Thomas Artmann, CEO of Germany talks with the Insurer TV in Baden-Baden
Newly appointed Willis Re Germany CEO Thomas Artmann has set out plans to build the business around specialist expertise, technology and a close understanding of clients’ reinsurance needs.
Artmann joins the broker with 36 years’ experience in insurance and reinsurance, including 25 years on the selling side and 11 years as CEO of a Lloyd’s syndicate. That background, he told The Insurer TV at the Baden-Baden Reinsurance Meeting, gives him experience of the pressures facing cedants as well as reinsurers.
Willis Re Germany is being built from the ground up, with Artmann prioritising the recruitment of professionals who understand the technical demands of reinsurance and the nuances of the local market. He also plans to draw on Willis Re’s global capabilities, particularly its specialty expertise and technology platforms, to support German clients.
“Using my expertise, using my experience, (I want to) support Willis and their clients, and add value to their business,”
he said.
The immediate opportunity lies in bringing the firm’s strengths in specialty lines into a market where buyers are assessing a wider range of exposures and balancing underwriting requirements with capital and earnings protection.
Artmann said the renewal environment appeared more balanced than last year.
“People are trying to optimise their portfolios rather than completely restructuring,”
he said.
Portfolio performance will be an important differentiator, he said, predicting greater recognition of well-performing books. Pricing will remain relevant, but discussions are expected to extend beyond rate to the structure and effectiveness of protection.
Natural catastrophe is high on the agenda for German insurers following the unprecedented floods in 2021 and, more recently, low river levels and heat-related impacts. Artmann said these events have underlined that Germany is exposed to the effects of climate change, even if the market has historically associated nat cat risk more readily with the US or Asia.
He also pointed to the emergence of social inflation and judicial uncertainty in casualty lines, alongside geopolitical volatility and financial market risks that can affect insurers’ balance sheets and underwriting performance. Cyber and AI present further areas of exposure and opportunity.
“We can build on that expertise and combine it with the technology we have at hand to come up with the best solutions for our clients,”
Artmann said.
Watch the full interview to hear more about:
- How German cedants are approaching renewals
- The key risks in the German insurance market
- What Willis Re will be focusing on for its clients as renewal season approaches
