Jean-Jacques Henchoz

Jean-Jacques Henchoz has served as CEO of Hannover Re since 2019, leading the world's third-largest reinsurer by gross written premium. Unlike the more diversified Munich Re and Swiss Re, Hannover Re is a focused reinsurance specialist — it does not operate primary insurance or asset management businesses, making it one of the purest plays on the global reinsurance market. Hannover Re operates through two divisions: Property-Casualty reinsurance (covering natural catastrophe, specialty, and structured risks) and Life-Health reinsurance (providing mortality, morbidity, and longevity risk transfer solutions to life insurers globally). The company has built a reputation for disciplined underwriting — willing to reduce volumes rather than accept inadequate pricing — which has driven consistently strong combined ratios and return on equity above the 14% target. The reinsurance industry is experiencing a structural repricing driven by increased natural catastrophe frequency and severity (climate change), higher inflation, and reduced alternative capital appetite. This "hard market" has significantly benefited disciplined players like Hannover Re. Key stock drivers include reinsurance pricing cycles, natural catastrophe losses, reserve adequacy, interest rate environment (investment income on float), life reinsurance mortality trends, and the competitive dynamics among the top global reinsurers.