Munich Re’s Top Brass Step In With Share Purchases as Currency Squeeze Clouds a Profit Surge

Several members of Munich Re’s management board have snapped up shares in May, signaling confidence in the reinsurer’s strategy even as the stock faces headwinds from a stronger euro and softening pricing in the April renewal season.

The most recent transaction came from board member Mari-Lizette Malherbe, who on 18 May acquired 413 shares at an average price of €478.8923 apiece via Xetra, for a total outlay of €197,782.50. The disclosure followed on 19 May and marks the fifth insider purchase this month. Chief financial officer Markus Rieß paid €476.50 per share, Stefan Golling bought at €476.19, and Achim Kassow picked up stock at €470.00 earlier in May.

The buying spree comes at a time when Munich Re’s equity has lost roughly 14% over the past 30 days. On Wednesday the stock changed hands at €487.90, up 1.22% on the day, though that still leaves it well below the year’s high and not far from the recent low of €467.30. The distance from its long-term average now stands at 9.58%, according to one article.

The market’s skittishness is rooted in two overlapping pressures: a surging euro that is eroding reported premiums and a deliberate pullback in underwriting volume designed to defend margins.

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During the April renewal season Munich Re cut its written business volume by 18.5% year-on-year, allowing contracts that did not meet return hurdles to lapse. The average price level across the portfolio slipped 3.1%, leaving the volume actually written at €2.0 billion. Management has indicated it expects price levels to hold broadly steady in the next renewal round in July.

Meanwhile, the currency backdrop has turned distinctly unfavourable. The euro traded at roughly $1.03 to the dollar at the start of last year but averaged between $1.15 and $1.20 in the first quarter of 2026. Since Munich Re books a large chunk of its premiums in dollars, the translation effect clipped reported insurance revenue by around 5%. Consolidated revenue came in at €15.018 billion, down from the prior-year period.

Under the hood, however, the operating picture remains robust. Net profit for the first quarter jumped 56.7% to €1.714 billion, powered by a sharp drop in large-loss claims and improved combined ratios. The underwriting result improved to €2.676 billion. In property-casualty reinsurance the combined ratio was 66.8%, while Global Specialty Insurance posted 83.7%. Lower catastrophe claims provided a tailwind.

The group’s capital position is rock solid. The Solvency II ratio stood at 292% at the end of March, well above the strategic floor of 200%.

Looking ahead, Munich Re is reinforcing its efficiency drive. The company aims to generate recurring cost relief of roughly €600 million by the end of the decade, with €200 million earmarked for the current year alone. The longer-term strategy calls for reducing reliance on volatile property-casualty reinsurance: by 2030 the contribution from life and health reinsurance, Global Specialty Insurance and primary insurer ERGO should rise from approximately 50% to 60% of earnings.

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Profitability targets remain unchanged. Management is guiding for a full-year net profit of €6.3 billion, a goal that was reiterated after the first-quarter result. The targeted return on equity exceeds 18%, while earnings per share are expected to grow at an average annual rate of more than 8%.

For now, the insider purchases are a signal that the boardroom sees value at current levels. Whether the stock can reclaim lost ground depends on whether currency headwinds ease and whether Munich Re’s discipline on pricing continues to be rewarded by the market. The July renewal round will offer the next major test.

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