Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherung AG Group Annual Report for ...

Management Report
Composition of the
investment portfolio
Financial year 2011
59.7 % Available for sale
29.6 % Loans
9.9 % Other investments
0.5 % At fair value through profit or loss
Financial year 2010
49.9 % Available for sale
27.9 % Loans
11.0 % Other investments
10.8 % Held to maturity
0.4 % At fair value through profit or loss
Policyholder benefits
The net policyholder benefits of € 858.5 million (PY: € 821.6 million) reported in the
financial year include all expenses incurred for insureds and other claimants by the
insurance companies of the Gothaer Allgemeine Group. In addition to claims paid, this
includes the change in the loss reserve.
Gross policyholder benefits increased by € 51.1 million to € 1.0 billion in the financial
year 2011 (PY: € 952.0 million). The upturn was due to expansion of insurance business.
Our reinsurance programme remained largely unchanged. However, high-frequency
losses in short-tail business were specially hedged in the year under review, so claims
expenses net of reinsurance were again relieved by a moderate increase in the share of
claims expenses for reinsurers. We thus registered a significantly more modest upturn
to € 858.2 million (PY: € 821.6 million). The claims expenditure included in benefits rose
to € 853.7 million (PY: € 810.2 million) in the net account, notably as a result of increased
reserving. With premium income rising and claims expenses up, the net loss ratio stood
at 68.0 % (PY: 66.3 %), thus remaining at a very good level. This is the result of the
ongoing measures taken to stabilize underwriting results.
Gothaer Allgemeine Group Annual Report 2011 13