01 Gothaer Konzern_E_09_Umschl - Gothaer Allgemeine ...

The administration building of Gothaer Lebensversicherungsbank in Gotha,
on today’s Bahnhofstrasse, was completed in 1894.
An important milestone:
The restructuring to a vertically integrated group
1842
Conflagration in Hamburg.
20,000 people made homeless.
Acid test for the mutuality idea:
Gothaer, most seriously affected,
pays 1.5 million thalers.
View of Gotha with Schloss Friedenstein in the background
Topical Subject
In the year 2001, the four legally independent insurance operators – Gothaer Versicherungsbank
VVaG, Gothaer Lebensversicherung a. G., Berlin-Kölnische Krankenversicherung
a.G. und ASSTEL Lebensversicherung a.G. – were merged to form one enterprise.
This converted a horizontally integrated group into a vertically integrated group headed
by the mutual insurance association Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG. This step reduced
the complexity of the organization and created considerable competitive advantages for
the enterprise. The new Group model made it easier for rating agencies to assess the
individual companies and eased access to capital markets, thus allowing the Group to
exploit the financing options open to a stock corporation. With the insurance association
at the top of the enterprise, it was easier to convince members of the advantages of
membership. There is – at no cost – a Mitgliederschutzbrief, for example, offering
additional benefits for members. In the course of the restructuring, those in charge opted
deliberately for a name that is not specific to any one line of business: “Gothaer
Versicherungsbank” has high brand recognition and stands for the Company’s inclusive
approach to its product lines.
5 December 1845
Approval of Central-Sterbekasse Leo
(later Berlin-Kölnische Leben, today
Asstel Leben).
Agency sign of
Feuerversicherungsbank, c. 1840
1842 1845 1902
1 December 1902
Change of name to
Gothaer Feuerversicherungsbank
auf Gegenseitigkeit.
Gothaer Group Annual Report 2009 21