Munich Re's Shareholder Meeting to Seal Auditor Switch and Record Payout

Munich Re's AGM approves a 24€ dividend, KPMG as new auditor, and a 2.25B€ buyback. The moves support a strategic shift to higher-margin business lines under 'Ambition 2030'.

Munich Re shareholders are set to approve a landmark capital return and a significant governance change at their annual meeting on April 29. The gathering will formalize a record dividend of 24 euros per share, a 20% increase year-on-year, while also endorsing the appointment of a new auditor following sanctions linked to the Wirecard scandal.

The proposed shift from EY to KPMG, effective for the 2026 financial year, stems directly from regulatory action. In 2023, Germany's audit oversight body, APAS, imposed fines and a temporary ban on EY taking on new listed clients after finding due diligence failures in the Wirecard case. KPMG is slated to take over the statutory audit, including sustainability reporting under the European CSRD directive.

Alongside the dividend, investors will vote on a new share buyback program of up to 2.25 billion euros. Combined, these measures represent a total planned capital return of 5.3 billion euros to shareholders.

This shareholder windfall coincides with a deliberate strategic overhaul under the "Ambition 2030" program launched in December 2025. The plan targets a return on equity exceeding 18% and annual earnings-per-share growth of more than 8% by the end of the decade. A key pillar involves shifting the business mix away from volatile natural catastrophe lines toward more stable specialty segments.

The company has already acted on this priority. At the key January 2026 renewal season, Munich Re deliberately let its premium volume shrink by 7.8% to 13.7 billion euros, choosing not to renew unprofitable contracts. Premiums in the natural catastrophe business fell by approximately six percent.

A recent management appointment underscores this strategic pivot. Andreas Moser, a company veteran since 2004 and co-founder of the insurtech accelerator Mundi Lab, was named Global Head of Credit, Surety and Political Risk Reinsurance effective April 1, 2026. His role is to expand capacity in these higher-margin niche areas. The goal is to increase the contribution of less cyclical business lines from about 50% to roughly 60% of total revenue by 2030.

The ongoing April renewal season offers an early gauge for this new portfolio profile. Management anticipates stable pricing; if confirmed, the reinsurance segment's contribution could rise to between 5.2 and 5.4 billion euros. Any declines in catastrophe business are expected to be offset by growth in life and health reinsurance and industrial customer lines.

These strategic moves are backed by firm financial targets. For 2026, Munich Re is aiming for a net result of approximately 6.3 billion euros on insurance revenue of 64 billion euros, building on a record 2025 profit of 6.1 billion euros. An efficiency program is projected to deliver annual savings of 600 million euros by 2030, up from 200 million this year, aided by increased use of artificial intelligence.

The first concrete numbers testing the effectiveness of the restrictive underwriting policy will come with the Q1 2026 results on May 12. This report will provide initial evidence on whether the strategic discipline is supporting margins and moving the return on equity toward the ambitious 18% target.