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Allianz

From Alfawiki
Allianz SE
Company typeSocietas Europaea (SE)
IndustryInsurance; Financial services
Founded1889 in Munich (established)
5 February 1890 in Berlin (operations began)
Key people
  • Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer
    Sirma Boshnakova
    Claire‑Marie Coste‑Lepoutre
    Barbara Karuth‑Zelle
    Klaus‑Peter Röhler
    Günther Thallinger
    Renate Wagner
    Andreas Wimmer
    * Michael Diekmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Revenue€179.8 billion (2024)[1] (2024)
Number of employees
156,626[1]
Websitehttps://www.allianz.com

The Allianz SE headquartered in Munich is a publicly traded insurance group founded in 1890 and one of the largest insurers in the world. The company operates globally under the name Allianz Group. Oliver Bäte has been Chief Executive Officer since May 2015. In 2024, with revenues of approximately €180 billion, Allianz reported a net profit of €10.5 billion (previous year: €9.0 billion).[1]

History

Founding and Rise

In 1890, the Allianz Versicherungs‑AG, established one year earlier in Munich, commenced operations in Berlin (Kochstraße). The founders included the supervisory board members of Münchener Rückversicherungs‑Gesellschaft (except Schmidt‑Polex and von Schauss), CEO Carl von Thieme, Reichstag member and mining entrepreneur Friedrich Hammacher, industrialists Heinrich Lueg and Wilhelm Oechelhäuser, and Deutsche Bank. Share capital of 4 million marks (25 % paid in) was mainly subscribed by Merck Finck & Co (≈1.5 million marks) and Deutsche Bank (≈1 million marks). Wilhelm von Finck was elected chairman of the supervisory board, with Hermann Pemsel as deputy.[2] In 1893, the first foreign branch opened in London under Carl Schreiner’s leadership, from which US business was also developed. In 1895, Allianz shares were first listed on the Berlin Stock Exchange.

In 1906, Allianz’s first major test came when it paid significant claims after the San Francisco earthquake. When the RMS Titanic sank in April 1912, Allianz also faced substantial payouts.[3]

Weimar Republic

After World War I, under CEO Kurt Schmitt (appointed 1921), Allianz pursued consolidation and expanded into aviation, political unrest, and especially motor insurance. In April 1918, in cooperation with Munich Re and the Imperial Automobile Club, the subsidiary Kraft Versicherungs‑AG was founded.

In April 1921, Allianz and Munich Re signed a “Community Agreement” linking them through shareholdings, board seats, and mutual strategic alignment, granting Allianz first‑party insurance and Munich Re reinsurance exclusivity.[4] In 1922, Allianz Lebensversicherungs‑AG was founded with 20 million Reichsmark in capital, of which Munich Re held 50 %.[5]

Through acquisitions in 1920–1923, Allianz became a leading German insurer, recording 80 million Reichsmark in premium income by 1924.[6] In 1927–28, Allianz merged with Stuttgarter Verein, forming Allianz und Stuttgarter Verein, solidifying its market leadership in life insurance at 1.6 billion Reichsmark.[7]

In August 1929, following the collapse of Frankfurter Allgemeine Versicherungs AG (FAVAG), Allianz founded Neue Frankfurter Allgemeine Versicherungs‑AG to assume FAVAG’s property insurance obligations, while life business merged into Allianz Lebensversicherung.[8]

In 1932, Allianz established a materials testing institute, later the Allianz Zentrum für Technik (AZT), to analyze losses and advise clients on risk mitigation.

National Socialist Era

Even before 1933, Allianz leadership had contacts with the National Socialists. In February 1931, Adolf Hitler met with CEO Kurt Schmitt and supervisory board chairman August von Finck; SS fundraising chief Walther Funk later claimed Allianz pledged 5 million marks if civil war broke out. Schmitt became Reich Economics Minister in June 1933.

Between 1933 and 1945, Allianz insured NSDAP sub‑organizations and, through the takeover of Jewish insurers, expanded its customer base. From 1940, the company insured SS armaments plants, prisoner barracks, material depots, and vehicle fleets in concentration camps including Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Dachau; Allianz staff conducted inspections on site.

In 1993, CEO Henning Schulte‑Noelle commissioned a corporate archive, opened in 1996. A historian group led by Gerald D. Feldman researched 1933–1945, publishing findings in September 2001; a permanent exhibition followed both on site and online.

Post‑War Period

After the 1949 Berlin Blockade, central management moved to Munich (property insurance) and Stuttgart (life insurance). In November 1954, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer inaugurated the new Munich headquarters near the English Garden, designed by Josef Wiedemann. In Stuttgart, existing facilities on Reinsburger Straße were expanded.

Allianz was first in Germany to implement electronic data processing for policy records using an IBM 650 computer. In 1958, the advertising slogan “hoffentlich Allianz versichert” was introduced; foreign business resumed in 1959. By 1990, Munich Re, holding cross‑share interests, became Allianz’s dominant shareholder.

1970–2000

From the 1970s, Allianz expanded abroad through acquisitions in Germany (Vereinte Versicherung), France (AGF), Italy (RAS), and the US (Fireman’s Fund). In the 1980s, TV commercials featured the slogan “Eine Allianz fürs Leben.”[9] In 1985, Allianz AG was formed as a holding company, serving also as group reinsurer.

In 1990, Allianz acquired State Insurance of the GDR and began Eastern European expansion, starting with Hungary’s largest insurer, Hungaria Biztosító. The group entered Asia, establishing subsidiaries in Japan, Indonesia, and China. In 1994, Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs‑AG entered the private health insurance market. In 1997, Allianz acquired 51 % of AGF for 9.2 billion DM, becoming the world’s largest insurance group.

Since 2000

The 2001 Dresdner Bank acquisition, combined with natural disasters, the 9/11 attacks, and financial market crises, led to Allianz’s first-ever loss of about € 1.2 billion. Munich Re reduced its stake to 20 %.

In May 2002, Allianz Autowelt GmbH was founded as a used‑car marketplace. Later in 2002, Vereinte Versicherung’s life operations were rebranded as Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs‑AG.

After Allianz and Munich Re ended their cross‑share agreement in 2003, by 2006 Munich Re’s holding fell to 4.9 %. On 16 September 2005, the online motor insurance brand Allianz24 launched; in 2009 it was replaced by Allsecur (now Allianz Direct Versicherung‑AG).[10]

In early 2006, the three main German entities—Allianz Versicherungs‑AG, Allianz Lebensversicherungs‑AG, and Allianz Private Krankenversicherungs‑AG—were placed under Allianz Deutschland AG, with distribution in Allianz Beratungs‑ und Vertriebs‑AG.[11]

On 13 October 2006, Allianz AG merged with RAS and converted into a European Company (SE) as Allianz SE.[12] In May 2007, Allianz acquired Selecta for approximately €1.1 billion.[13] On 31 August 2008, Allianz and Commerzbank agreed to sell Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank for €9.8 billion, completed 12 January 2009.[14]

In 2009–12, Allianz cooperated with Kaufmännische Krankenkasse on private supplementary health insurance.[15] In 2012, Allianz Deutschland’s takeover bid for Provinzial NordWest failed. In January 2013, Oldenburgische Landesbank announced the closure of its Allianz Bank branch by 30 June 2013.[16] On 23 June 2017, Bremer Kreditbank (backed by Apollo Global Management) agreed to acquire Allianz Deutschland’s 90.2 % stake in OLB for €300 million.[17]

Operations

In 2022, Allianz’s life and health insurance segment generated €75.1 billion in premiums and €3.8 billion in profit; property and casualty insurance posted €70.0 billion in revenue and €3.2 billion in profit. Asset Management managed €2.2 trillion and earned €0.9 billion, including PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors.

Allianz is the largest shareholder of Extremus Versicherung, a German terrorism risk specialist insurer.

After selling Dresdner Bank, the banking business in Germany focused on OLB. Other banking activities continue in Italy and France.

In 2013, Allianz X GmbH was founded as the group’s digital “company builder.” In January 2017, its first spin‑off was Abracar. In November 2017, Allianz X shifted to strategic investments under CEO Nazim Cetin. In 2019, its investment budget increased to €1 billion.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Kennzahlen24
  2. ↑ Harold Kluge: The Influence of Allianz on the Development of Munich Re in its First Fifty Years (1880–1930), Yearbook for Economic History, 2006/2, pp. 217–246.
  3. ↑ Reinhard Spree: “Two Chapters on Early History of the Munich Reinsurance Company: The Foundation / The San Francisco Earthquake”, Munich Discussion Paper No. 2010‑11.
  4. ↑ Gerald D. Feldman: Die Allianz und die deutsche Versicherungswirtschaft, 1933–1945, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Inflation adjustment: approx. € [amount].
  6. ↑ Gerald D. Feldman: p. 36.
  7. ↑ Gerald D. Feldman: p. 39.
  8. ↑ Barbara Eggenkämper et al., Die Frankfurter Versicherung 1865–2004, p. 22.
  9. ↑ HORIZONT, 12 July 2016; W&V, 13 July 2016
  10. ↑ Financial Times Deutschland, 28 February 2011; Manager Magazin; WiWo
  11. ↑ Allianz Deutschland AG brochure, 2007
  12. ↑ Allianz press release, 2008
  13. ↑ Finanz Nachrichten, 14 May 2007
  14. ↑ Allianz press release, 2008
  15. ↑ KKH‑Allianz press release, 2012
  16. ↑ DGAP Ad‐hoc, January 2013
  17. ↑ Weser‑Kurier, 23 June 2017
  18. ↑ Allianz press releases; Süddeutsche Zeitung, 20 February 2019

External links

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