Postbank and Talanx extend cooperation - Talanx takes over BHW Leben and PB Versicherungen

 

- Talanx acquires 100% stake in BHW Leben and BHW Pensionskasse

- With the acquisition of 50% in PB Leben and PB Sach, these companies are now wholly owned by the Talanx Group

- Talanx pays a total of € 550 million

- Sales force of the Group increases significantly: Access to almost 15 million customers through network of 850 branches, 4,300 mobile financial services advisers and direct sales channels operated by Postbank

- Existing joint venture between the biggest German retail bank and Germany's third largest insurer agreed exclusively for a further 15 years

- Headcount for the companies remains unchanged

- The products of both companies are marketed under the established "PB" brand

Cologne, 18 July 2007

The transaction is subject to approval by the anti-trust and regulatory authorities which the companies are expecting in autumn of this year.

 

BHW Leben, BHW Pensionskasse and PB Versicherungen retain their company head offices in Hameln and Hilden respectively, although the BHW brand will no longer be marketed in the insurance sector. The companies will pursue a uniform product and brand strategy and market their products under the established "PB" brand exclusively through the sales channels operated by Postbank. BHW Leben (gross premium income for 2006: € 337 m) and PB Versicherungen (gross premium income for 2006: € 268 m) together comprise a premium volume of € 605 m and an insurance portfolio of 1.3 million policies. The two companies each have approximately 100 employees and have an extremely favourable administrative and sales cost ratio.

 

Postbank and Talanx have been partners in the insurance sector for many years. The two companies established a joint venture with PB Versicherungen in 1998. Norbert Kox, Talanx Board Member responsible for the portfolio bancassurance and Chairman of the Board of Management of PB Versicherungen, commented: "Continuation and expansion of cooperation is a clear indication of our joint success model and an expression of mutual trust." According to Kox, an important issue in the decision to join forces with Talanx related to the administrative synergies generated in the Talanx division. As a result of the streamlined operations, these companies were among the most cost-effective and efficient in the German life insurance market. He continued by saying that this was an extremely important factor for implementation of the imminent statutory requirements entailed in the EU Intermediaries Directive, reform of the German Insurance Contract Act (VVG) and Solvency II. The large number of good ratings for PB Versicherungen have also ensured that Postbank is in a position to offer its customers attractive products.

 

The companies in the Talanx Bancassurance division have fully integrated insurance business within the structures of their relevant banking partners. Kox: "Our insurance companies are developing insurance products with product and service strategies tailored precisely to the relevant partners." The products are fully integrated within the brand architecture, sales workflow and IT systems of the banking partner. The functions are clearly allocated between insurer and banking partner: while the insurance company supplies know-how on product development, the banking partner provides its sales channels and interfaces at all organizational levels.

 

Today, Talanx has three large national and three international banking and postal joint ventures in the Bancassurance division. Apart from Postbank, Talanx has been cooperating successfully in Germany with Citibank Privatkunden AG & Co KGaA for many years. The Group has also been working with a large number of savings banks through Neue Leben Versicherungen. Total premium volume generated through these joint ventures amounted to € 2.2 bn in 2006. The total number of policies amounted to nearly 2 million. New business generated by Talanx through the three joint ventures referred to above has significantly outperformed the market average over recent years. The concept has also enjoyed success on the international stage. The joint venture with the Hungarian postal service has demonstrated that the Talanx business model is also successful abroad. In less than five years, the Hungarian company achieved a market share of 5 percent in motor insurance. This year, the division will be launching new activities in Russia and Turkey. Haas: "We have shown that we are able to export our bancassurance model successfully. This contributes to the segmental and regional diversification of the Group and is therefore a key building block in the Talanx equity story."

 

Haas underscored the importance of today's agreement with Postbank for the Group: "The attractiveness of bancassurance is also currently being demonstrated particularly clearly across Europe in a number of extremely keenly fought battles among companies bidding for bank insurers. Our advantage is that this sales channel still has enormous potential, especially in the German market." Compared with other European markets, this sales channel remains underused. Haas: "We are now on the brink of a sales success story: We established our position in bancassurance at an early stage and this has now been secured over the long term. We have joined forces with strong sales partners on an exclusive basis and these two factors mean we are a winner in the competition."

 

With a premium income of nearly € 20 billion for 2006, the Talanx Group is Germany's third-largest insurance group. Talanx operates as a multibrand provider. Its brands include HDI, Gerling, HDI-Gerling, Hannover Re - one of the world's biggest reinsurers, Aspecta, CiV Versicherungen, PB Versicherungen, Neue Leben, and financial services provider AmpegaGerling. The Hanover-based Group is active in 150 countries. Talanx grew the fastest of the biggest European insurance groups during recent years. Rating agency Standard & Poor's has given Talanx a financial strength rating of A+/stable (very good).

 

PB Versicherungen, Hilden, are subsidiaries of Talanx AG in Hanover. They market their products exclusively through the sales channels of Postbank and Deutsche Post. The product range comprises various private pension insurance policies, as well as term life insurance, credit life insurance and personal accident insurance. In addition, all five methods of implementing company pension schemes are offered through PB Pensionsfonds AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of PB Versicherung AG.

Ratings:

      Fitch: "A (strong)" (08/2006);

      Assekurata: A (good) (09/2006);

      Prof. Dr. Jörg Finsinger: "4-star", (WirtschaftsWoche 11/2006);

      Institute for Provision and Financial Planning: "Dommermuth Award" for instant pension PB Sofort Rente and personal pension insurance PB Komfort Rente (10/2006);

      Franke & Bornberg: "FFF - outstanding" for fund-linked pension insurance PB Privat Rente dynamik (06/2005)

 

For further information contact:

Thomas v. Mallinckrodt     +49 (0) 511-37 47-20 20

Sabine Kiencke                  +49 (0) 2103-347 175 (on PB Versicherungen)