Annual Report 2021 of the Cologne Research Centre for Reinsurance

The challenges facing the reinsurance industry remain considerable. For the reinsurance sector, 2021 was marked by claims for natural disasters (Hurricane Ida, flooding in Europe, etc.) and the coronavirus pandemic. The Cologne Research Centre for Reinsurance analyses the latest developments in the reinsurance market and, where appropriate, monitors these through research projects. In the process, the Research Centre for Reinsurance links its research activities with practices in the reinsurance sector. Hereby, and facilitated through organisation of the annual Cologne Reinsurance Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the Sponsoring Group Reinsurance [Förderkreis Rückversicherung], a bi-directional transfer of knowledge between theory and practice is pursued. The content of these two scientific events, as well as the completed research projects, are incorporated into scholarship and instruction at the Institute of Insurance Studies, rounding out practice-oriented training in the field of reinsurance. There are ten researchers and four professors currently on the staff of the Cologne Research Centre for Reinsurance. Thereby, all material and personnel costs are fully financed by third-party funds provided by the Sponsoring Group Reinsurance. This funding helped facilitate the doctorate of Mr Frank Cremer, among other things. At the 14th Annual Meeting of the Sponsoring Group Reinsurance held in 2021, a decision was taken to provide financial support to the non-profit organisation ‘Hilfe für Guinea e.V.’ The donation will benefit the La Lumière Scolaire project. This project finances the construction and operation of schools for the children of disabled and homeless people in Guinea. The Cologne Research Centre for Reinsurance is accredited as an official research focus of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.