Operator
Good day, and welcome to the Munich Re Analyst and Investors Call on Annual Results and January Renewals. Today s conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Becker-Hussong. Please go ahead, sir.
Christian Becker-Hussong
Head of Investor & Rating Agency Relations
Yeah. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our call on our full year 2020 earnings release, including 1/1 renewals and the outlook for 2021. I have the pleasure to be here with Joachim Wenning, our CEO; and Christoph Jurecka, our CFO. And both gentlemen will kick it off with their statements. And afterwards, we will go right into Q&A, and we have ample opportunity to answer your questions. So I suggest, Joachim, the floor is yours.
Insurers Ink $90 Billion in Merger Deals as They Pursue Post-Coronavirus Clout
Insurers pummeled by the pandemic are looking to deals as they race to see who’ll emerge strongest when the outbreak subsides.
The takeover of RSA Insurance Group Plc and Allstate Corp.’s largest acquisition ever have helped push industry deals announced this year to nearly $93 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. With other major companies including Zurich Insurance Group AG eyeing purchases, 2020 is on course to be one of the biggest for deals since the last financial crisis.
Insurers were already under pressure to combine before the coronavirus battered their balance sheets, with record low bond yields and mounting regulation costs chipping away at their earnings for years. As the pandemic accelerates those trends and squeezes valuations, a new sense of urgency has kicked in. With the onus on boosting income from premiums, many are focusing on bulking up in markets where they’re fi