Cologne is an obvious destination for German and international insurers and reinsurers that are keen to access this huge market and the wider European Union. The city lies at the heart of the massive North Rhine Westphalia economic region that is home to almost 18 million people.
A combination of state of the art air, road and rail connections means that this region is superbly connected to the rest of Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK. Cologne Bonn Airport is particularly well connected to the UK and Ireland.
Cologne has 57 connections a week to London, 11 to Dublin, 6 to Edinburgh, 11 to Manchester and 4 to Bristol.
Vibrant and international insurance market
Well-known German and international insurance companies, from AXA and Atradius to DEVK, DKV, General Reinsurance, Gothaer, HDI, MSIG Insurance Europe AG, Roland, Scor, XL Catlin and Zurich are all based in Cologne. The new Rhineland headquarters for the global insurance giant Zurich is under construction. Zurich is moving its main offices from Bonn, while at the same time its existing Cologne offices will also be moved to the new site.
Cologne has a long and rich insurance tradition. Cologne Re, the world’s first reinsurance company, now part of the Berkshire Hathaway group, was created here in 1846 and the famous Gerling Group, now part of Talanx, was founded in this vibrant and cosmopolitan city in 1904.
Skilled local insurance workforce of over 25,000 professionals
Cologne is already one of Germany’s leading insurance centres. Almost 25,000 individuals working for 73 German insurance companies, 60 branch offices of German insurers and 20 international insurers are already located in the city. This represents well over 10% of all German insurers.
Digitalisation, Brexit and the further internationalisation of markets are changing the insurance industry comprehensively. This will require innovative action and bold decision-making and this will only be possible if the sector manages to attract and retain the best talent.
Cologne’s hand is strengthened yet further in this regard because of its two leading universities – TH Köln/Cologne University of Applied Sciences and University of Cologne – that offer advanced training in insurance, reinsurance and risk. There are also vocational colleges for young people working under training schemes in companies, and the industry itself has a number of initiatives helping to qualify young women and men.
Cutting edge home to Germany’s Insurtech centre
In April 2017 Cologne’s insurance business was given a further important boost when it was authorised by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to be the prime location for Germany’s digital insurance hub under its ‘de:hub’ initiative. The joint initiative – backed by several German and International insurers headquartered in the Cologne region, universities, start-ups and supporting companies – is called “InsurLab Germany”.
Cologne is a city of young people, the average age in Cologne is just 42 years. According to the survey of the business magazine Forbes, Cologne occupies the 8th position in the most attractive metropolises in the world for the youth.
The lifestyle of Cologne complements its solid location factors and makes this metropolis a place worth to live in – whether temporarily or permanently. A wide range of attractive shopping offerings and top events such as Art Cologne, c/o pop, ColognePride, Cologne Carnival, Kölner Lichter, lit.Cologne, Romanischer Sommer, SummerJam or the Christmas markets attract millions of visitors every year.
UK and German Insurance experts gather in London to discuss post-Brexit options. UK insurers and reinsurers advised to consider longer term options offered by mature insurance centres such as Cologne to maintain access to huge EU insurance market. Adrian Ladbury reports.
NRW.INVEST, the economic development agency of the huge North Rhein Westphalia region of Germany, is to hold a roundtable discussion on the changing investment trends for insurance companies and asset managers in the light of the UK’s departure from the European Union (Brexit) in London on March 11.
