Dr Günter Schmidt

Dr Günter Schmidt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Versicherungsgruppe Hannover, Hannover Germany, played a decisive role in the restructuring. Schmidt initiated a thorough review of the international business and, on behalf of the shareholders, developed a comprehensive restructuring plan. In addition to his duties in Hannover, he assumed the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deutsche Rück for one year in 1993/1994. 

Under his leadership, the public insurers in Germany jointly rescued Deutsche Rück. They increased the company’s equity by 100 million DM through the purchase of profit participation rights. 

The operations of Deutsche Rück UK were completely discontinued. Thereafter, the joint reinsurer of the public insurers was largely able to operate in the market free from its foreign legacy liabilities. 

A Long Chapter 

However, the full separation from the legacy London business took some time. The existing contracts still had to be settled. Jürgen Rehmann, who became Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Deutsche Rück in 1996, drove this complex process forward. Through the instrument of the “Solvent Scheme of Arrangement”, introduced in the United Kingdom in 2009 to restructure corporate liabilities, Deutsche Rück was released from all obligations arising from legacy contracts. 

Jürgen Rehmann

The Deutsche Rück UK chapter was only finally concluded in 2016 following a successful dispute with the UK financial regulator over the tax valuation of the company’s reserves. A full 40 years after entering the London market.