MUNICH RE COMPLETES AMERICAN DEAL

Munich Re has completed its purchase of US-based specialty insurer Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) from New York-based AIG, the German reinsurer announced this morning. Munich Re’s Peter Röder, board member responsible for North America, said that “with the acquisition of the HSB Group, we are continuing as planned to expand our position in the US specialty insurance niche segments. This is part of our strategy to grow profitably in the US, the world’s most important insurance market”. HSB, which specializes in engineering risks, will be managed as a standalone operation with Munich Re America. About half its 2,400 employees are engineers. The $742m price will be financed from Munich Re’s internal resources. The deal was originally announced at the end of December 2008 ( IIN 24 , December 22 2008) and was AIG’s first major divestiture after being taken over by the US government in September 2008.