Passing the baton

On January 21st over 100 representatives of the European insurance market gathered to say their farewells to Helmut Jäger, long-standing Managing Director of DR Swiss, and to welcome his successor Frank Schaar. Dr. Arno Junke, Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Zurich-based reinsurance company thanked Jäger for his achievements: "Our Swiss subsidiary might be a rather small company, but it creates great impact by consistently focussing on its clients. This is one of Helmut Jäger’s significant merits".

Helmut Jäger has left DR Swiss on Dezember 31st, 2010. After founding the company in September 2000, he guided its fortunes as Managing Director and Delegate of the Administrative Board. Jäger began his professional career in 1970 as an underwriter for Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft. From 1978 to 1982 he worked as an authorized officer for the Interbroke Ltd. Until 1998 Jäger established the facultative reinsurance business at Winterthur Schweizerische Versicherungs-Gesellschaft. When the Winterthur-Rück portfolio was taken over by Partner Re in 1999 he also changed the company.

Frank Schaar has been appointed as DR Swiss’ new Managing Director on January 1st, 2011, in addition to his position as a member of the Executive Board at the Duesseldorf based parent company Deutsche Rück AG. He had already joined the subsidiary’s executive board as Helmut Jäger’s designated successor on 20 September 2010. Schaar began his professional career in 1982 at E+S Rück and was responsible for the non-life business with the German shareholding companies. From 1998 to 2000 – as central divisional director and member of the Extended Management Board – he headed the non-life treaty underwriting operations of Hannover Re in the business divisions of Asia, Australia and Africa. In the year 2000 he was appointed as CEO of Converium Deutschland AG and in 2001 he was nominated for the Group Executive Committee of Converium Holding AG. In September 2008 Schaar became member of the Executive Board of Saxum AG in Saarbrücken, until he changed to Deutsche Rück AG as Chief Underwriting Officer in March 2010.

DR Swiss, Deutsche Rückversicherung Switzerland Ltd., was founded in Zurich on September 11th, 2000. Its shareholders are Deutsche Rück AG with a 75 percent stake and the VHV Holding AG with a 25 percent stake. Since 2006 the rating agency Standard & Poor’s has constantly affirmed DR Swiss’ A+ rating. In 2009 gross premiums written amounted to CHF 439 million.