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As a result of the growing requirement for insurance cover in commerce and industry, and on account of the catastrophic fire in Hamburg in 1842, German insurers considered their practice of mutual risk-sharing as no longer adequate.
For this reason the "Kölnische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft" (Cologne Re) was established as a stock corporation with a share capital of 3 million Talers, placed at the Cologne and the Paris stock exchange. The Foundation Charter was signed by Friedrich Wilhelm IV., King of Prussia, in Berlin on April 8, 1846.
Gustav von Mevissen (1815-1899), one of the founders and the main promoter of Cologne Re, drew up the statute of the world's first independent professional reinsurance company. He was an outstanding entrepreneur and politician from the Rhineland, founder of the commercial college, forerunner of the university of Cologne, as well as patron of various non-profit organizations like the society of Rhenish History.
Many Cologne entrepreneurs like Abraham Oppenheim, banker and owner of the eponymous bank, as well as family members of the dynasty of Rothschild in Frankfurt, Paris and London, rank among the shareholders. Surprisingly, even the widow of Honoré de Balzac, the most famous French novelist of the 19th century, owned shares of Cologne Re.
The first professional reinsurance treaty was concluded in Germany on November 2, 1852. Initial contacts were fostered with insurance companies in Europe. In 1854, Cologne Re got the license for hail and life reinsurance business, and in 1873 the company signed the first accident reinsurance treaty. In the years to come business was expanded to the United States of America (1874) and to Asia (1880).
In 1898, Cologne Re opened its first branch in Hartford, Connecticut. Cologne Re's workforce in Germany represented 87 employees in 1904. The San Francisco earthquake in 1906 posed the first catastrophic loss in Cologne Re's early history. The company had to pay claims of around 15% of its gross premium.
After the Second World War the new headquarter at Theodor-Heuss-Ring in Cologne was opened in 1953. In the following years Cologne Re established additional branch offices worldwide and extended its services and expertise.
In 1994, General Re and Kölnische Rück (Cologne Re) formed an alliance. In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re Corporation. Today, General Re owns a controlling interest in Cologne Re, and together they operate around the world from a network of branch offices and subsidiaries under the brand name Gen Re.
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