Based in the Grand Duchy since 2019 following its relocation from Zurich, TransRe Europe served as the American reinsurer’s continental platform for Europe and the Mena region. As a strategic entity, it embodied a particular vision of the insurance industry: prioritising technical profitability over growth, rigorous risk selection, prudent capital management and the return of surpluses to the group. An approach directly aligned with the historical principles of Berkshire Hathaway, where insurance serves primarily as a driver for generating ‘float’, that capital which can be deployed for long-term investment.
A sharp rise in financial performance
This philosophy is reflected in the latest financial statements published for the 2025 financial year. Business volume remains significant, with $358.5m in gross premiums written and $78.8m in net premiums earned. But the key point lies elsewhere: in the quality of the technical results. The combined ratio stands at 69.8%, a particularly low level that reflects the portfolio’s high profitability.
The income statement confirms this momentum. Underwriting profit reached $24.4m, compared with $4.2m a year earlier – an increase of nearly sixfold. Overall, net profit stood at $51.9m in 2025, compared with $13.6m in 2024. This growth is driven both by underwriting discipline and by a continued significant contribution from investment income, amounting to $18.7m.
The balance sheet also reflects this strength. Total assets stood at $1.33bn at the end of 2025, whilst equity rose to nearly $408m. This robust capital base is consistent with the group’s strategy, which prioritises resilience and the ability to absorb major shocks.
Munich, the new centre of gravity
But this presence in Luxembourg was short-lived: the group has embarked on a new relocation, this time to Munich, which was announced back in 2025 and has now been finalised. The operation, structured through a conversion into a European Company (SE) and a cross-border merger, aims to align the decision-making centre with the group’s operational heart in continental Europe. It also forms part of a broader realignment of insurers’ and reinsurers’ operations across Europe, where trade-offs between regulation, taxation and proximity to markets are becoming increasingly decisive.
Beyond geography, it is a particular culture that is fading away. That of an insurer willing to reduce its business volume when market conditions deteriorate, which prioritises the quality of risks over their quantity, and which relies on exceptional financial strength to weather the cycles. In 2025, TransRe Europe thus posted a solvency capital coverage ratio of 233%, well above regulatory requirements, illustrating this approach of structural prudence.
This philosophy originates at the very top of the group. At Berkshire Hathaway, which houses the reinsurer’s holding company, Warren Buffett has built an insurance empire founded on patience, discipline and uncompromising capital allocation. Insurance is not merely a business there, but a strategic lever serving investment. As the group’s 2025 annual report notes, this culture is based on a rigorous selection of opportunities and a marked aversion to decisions dictated by short-term objectives.
