Compliance structure and report

We consider an efficiently functioning compliance structure to be an essential tool for ensuring adherence to external rules and regulations as well as requirements imposed in-house. The compliance structure of Hannover Rück SE was therefore most recently reviewed in 2015 against the backdrop of compliance requirements associated with Solvency II.

At Hannover Re the Chief Compliance Officer as well as the Compliance Department ensure that employees are familiar with applicable laws, standards and other external directives. A worldwide compliance network of responsible compliance officers at the international locations supports the Chief Compliance Officer in his duties and reports directly to him. This means that local compliance violations can also be reported directly outside the local hierarchy. The Executive Board is updated on compliance issues in an annually compiled report.

With a view to improving cooperation within the compliance network on the European level, Hannover Re organises an annual gathering of European Compliance Officers. Supplementary to this, conference calls are held in the other quarters when the meeting does not take place. This brings about closer coordination and facilitates verification of the implementation of compliance measures.

The Compliance Unit is complemented by Compliance Committees, the members of which come from the business groups as well as from the areas of Legal, Finance, Accounting and Investments. The Compliance Committees examine contracts with a special eye to compliance with supervisory law, accounting requirements and other standards.

Adherence to internal company policies is safeguarded by the cooperation between the Chief Compliance Officer and other departments such as Group Auditing. A Web-based and anonymous whistleblower system has also been set up for the Group companies so as to enable employees, customers and third parties to report serious compliance violations in the respective local language or in English. Any tips and the resulting measures taken are included in the annual compliance report. In the year under review a tip was received through the Group-wide whistleblower system regarding alleged wrongdoing. After closer investigation, however, this conduct was found to be in conformity with the applicable rules. Employees throughout the Group are able to seek advice on compliance matters through an e-mail address linked to the Compliance Department.

Anti-corruption training

Irrespective of whether or not they belong to the ranks of management, all new members of staff at Hannover Re in Germany participate in our compliance training when they join the company; this covers, among other aspects, the topic of corruption and appropriate practices that are in conformity with the law. In 2015 three training activities were held for altogether 87 employees. In order to raise awareness among the workforce of compliance issues such as combating corruption, we use traditional communication channels including intranet portals and online newsletters. Particularly important in this context are e-mail circulars on the latest developments in financial sanctions and embargos that are sent to the affected departments and Local Offices.

Compliance Report

The Compliance Report for the 2015 calendar year was submitted to the Finance and Audit Committee in March 2016. The report describes the structure and wide-ranging activities of Hannover Re in this connection. The results of the separate data privacy reporting for the 2015 calendar year are also included in the Compliance Report. After in-depth explorations of topics such as directors' dealings, ad hoc and other notification obligations, the insider list, consultancy agreements, data privacy and international sanctions, the report concludes that only a few facts and circumstances were known that would suggest violations of compliance-related provisions. Altogether, six compliance-related incidents were reported. After extensive examination of these incidents the necessary precautions were taken in order to ensure for the future that Hannover Re is in conformity with the internal and external requirements governing its business activities. As a consequence of the incidents, internal audit measures were taken to improve the internal control system on the local level and at the interface between Home Office and branch as well as to monitor adherence to the corresponding guidelines more attentively.

A compliance risk analysis was carried out in the year under review in cooperation with the areas of Human Resources Management, Accounting and Taxation. As a result of this risk analysis, the identified risks of non-compliance and the steps taken to prevent non-compliance were documented and examined with an eye to their adequacy.

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