# Zurich Insurance Germany

Zurich Insurance Germany is an Insurance based in Cologne, Germany.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Insurance
- **Headquarters:** Cologne, Germany
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** Cologne, Germany
- **Founded:** 1875
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** zurich.de
- **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/company/zurich-gruppe-deutschland

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Zurich Insurance Germany is the German operating entity of Zurich Insurance Group, tracing its local roots to 1875. CEO Carsten Schildknecht runs the Cologne-headquartered business, which operates as a primary underwriter across property, casualty, and life lines for the German market. The entity functions as a major domestic institutional asset owner, investing policyholder premiums and shareholder capital to match long-dated insurance liabilities. The firm's general-account investment strategy spans direct real estate, infrastructure credit, and impact-aligned allocations. Confirmed German commercial property holdings include Elsenheimerstrasse Property in Munich and Ostkreuz Property in Berlin. The firm extends private credit through trade-credit insurance and surety lines, with Markus Deubert serving as Head of Underwriting for Credit Lines. Its impact investment portfolio targets global opportunities, complementing the domestic real-asset book. The German unit operates as part of Zurich Insurance Group, which reported roughly 4,700 investment professionals and staff across its global operations. Local offices span Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin. The firm's flagship philanthropic vehicle, the Zurich Kinder- und Jugendstiftung, focuses on children and youth welfare in Germany, while the Z Zurich Foundation operates as the group-level charitable arm. The German entity is a key member of GDV (Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft), the industry association that shapes regulatory and market standards for German insurers. What structurally differentiates Zurich Germany from a standalone asset manager is its liability-driven investment mandate: asset allocation is governed by Solvency II capital requirements, forcing a heavy allocation to investment-grade fixed income and real assets that match the duration of insurance policy obligations. This regulatory posture produces a portfolio biased toward long-dated, income-generating real estate and infrastructure — a distinctly different risk profile from a family office or endowment.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Private Credit
- Impact Investing

## Offices

- Frankfurt
- Munich
- Berlin

## People

- Carsten Schildknecht — CEO of Zurich Gruppe Deutschland
- Claudia Cordioli — Group Chief Financial Officer
- Horst Nussbaumer — Chief Operating Officer of Zurich Gruppe Deutschland
- Markus Deubert — Head of Underwriting, Credit Lines

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Zurich Insurance Germany?

Investment strategy is set within the group-level asset management function under Group CFO Claudia Cordioli, with local German asset-liability management overseen by CEO Carsten Schildknecht. The firm does not operate a standalone German CIO office; allocation decisions follow the global Zurich Insurance Group framework, tailored to local regulatory requirements under BaFin and Solvency II.

### How does Zurich Germany's investment portfolio split between real estate, fixed income, and alternatives?

Like most European insurers, the bulk of general-account assets are allocated to investment-grade fixed income to meet Solvency II capital charges. Its alternatives exposure extends to an impact investment portfolio and private-credit lines originated through its trade-credit underwriting business.

### Which sectors does Zurich Insurance Germany explicitly avoid?

The Zurich Insurance Group maintains a publicly stated policy excluding investments in companies that derive revenue from controversial weapons, and applies ESG screens across its general account. Specific German-level exclusions are not publicly itemized but mirror the group framework, which also restricts thermal-coal-related investments.

### How does Solvency II regulation shape Zurich Germany's asset allocation?

Solvency II imposes risk-based capital charges that penalize volatile asset classes, making long-dated investment-grade bonds, direct real estate, and infrastructure equity the natural fit for the firm's liability-matching requirements. This regulatory framework effectively mandates the conservative, income-oriented portfolio posture observed in the German entity's balance-sheet assets.

### How is Zurich Germany's investment function related to the global Zurich Insurance Group?

Zurich Germany operates as a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The German entity manages its own local regulatory capital and domestic real-asset book but follows group-level asset management and risk guidelines set by the global CFO and investment teams. Asset-liability matching, credit underwriting, and direct property management are executed locally.

## Related profiles

- [Zurich Gruppe Deutschland](https://altss.com/profile/zurich-gruppe-deutschland)
- [Zurich Insurance Group](https://altss.com/profile/zurich-insurance-group)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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