History

2007

RGA posted $2.1 trillion of life reinsurance in force and was worldwide market leader in facultative underwriting, processing 253,830 facultative submissions, of which 101,416 cases were underwritten by the U.S. facultative team.

RGA opened representative offices in Germany and Italy. Operations in France, Spain and Taiwan received approval to function as branch offices.

RGA’s U.S. division launched a highly successful series of webcast seminars for clients.

RGA was named “Best Overall Life Reinsurer” for the second consecutive time by North American life insurers in the biennial Flaspöhler Cedant Survey (Life—North America). NMG Financial Services Consulting’s Asia Pacific study ranked RGA first in new business cessions and first in stand-alone facultative service in the region.

2006

RGA announced the formation of a new company in Mumbai, RGA Services India Private Limited.

A study published by NMG Financial Services Consulting recognized RGA as the leading life reinsurer in the Asia Pacific region in terms of assumed new business.

RGA opened a representative office in Warsaw, and expansion in Central and Eastern Europe continued with the signing of first-time treaties in France, Belgium, and Germany.

2005

RGA was again named “Life Reinsurance Company of the Year” in The Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards, cited for its astute global expansion and described as a “smart operator.” Earlier in the year, RGA Reinsurance Company was named “Best Overall Life Reinsurer” by ceding companies in the 2005 Flaspöhler Cedant Survey (Life—North America).

RGA, which began serving South Korean clients in 1996, received branch license approval there. RGA officially opened its Beijing Representative Office.

2004

RGA was named "Life Reinsurance Company of the Year" by The Review in The Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards, being cited for smart growth, strong results, and a well-regarded management team.

RGA received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish a Representative Office in Beijing.

2003

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) and RGA announced a definitive agreement whereby RGA would acquire through coinsurance the traditional U.S. life reinsurance business of Allianz Life. The transaction added over $240 billion of life insurance in force to RGA's book of business and brought RGA's total in force to more than $1 trillion.

RGA became the first foreign-owned life reinsurer licensed to conduct business in Japan.

2002

RGA expanded its Asia Pacific operations by opening a Representative Office in Seoul. The Korea office was RGA’s sixth location in the Asia Pacific region.

MetLife chose to pilot RGA's Automated Underwriting and Risk Analysis (AURA).

RGA opened a liaison office in Mumbai, India.

RGA's Asia Pacific and Europe and South Africa divisions merged into a new International Division.

2001

RGA announced the creation of a new business unit, RGA Technology Partners (RTP), devoted to developing niche software solutions built for the life insurance industry. RTP began marketing two new underwriting software programs: AURA and the Facultative Underwriting Application Console.

RGA appeared in the Forbes Platinum 400 Best Companies list in Forbes magazine.

RGA signed its first treaty in India, and RGA Reinsurance Company of South Africa Limited achieved leading facultative reinsurer status in South Africa.

2000

In January, MetLife and GenAmerica Corporation completed an agreement, whereby MetLife acquired GenAmerica and its subsidiaries, including General American Life Insurance Company. Through this acquisition, MetLife gained effective control of RGA. MetLife's total ownership position in RGA increased to approximately 58 percent with the addition of General American's holdings in the company.

In April, RGA announced an agreement whereby Ohio National Financial Services, Inc., would purchase RGA's interest in several Chilean operations, including RGA Sudamerica, S.A., RGA Reinsurance Company Chile, S.A., and Bhif America Seguros de Vida, S.A.

RGA Reinsurance UK Limited received its license to begin offering full-fledged reinsurance products and services to the U.K., Ireland, and offshore markets. The Asia Pacific Division reported over $100 million in revenue and processed more than 22,000 applications—a 70 percent increase over 1999.

RGA announced in October that it had acquired the 60 percent interest in RGA/Swiss Financial Group, L.L.C., that it did not already own and changed the name to RGA Financial Group, L.L.C.

Life reinsurance in force reached $500 billion—an increase of $347 billion in five years.

1999

RGA began the year with a three-for-two stock split on each class of two common stocks outstanding.

The company opened its fifth Asian location, the RGA Taiwan Liaison Office, and announced the official opening of RGA Argentina S.A. in Buenos Aires.

In August, MetLife Insurance Company and GenAmerica Corporation reached a definitive agreement whereby MetLife proposed to acquire GenAmerica and its subsidiaries, including General American Life Insurance Company. Under this agreement, MetLife would gain effective control of RGA through General American’s 53 percent equity ownership position. On November 24, RGA successfully completed its private placement of $125 million in common stock with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife).

In only its third year of operations in the Australia and New Zealand markets, RGA Life Reinsurance Company of Australia Limited had business with every life insurance company in those countries. Business in Japan increased 75 percent in its fourth year of operations.

1998

RGA celebrated its 25th year in reinsurance and its 5th year as a publicly held company.

In April, RGA joined with the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis to co-sponsor the RGA/Washington University Longer Life Foundation.

RGA opened a Representative Office in Mexico City — RGA's third location in Latin America. RGA Life Reinsurance Company of Australia Limited achieved profitability in its second year of operations. Also in May, RGA completed the first Australian financial reinsurance transaction to be approved under the Life Insurance Act of 1995. In July, RGA's U.S. facultative division reached another milestone in the processing of its one-millionth facultative life application. In November, RGA expanded its operations to six continents, opening RGA Reinsurance Company of South Africa Limited, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

1997

RGA's total revenue and market capitalization both topped the $1 billion mark; reinsurance in force reached $227 billion.

RGA stock split three-for-two in July.

The company organized the Institutional Markets Division to explore new opportunities in distribution of life insurance products.

RGA entered into a joint venture relationship with the members of the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) to establish the Malaysian life reinsurance Group Berhad, Malaysia's first domestic reinsurance company.

1996

The company marked its third straight year of at least 15 percent growth in earnings.

The Asia Pacific Division expanded with the formation of RGA Reinsurance Company of Australia Limited.

1995

RGA took on the financial reinsurance business of the former ITT Lyndon Life through a joint venture with Swiss Re named the RGA/Swiss Financial Group L.L.C.

RGA opened offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

1994

RGA's first full year as a public company was marked by international expansion, with two new divisions, Latin America and Asia Pacific, and an office in Madrid, the company's first formal presence in Europe.

RGA's total life reinsurance in force rose to $129 billion.

1993

In May, General American's reinsurance line went public as the company completed an initial public offering of common stock in the Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA).

1992

First international expansion – RGA Life Reinsurance Company of Canada, resulting from General American Reinsurance’s two major acquisitions, National Reinsurance of Canada’s life insurance line, and a majority interest in Great Rivers Management Company and Adrian Baker Reinsurance Intermediaries, both operating in the special risk market.

1991

Arrangement with Lloyd's of London for facilities to cover specified risk.

Reinsurance division installed new online underwriting system.

1990

With new sales volume of $23.4 billion, General American was ranked the second-largest life reinsurer in the U.S.

1989

The reinsurance division became General American's largest line of business, with $66 billion in force and nearly 900,000 policies administered for clients. The division formed its first business relationships with life insurers in Canada and Europe.

1988

With total reinsurance in force of nearly $56 billion and more than 100 leading U.S. companies as clients, General American moved up to the No. 3 ranking among the 30 life reinsurers operating in the U.S. Expansion into special risk and financial reinsurance.

1987

The reinsurance division took a major step forward in automation and the formation of a separate systems department dedicated to reinsurance business. First sales trips outside North America, to Germany, Italy, and the U.K.

1986

General American Reinsurance moved up to a No. 5 ranking in the industry with nearly $32 billion total reinsurance in force.

1985

Sales of nearly $50 million of premium exceeded 1984's results by 285%. Reinsurance division joined 15 other insurers in launching a pool to promptly issue up to $20 million on an individual life.

1984

General American became the eighth-largest life reinsurer in the industry; $7.8 billion of new business in force more than doubled the company's in-force total. First deployment of individual workstations.

1983

Targeting the largest life companies in the U.S. led to an increase in life reinsurance in force to $5.4 billion, nearly twice as much as the year before.

1981

General American’s reinsurance division became one of the first companies in the life insurance industry to use faxes to communicate with clients.

1980

Premiums on reinsurance sales topped $1 million, doubling 1979's total, with 40 client companies.

1979

Reinsurance added its first part-time actuarial support – Greig Woodring, now RGA’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

1978

Separate department established for facultative underwriting, with a staff of two.

1977

First salesperson was hired and first major mutual company client, Connecticut Mutual, placed substantial business with the fledgling reinsurance division. Sales volume increased to $121 million.

1974-1976

Reinsurance sales increased from $55 million in force (1975) to $87 million in 1976. The reinsurance staff consisted of five people—all administrators, no ‘sales associates’.

1973

General American launched a life reinsurance division after developing strong reinsurance relationships with major companies.