DBV-Winterthur Holding AG

DBV-Winterthur Holding AG was a prominent German insurance holding company that operated from 1996 to 2010, serving as a subsidiary of the Swiss Winterthur Group and later becoming part of the AXA Group. The company was formed through the strategic merger of Deutsche Beamten-Versicherung (DBV), originally established in 1872 by Kaiser Wilhelm I as the Lebensversicherungsanstalt für die Armee und Marine, with Winterthur-Versicherung Munich in 1996. Headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, with operational centers in Munich, Hamburg, Offenbach am Main, and Cologne, DBV-Winterthur employed 4,370 people and specialized in serving public sector employees and civil servants. The holding company controlled three main subsidiaries: DBV-Winterthur Lebensversicherung AG, DBV-Winterthur Krankenversicherung AG, and DBV-Winterthur Versicherung AG, offering comprehensive insurance solutions across life insurance (55% of premium income), health insurance (27%), and property insurance (18%). Following Credit Suisse's sale of the Winterthur Group to AXA for €9 billion in June 2006, DBV-Winterthur underwent a systematic integration process, transferring business operations to AXA at the end of 2006 and transitioning all employees to AXA companies on January 1, 2008. The holding company was renamed DBV Holding AG in August 2009 and was subsequently merged with WinCom Versicherungs-Holding AG in September 2010, officially ceasing to exist. Today, the DBV brand continues as AXA's specialized insurance division for public sector employees, maintaining its historical focus on serving civil servants, teachers, police officers, and other government workers throughout Germany.