SCOR Posts 19% Premium Gain on Half Year Non-Life Treaty Renewals

July 23, 2010

French reinsurer SCOR Group announced that P/C and Specialty treaty renewals at the end of June resulted in premium growth of 19 percent at constant exchange rates. In addition SCOR stressed that the renewals had fully respected “technical underwriting profitability criteria.”

These renewals related to around 10 percent of the total annual volume of treaty premiums,” the bulletin continued. “They are evidence of SCOR Global P&C’s strengthened competitive position, its repositioning in the USA, Australia and South Africa and improved conditions in certain regions (such as Latin America) and in certain business lines (such as credit & surety and energy).”

Concerning the increased diversity, SCOR pointed out: “The “geographic rebalancing of P&C treaties towards the Americas and Asia-Pacific continues, with an increase in premiums underwritten in the USA in the regional business segment excluding natural catastrophes segment (+67 percent), in Australia (+32 percent), in Latin America (+12 percent, excluding Caribbean), in South Africa (+28 percent) and in the Middle East (+22 percent). The underwriting policy focusing on short-tail risks is continued.

“Specialty treaties have also experienced volume growth of 15 percent, thanks to share increases in sectors which benefit from favorable price conditions, such as credit & surety (+62 percent) and transport & energy (+46 percent), or those with stable conditions such as construction (+12 percent).”

Overall renewal conditions “follow cycles which are fragmented by sector and market, and reinsurance prices remain disciplined despite certain over-capacities; this results in significant increases in sectors and markets affected by losses and limited reductions elsewhere,” SCOR explained. Although in the U.S. there is a greater extent of “natural catastrophe business in which financial market competition plays a part. In this context, SCOR has seen a weighted average price increase on its renewed business of nearly 1 percent, illustrating the dynamic management of the portfolio and contributing to the continued improvement of the expected technical profitability.”

CEO Victor Peignet commented: “These renewals demonstrate the dynamism of SCOR’s underwriting teams and the confidence of their clients. They are truly excellent. With this success at the third key renewal date of this year after those of 1/1 and 1/4, we are confident that we will achieve the overall premium levels indicated earlier in the year in our January 2010 renewal presentation. Even more importantly, the underlying profitability of the underwritten business, on a normalized cat budget, is in line with the communication given in January.”

Source: SCOR Group

Topics Property Casualty

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