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For the first six months of the year French reinsurer SCOR registered a robust 16 percent rise in premium income at constant exchange rates. The company attributed the rise to improving non-life reinsurance rates and the group’s selective growth policy, which has been decided for the current year.
The group’s property/casualty reinsurance lines reported 43 percent growth in premium income thanks more to better-rated property business than to casualty business. The company said this growth would have been closer to 50 percent without the withdrawal from the “Program Business” activities in the U.S., decided at the end of 2001.
In specialty reinsurance, large corporate accounts business surged 31 percent, despite a temporary downturn in space business, and this growth is set to accelerate in the second half. Conversely, non-traditional reinsurance writings were taken down 30 percent due to poor market conditions, while credit & surety business was halved following the suspension of Credit Derivatives underwriting, withdrawal from American Bond underwriting, and a more selective approach to European Credit business.
Looking ahead, SCOR expects to continue gradually improving technical results and combined ratios in its non-life business; with an average loss experience. The Q2 combined ratio on non-life business is expected to show a more-than seven percentage point improvement over the first quarter ratio, already in progress.
This positive trend was strengthened by confirmation of the estimated cost to SCOR of the World Trade Center disaster, and by the satisfactory level of technical reserves, these having already been reinforced in 2000 and 2001.