View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2008/01/25/86710.htm
Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. announced that during the January 1 renewal season it expects to write and bind approximately $2.0 billion of Non-Life premium. The figure ” does not include PartnerRe’s Non-Life facultative business or PartnerRe’s Life operations as renewal dates for both are distributed evenly throughout the year,” the bulletin explained. “Typically, approximately 55-60 percent of the total annual Non-Life treaty business is expected to renew on January 1. On a constant foreign exchange basis, the January 1 renewals would represent a 3 percent increase over total renewable expiring premium of $1.95 billion.”
President and CEO Patrick Thiele commented: “Overall, we are pleased with the January 1 renewal. We found the market to be increasingly competitive but still rational, which is characteristic of a market in transition. We were able to hold production flat despite falling prices in most major markets and despite continued retention of premium by cedants.”
Partner Re gave further details on its January renewals as follows: “To date, from a renewable premium base of approximately $1.95 billion, $1.8 billion has been resolved with $123 million in process, meaning that renewal negotiations have not been concluded. Of the $1.8 million resolved renewal premium, $275 million was not renewed. The non-renewed premium includes approximately $188 million, or 10 percent, of the resolved renewable base which was removed from the market as a result of cedants’ decisions to retain more of their business, or restructure quota share coverages to excess of loss treaties, which provide less premium. In addition, PartnerRe declined to renew approximately $87 million, or 5 percent of expiring premiums, due to pricing or terms and conditions that did not meet the Company’s objectives.
Renewal increases were primarily the result of increased participations and exposure growth on existing treaties as pricing was generally on the decline. In addition, new business totaled $257 million, which was partly the result of the acquisition of the renewal rights of the international reinsurance business of the French Monceau Group. In addition, there is an estimated $195 million of new and renewal business in process which is expected to be bound within the next month. More than half of that is new and renewal treaties in the U.S. agriculture book.”
Thiele added: “Aside from isolated pockets of increased demand and market turmoil, such as U.S. agriculture, most lines of business continued on a downward trend, as was expected. In U.S. casualty, we did not see any indication in renewal submissions of increasing loss trends, but we remain cautious in our assumptions in those areas. Overall, we were able to achieve a priced return on risk capital in the mid-teens range, above our long-term goal of 13 percent.”
Further details, including an individual table of the renewals, may be obtained on the Company’s web site at: www.partnerre.com.
Source: PartnerRe