Interview:


Karl Fink, VIG Re


Stable European renewal is expected, says VIG Re


Regulatory challenges and catastrophe losses will dominate discussions at this year’s Baden-Baden, Karl Fink, chief executive of VIG Re, tells Intelligent Insurer.


G


iven Baden-Baden’s location at the geographical heart of Europe, it is little


wonder that so many of the conversations at this year’s meeting are likely to focus on issues related to continental business and the new regulatory regime that looms just over the horizon. This is the view of Karl Fink, chief executive of VIG Re, who believes that Baden- Baden will give the industry the opportunity to discuss recent global events in a European context. “I expect conversations will centre around


the recent global natural catastrophe and the price for capacities in Europe,” he says. “Sol- vency II will also be a hot topic, especially in the context of reinsurance, as urgency is rising due to regulatory deadlines.” Given that Europe has, for the most part,


been spared any serious natural catastrophe events, Fink believes that the next renewals will see stable pricing. “We are expecting a stable renewal in Eu-


rope without major shifts in pricing,” he says. “This stability will also be reflected in our of- fering to our cedants, along with continuity in partnership and a consistent, transparent ap- proach. For new clients we present the possibil- ity to further diversify their reinsurance panel with a secure partner, in the context of Sol- vency II and the rising focus on counterparty credit risk.”


Karl Fink, chief executive of VIG Re


previous years.” But there are, in Fink’s opinion, many chal-


lenges facing the European market and no-one should be resting on his laurels just yet, as regu- latory change and financial uncertainty im- pacts the market. “Again, Solvency II has to be mentioned


“I expect conversations will centre around the recent global natural catastrophe and the price for capacities in Europe. Solvency II will also be a hot topic, especially in the context of reinsurance, as urgency is rising due to regulatory deadlines.”


Despite there being no significant catastro-


phe losses in Europe, some have suggested that prices should rise in Europe, but Fink disagrees. “We have a very clear opinion on this topic,”


he says. “It is our strong belief that European insurers should not suffer from non-European losses; after all, the European market had to bear the price increase of its own local losses in


and also the European economical crisis, espe- cially the national debt situation in several Eu- ropean countries,” he says. “Insurance, as well as the reinsurance industry, is highly impacted by insufficient investment gains, and indirectly, also by the new wave of financial difficulties hitting European banks, as this affects primary insurance clients.”


8 | INTELLIGENT INSURER —BADEN-BADEN TODAY | Monday October 24 2011 During these uncertain times, because of its


corporate structure, VIG Re has a lot to offer to its cedants, argues Fink. “We have the flexibility of a small unit while


at the same time being endorsed with a strong fi- nancial background, presenting an additional A+ capacity,” he says. “We are easily accessible, our lean structure avoids lengthy escalation routines, and we are dedicated to fast and transparent feed- back to our clients. This year we have started to offer facultative reinsurance, and we are able to provide our clients with access to high level risk management and loss adjustment services. “We are also well advanced in our initial


plan regarding premium income and have en- countered stable results. Due to the fact that we present a new feature in the reinsurance land- scape, and have a team that is fast in answering times and can well relate to the issues insurance companies have to face, we expect a strong pre- mium development and a growing value to the market.”


www.intelligentinsurer.com


24.10.11 MONDAY


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20