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Zurich will refine spend; eliminate more reinsurers (Continued


of page 1) premium


spend with a corresponding smaller panel of reinsurers. “In 2016 we will continue to expand our


business relationship with those strategic reinsurance partners who are committed to invest in a long-term strategic relationship and where we are very familiar with the financials, the management and the strategy.” Meier said that while the percentage of


reinsurance purchased in relation to gross written premium will be fairly stable year on year, it will make further refinements to a number of reinsurance programmes, in particular natural catastrophe protection. “This will mean reinsurers not belonging


0X170_01-15_publi_mapfrere.ai


to our global core relationships end up with a reduced signing or even a complete elimination from programmes altogether,” he said. He added that the influx of capital markets money has combined with strong reinsurance


1 30/01/15 11:19


results and the fact that many cedants including Zurich are buying less treaty and facultative reinsurance compared with a few years ago, to make the market extremely competitive. “Coming through the July renewals prices


continued to go down albeit at a reduced pace compared to previous years,” he said. “While we


reinsurance


have seen mergers in the arena and a continued


share


buy-back from a number of players, there is still an abundance of reinsurance capital to be deployed. This will invariably result in a prolongation of the current ‘buyer’s market’.” He refused to be drawn on the potential


implications of the RSA deal on reinsurance spend but did reiterate that Zurich believes the deal could “bring significant benefits to us and to our investors in terms of the complementary fit of RSA’s business with our own operations and in financial terms”. The worry for reinsurers will be that further rationalisation of


Markus Meier


reinsurance spend would follow. Meier also highlighted the need to advance


the understanding on natural catastrophe perils. “There are still many exposed cities or


industrial areas where reliable modelling is either limited or simply unavailable,” he said. “I look at these challenges as opportunities— companies which embrace these challenges and strive for the survival of the fittest will be the winners of the future.” n


13.09.15 SUNDAY


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