'Reinsurers better placed than banks'

Scor, the world's fifth-biggest reinsurer, said on Monday that the global reinsurance industry was better placed to withstand the blows of the financial crisis than banks. "Reinsurers have a longer-term investment view of around 7-8 years and they always have a positive cash flow, which means they don't have to rush to sell assets at a loss," Scor Chairman and Chief Executive Denis Kessler told Reuters.
"We can hold onto assets until their value appreciates since we don't have any liquidity issues," he added. Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, kept its medium-term financial goals earlier this month, although smaller rival Hannover Re dropped its 2008 outlook due to a plunge in the value of its equity investments. Last year, Scor bought Swiss reinsurer Converium in a deal which Scor says made it the world's fifth-largest reinsurer. The Converium take-over followed an earlier acquisition of German reinsurer Revios by Scor.