The board of directors at CCR has passed a set of resolutions to drive growth at its reinsurance subsidiary CCR Re.
The firm said in a statement that these resolutions are in line with the company’s strategic plan that it introduced last year. It said that these would also be to refocus CCR’s business activity towards, and strengthen its resources in public-sector reinsurance, particularly with a view to dealing with challenges such as insurance for natural disasters.
The board of directors is proposing that, by July 2023, a new shareholder (or group of shareholders) will acquire a €200m stake in CCR Re as part of a capital increase, which will result in holding a majority stake in the market subsidiary.
This transaction is part of the process of separating CCR’s market activities from its public-sector activities, and will also allow CCR Re to reach the size and level of profitability it needs to self-finance its growth in line with market rates.
Under the business plan adopted by CCR Re, it will therefore seek to write €2bn in gross premiums by 2027, with a 10% profitability.
To support these strategic initiatives and CCR’s ambitions in relation to public-sector reinsurance, the Board of Directors also decided to strengthen CCR’s executive management team and approved the appointment of Edouard Vieillefond as deputy chief executive officer, alongside Bertrand Labilloy, who remains chief executive officer and chairman and chief executive officer of CCR Re.
Jacques Le Pape, chairman of CCR’s board of directors, said: “We are going to provide CCR Re with the resources it needs to grow and become autonomous. This will allow CCR to strengthen its public-sector activities, at a time when natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more intense.”
The firm outlined its aims last year in its Horizon 2025 strategic plan, which was unveiled in June 2021.
Horizon 2025 is rooted on three targets, the first is deepening CCR’s involvement in natural disasters prevention. It was hoped this will contribute to a better management of the natural catastrophe reinsurance scheme and maintain its sustainability in the context of climate change.
The second is to carry on with the balanced development and transformation of CCR Re to to strengthen its position in the international reinsurance market.
Thirdly, CCR aims to consolidate its expertise in modelling and managing extreme risks and to advise the state in this field.
Earlier this month, the firm reported a 15% year-on-year rise in gross written premiums (GWP) for the first half of 2022, as the firm achieved profitable and diversified growth. The rise in premiums to €764m compares with the €665m recorded in the first half of 2021.
At the same time, the company has reported that profitability in non-life business was maintained in the period with a combined ratio of 98.2%, which is up slightly on the 97% posted a year earlier and the 96.6% reported at the end of 2021.
