Swiss-based reinsurer Echo Re has reported a substantial increase in gross written premium in its 2022 full year results, up to CHF 283.6 million.
Total technical income for 2022 was CHF 222.1 million, an increase from CHF 188.9 million in 2021.
Total technical expenses for the year were CHF 208.8 million, which included expenditures for claims incurred of CHF -137.1 million, and acquisition and administration costs of CHF -70.3 million.
Still, the technical result for 2022 stood at CHF 13.3 million, a considerable increase from CHF 2.1 million in 2021.
Echo Re’s investment income was also up at CHF 6.2 million, though higher investment expenses for the year drove the overall investment result down slightly.
The firms operating result in 2022 was CHF 15 million, while total profit for the year stood at CHF 13.3 million, compared to CHF 5.4 million in 2021.
In a written statement, Echo Re said, “In the year 2022 the global reinsurance market underwent a significant shift in terms of risk appetite and reinsurance pricing which finally marked a turning point after years of a soft market cycle.
“After years of persistent underperformance of the reinsurance sector which has also been driven by above average catastrophe losses, some reinsurers and retrocessionaires reviewed their appetite towards NatCat risks with some reinsurers scaling back or ceasing underwriting of the same.
“With a lack of new traditional and non-traditional capacities entering the market as well as ILS capital being trapped due to loss events, terms and conditions showed significant hardening throughout 2022 culminating in a very late renewal at the end of the year.
The firm continued, “Echo Re experienced a comparatively moderate claims activity from events occurring in 2022 with losses from “KZN Kwazulu flooding“ in South Africa being most relevant but staying well within Echo Re’s retention.
“As a result, Echo Re is proud to announce another year showing further improved positive technical results.
“Based on the very strong foundation being set by Echo Re’s Management together with the whole team over the last years, we expect that the current market environment allows for improved technical margins as well as higher absolute returns from the investment portfolio.
“Starting into the 15th year of operation, we see this as an exciting opportunity to leverage Echo Re’s long-term strategy to successively build a diversified reinsurance portfolio.
“We would like to thank all employees for their commitment and contribution over the last years and especially in 2022. Finally, we sincerely thank business partners for the trustful, long-standing and mutually beneficial relationships being built over the last years.”
Echo Re was established in November 2008 in Zurich as a public limited company and received its reinsurance license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of DEVK Deutsche Eisenbahn Versicherung Sach- u. HUK-Versicherungsverein a.G. Betriebliche Sozialeinrichtung der Deutschen Bahn with its headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
Its reinsurance portfolio mainly covers business from P&C as well as a broad range of specialty lines of business from cedants in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
