FRENCH GROUP SCOR’S FIRST-HALF NET PROFIT PLUNGES TO 36M EUROS

French reinsurer SCOR today posted net attributable profit of 36m euros for the first half of this year, down from 70m euros in the same period of 1999, and turnover of 1.5bn euros, up from 1.4bn euros in the 1999 first half. The group’s gross written premiums for speciality insurance rose by 48%, while life, accident and health reinsurance “recorded firm consolidation, following exceptional growth of 62% in 1999”. Two non-recurring factors damaged operating results — the cost of additional retrocession premiums as a result of a sharp increase in the initial market cost estimates for the Lothar and Martin storms which hit France in December 1999 and heavy losses in the US from cancelled p/c contracts. SCOR noted that its “continuing selective policy in p/c reinsurance” had resulted in a large number of cancellations of business in the US market, leading to premium income for this sector falling by 10%. SCOR chairman Jacques Blondeau commented that “the first half of 2000 proved more difficult than anticipated for the profession and for SCOR alike. While our recovery forecasts have been confirmed in p/c reinsurance, with significant pricing improvements in several areas, the effects of the expected recovery, particularly in the US market, will only have full impact from 2001”.