Company profile: Tunis Re

The Société Tunisienne de Réassurance (Tunis Re), formerly Tunisia’s state reinsurer, had one of its toughest years in 1999. The company, whose shareholders (in addition to the Tunisian government) now include the country’s leading banks and insurers, saw its pre-tax profit halved in 1999 from TD2.4mn to TD1mn. This poor performance was largely down to heavy underwriting losses across the company’s entire portfolio. The fire, life and transport accounts were particularly hard hit.