The organising committee of the Rendez-Vous de Septembre (RVS) has said it hopes to hold the event in person in Monaco in 2022 (September 10 to 14) but will review and confirm this decision in the Spring.
The move follows a meeting of the event’s board members under the chairmanship of Claude Tendil. Created in 1957, nearly 3,000 professionals in insurance, reinsurance, brokerage and risk management from 80 countries would normally attend the event, cancelled this year for the second time due to COVID-19.
In a statement, the organising committee paid tribute to the way the industry has coped with the past two years.
“The reinsurance industry has once again proved its ability to absorb major shocks, after a 2020 financial year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and numerous natural disasters,” it said in a statement.
It noted that the reinsurance industry continued to grow in 2020, with premiums estimated at $325 billion.
Turnover has experienced an average annual growth rate of approximately 10 percent since 2017. Demand for reinsurance has remained strong, reflecting the desire of economic players to take cover against economic, health and natural risks.
The statement continued: “According to a broad consensus, activity will continue to grow in the years to come. For the last two years, the reinsurance industry, in terms of both non-life and liability, has suffered from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its impact on non-life and liability reinsurance largely concerns coverage linked to the cancellation and postponement of events in addition to coverage of operating losses as a result of various measures taken by governments around the world (administrative closures, lockdowns, etc).
“Life reinsurance has been heavily impacted by the growth in mortality linked to COVID-19. Reinsurers are deemed to have absorbed 40 percent of the total estimated insured cost of the pandemic for the entire insurance and reassurance industry, thereby highlighting once again the important role played by reinsurance in the resilience of the industry and the world economy in the face of new and emerging risks.
“Fortunately, 2021 has seen an accelerated roll-out of vaccination. Furthermore, the clarification of contract terms and conditions has made it possible, as of 2021, to spell out the conditions of coverage both between insurers and insured parties and between reinsurers and insurers. These developments should limit the impact of the pandemic on insurers and reinsurers in the financial years to come.”
“The market seems to be entering a new phase and is gaining a new momentum.”
Claude Tendil, RVS
High cost of natural disasters
The committee noted that, over and above the pandemic, 2020 was marked by the high cost of natural disasters and industrial and commercial claims, which amounted to $89 billion, of which $80 billion can be put down to natural disasters. This latter amount is slightly higher than the average for natural disasters over the last 10 years owing, in particular, to numerous hurricanes and several so-called “secondary” natural events (floods and wildfires in particular).
As a result of these exceptional losses, in addition to claims due to the pandemic, the combined ratio of the non-life and liability reinsurance sector amounts to 103 percent in 2020. Average profitability is roughly 2.3 percent, the lowest level in 10 years.
In the first half of 2021, the financial performance of the sector improved despite the ongoing pandemic and a series of large-scale natural disasters, first and foremost the Uri winter storm in Texas in February, and the very bad weather that hit Europe in June.
The number of claims linked to natural disasters is already bound to be very high in the second half of the year, in part due to the heavy flooding in Germany, Belgium and France in July, Hurricane Ida which hit the US in August and several wildfires in different regions of the world.
These four years, with heavy losses due to natural disasters in addition to the impacts of the pandemic and prevailing low interest rates, have led to rate adjustments and a widespread revision of terms and conditions, fostering a positive cycle for non-life and liability reinsurance. The reinsurance market has quickly adapted to this new claims environment.
Claude Tendil, RVS president, said: “2020 will remain marked by the historic health, economic and social crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented crisis has very heavily impacted the sector, in terms of non-life and liability reinsurance and life reinsurance.
“By absorbing this major shock, reinsurers have once again proved the robustness of their economic model and their very powerful resilience.
“While the pandemic has now been curbed, it has unfortunately not yet been eradicated. The major rollout of vaccination in many regions of the world is a very positive development which should, in time, lead to a significant improvement in the health situation.
“The latest renewals show that rate increases and improved terms and conditions on the non-life and liability reinsurance market continue. All the indicators point to the fact that the market seems to be entering a new phase and is gaining a new momentum.”
Main image: Shutterstock / Rudy Balasko
