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INSURANCE |
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REINSURANCE
Reinsurance is essentially insurance for insurance companies. It is a way for primary insurers to protect against unforeseen or extraordinary losses. Reinsurance also serves to limit liability on specific risks, to increase individual insurers’ capacity to write business, and to help insurers stabilize their business in the face of the wide swings in profit and loss margins that are inherent in the insurance business.
Reinsurance is an international business. According to the Reinsurance Association of America, 56.3 percent of the reinsurance purchased by U.S insurance companies was written by foreign reinsurance companies in 2007. If the domicile of the reinsurance company's parent is taken into account, foreign (or foreign-owned) reinsurance companies accounted for 83.4 percent of the market. This is because many U.S. reinsurance companies are owned by foreign firms.
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TOP TEN PROPERTY/CASUALTY REINSURERS OF U.S. BUSINESS BY GROSS PREMIUMS WRITTEN, 2007
($000)
Rank |
Company |
Country of parent company |
Gross premiums written |
| 1 | Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation (1) | Switzerland | $4,727,165 |
| 2 | Transatlantic/Putnam Reinsurance Company | U.S. | 3,945,222 |
| 3 | XL Reinsurance America, Inc. | Bermuda | 3,942,082 |
| 4 | National Indemnity Company | U.S. | 3,924,580 |
| 5 | Munich Re America Corporation (2) | Germany | 3,562,992 |
| 6 | Everest Reinsurance Company | Bermuda | 3,061,616 |
| 7 | Odyssey America Reinsurance Corporation/Odyssey (3) | Canada | 2,104,818 |
| 8 | Berkley Insurance Company | U.S. | 1,610,663 |
| 9 | General Re Group (4) | U.S. | 1,594,010 |
| 10 | Folksamerica Reinsurance Company (White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.) | U.S. | 1,137,482 |
| | Total, top ten reinsurers | | $29,610,630 |
| | Total, all reinsurers | | $35,923,522 |
(1) Includes the combined results of Swiss Reinsurance America Corporation and Employers Reinsurance Corporation.
(2) Includes Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., American Alternative Insurance Corporation and The Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Company.
(3) Includes Odyssey America Reinsurance Corporation, Clearwater Insurance Company, Hudson Insurance Company, Hudson Specialty Insurance Company and Clearwater Select Insurance Company.
(4) Data are for the North American Property/Casualty segment of the General Re Group.
Source: Reinsurance Association of America. |
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