European market worth £105bn
Major financial corporations are showing more interest in UK run-off business, said a leading analyst.
More books of run-off business are being bought by companies for the first time, according to Dan Schwarzmann, partner in solutions for discontinued insurance at Price-waterhouseCoopers.
He said: “There is more focus by major groups on run-off, more creativity and more companies looking to buy run-off books. Run-off has gained momentum in the financial sector.”
Schwarzmann agreed with the view of KPMG, which released its UK run-off report last November, that a new liberalising European directive will make the UK the hub for run-off business in the continent.
However, he predicted that Germany would be snapping at the heels of the UK, with Switzerland and France not far behind.
The European run-off market was worth $204bn (£105bn) last year.
Last November, Deutsche Rück announced plans to transfer its run-off business from Germany to the UK – the first transfer of its kind and a deal that would not have been made without the directive.PricewaterhouseCoopers is to release a full report next month.
