Swiss Re targets Brazil growth

Walter Bell, chairman Swiss Re in the US, Canada and Brazil said Brazil’s infrastructure spending on the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympics makes it a “high-growth market”, Bloomberg reports

“Our commitment to the region is long term,” Bell said. “Brazil is at the top of the list. Mexico -- we’re very bullish on Mexico.”

He also said reinsurance rates following the Chile earthquake and European windstorm Xynthia windstorm.

“The market has been predicting rates would rise,” he said. “With that kind of severity and frequency of risk, pricing will probably have to be more reflective of what the risk reinsurers and insurers are taking on these days. There’s some elasticity in the rates.”