GIC Re targets solid growth
India reinsurer GIC Re enjoyed growth of 21.4 percent last year (in the 12 months to March 31, 2016) and anticipates similar levels of growth in the next period driven by both international expansion and growth in its domestic market, Alice Vaidyan, chairman-cum-managing director, GIC Re, told Monte Carlo Today.
The reinsurer has made no secret of its desire to become a top 10 global reinsurer and has embarked on ambitious expansion plans in recent years. Now, some 45 percent of its business comes from the international markets and 55 percent from its domestic market.
It anticipates growth in India, despite the market being opened up to foreign reinsurers recently. It believes all players can benefit as the market grows.
On a global basis, Vaidyan said the company expects growth in emerging markets including Latin America and parts of Asia, as well as via its presence in the London Market.
She acknowledged that global reinsurance conditions are challenging at the moment but said the industry just needed to accept this and get on with it. “It is one of the longest soft markets ever and maybe the cycle is disappearing—who knows,” she said. “I am not sure even a big loss would change things.
“But the industry has a duty to continue to do what it does and it needs to focus on closing the protection gap in many emerging economies. We have a duty to help solve this issue.”
