TMR eyes new markets after early US success
Following the successful launch of its US operation, Tokio Millennium Re (TMR) will continue to seek growth in new and previously unexplored lines and regions.
Speaking to PCI Today, Tatsuhiko Hoshina and his successor as CEO of the company, Stephan Ruoff, said the company will continue to invest in research that will enable the company to explore new exposures.
“It is part of our ‘DNA’ to continually evaluate the market and consider opportunities for growth in new lines of business and territories. In doing so, we thoroughly review areas of interest by investing in research and development to explore new exposures and increase our understanding of the risks, especially when such risks cannot be evaluated by standard models,” said Hoshina.
Giving the expansion through TMR UK, which has started to develop in select Asian markets, as an example, Hoshina said that geographic and line of business diversification and expansion will continue in 2015 and beyond as opportunities arise.
Speaking of the challenging reinsurance environment Ruoff, who is already making plans for the company’s strategy, said that there is not just one big challenge currently facing the industry but, rather, different dynamics all coming together at once.
“The low interest rate environment, the third party capital influx combined with the increased capital base of traditional reinsurers and companies building robust enterprise risk management and pricing methods, more sophisticated modelling capabilities and the use of big data and technology to enhance risk evaluation and transfer are just some of the challenges that reinsurers are facing,” he said.
He also spoke of the relatively small impact of cat losses on worldwide reinsurers’ capital base despite the occurrence of significant catastrophes since 2010, citing the Tohoku earthquake and Hurricane Sandy as examples.
However, despite the challenging environment ahead, Ruoff said that TMR is well positioned to handle these challenges and that the company will maintain underwriting profitability as a key goal, as well as strive to stay true to its mission statement of continuing to innovate and create new opportunities.
