New Report from Fitch Examines Reinsurance Recoverable Credit Trends

Fitch Ratings announced publication of a special report titled: “Reinsurance Credit Trends: An Update,” that examines industry-wide reinsurance-related data of property/casualty (re)insurers based in the U.S.

In the report Fitch concludes that:
— The industry continued to experience an increase in exposure to reinsurance recoverables in 2003, albeit at a slower pace than of recent years.
— The industry’s exposure continued to shift towards non-U.S. based reinsurers.
— Collection trends of reinsurance recoverables deteriorated modestly in 2003 relative to that of recent years.
— The percentage of reinsurance recoverable collateral provided by letters of credit continued to decline relative to other forms of collateral.

Fitch said the report “discusses these trends in light of the reinsurance sector’s stabilizing credit-quality profile.” It also “includes data on ceding companies’ exposure to reinsurance recoverables from troubled companies and data on reinsurance recoverable concentrations among companies with high surplus exposure to reinsurance recoverables.”

Copies of the full report are available from Fitch’s website at ‘www.fitchratings.com’.