ING Re's Senn Tackles Life Re Issues

By Jim Connolly

April 14, 2002 at 08:00 PM

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The issue of leveling cession rates, capacity and the growth in the older age insurance market were among several issues discussed by Jim Senn, president of the individual life and health operations with ING Re, Denver.

Senn told National Underwriter that cession rates, currently in the 60% range will probably increase industrywide through the mid-70% range before leveling off. Cession rates reflect insurance contracts that are ceded to reinsurers.

That possibility coupled with industrywide overcapacity is encouraging the development of other markets such as critical illness insurance and products that focus on consumers aged 60-75, he added. The market is still small for consumers who are older, he says. ING Re is placing more emphasis on these two areas, adds Senn.

How reinsurers approach markets in the future will depend on a new emphasis on risk assessment including risk concentration issues, Senn adds. Initial indications suggest that 2001 results for the individual life reinsurance market could equal an extra month's claims for the year, he says.

The issue of bioterrorism is one that ING Re has also begun examining, he says.

Separately, ING Re announced that Mike Emerson will succeed Theresa Wurst as head of the group life, accident and health operation during the summer of 2002 when Wurst retires.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, April 15, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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