Munich Re eyes North America expansion

FRANKFURT: Munich Re sees potential for expansion in the United States, possibly through acquisitions, a board member told a German newspaper.

The world's biggest reinsurer was on the lookout for acquisitions similar to its 2008 purchase of the Midland Company and its 2009 purchase of insurer Hartford Steam Boiler, Torsten Jeworrek told the Financial Times Deutschland in an interview.

"I can imagine further acquisitions there (in the United States)," said Jeworrek, who is the board member responsible for the group's reinsurance business.

Analysts said any takeovers were unlikely to be on a large scale."We are sceptical with regards to acquisitions in the United States," said DZ Bank analyst Thorsten Wenzel in a note to clients."However, any acquisitions are likely to be small scale niche businesses," Wenzel said.

Munich Re's share rose 1.9 percent to 107.00 euros by 0807 GMT, outpacing a 1.2 percent gain the Stoxx Europe 600 insurance index.

Aside from feeling underrepresented in the United States, the group also saw Asian and Latin American markets as having good potential, Jeworrek said.

Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, prices for catastrophe insurance cover have been rising by double digit percentages in affected areas, Jeworrek said, adding that he expected prices for this type of cover to rise worldwide.

A sample of damage three claims stemming from the Japanese disaster confirm Munich Re's estimate that it will face a claims bill of about 1.5 billion euros ($2.14 billion), Jeworrek said.

DZ Bank's Wenzel said the price rise was positive but certainly was no surprise given the scale of the disaster.

"It is worth mentioning that Jeworrek does not seem to expect a broad based turn of the reinsurance cycle," Wenzel said.

Reinsurers, who make money by providing a financial backstop to insurance companies in the event of big disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, expect to pay an estimated $50 billion in damage claims from catastrophes in the early months of this year, including earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and flooding in Australia.

Industry observers say further extraordinary loss claims this year for example if big hurricanes make landfall in the United States in the coming months could prompt a broad-based increase in reinsurance prices.

The North Atlantic hurricanes season officially starts on Wednesday and runs through Nov. 30.

Forecaster Tropical Storm Risk last week said it expected four major hurricanes this year, compared with a long-term average of three, with a 59 percent chance of an above-average number of storms hitting the U.S. coastline.

COPYRIGHT REUTERS, 2011