Japan

Japan is far and away our largest Asian market. Our service company in Tokyo affords us good insight into the Japanese market. Long-term business relations are traditionally of great importance in Japan. Thanks to our very good rating we were again a particularly highly soughtafter partner for our cedants in the year under review. We transact business across all segments and enjoy the status of “core reinsurer” with most major primary insurers.

Conditions in property business – which is written predominantly on a proportional basis – continued to adequately reflect the risks. We obtained broadly stable prices for casualty covers. Our primary focus here was on the general liability line; our involvement in professional indemnity, on the other hand, was minimal. The most important single line for our company in Japan is natural catastrophe business, and we accept covers for the most part on a non-proportional basis. In the year under review we reduced our peak exposures as part of our risk management activities. For this reason, and also as a consequence of the rise of the Japanese yen, our premium volume contracted.

The loss experience in the year under review was moderate. Typhoon “Melor” produced only minimal strains for our account. Overall, we are very satisfied with the results of our Japanese business.