Reinsurance

Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A. said its preliminary estimate of its exposure to last month's 7.1 magnitude earthquake in New Zealand is $52.5 million net of reinstatement premiums and retrocession.

The private sector has a stake in understanding the impact of climate change, especially as it comes to evaluating risk, the president of the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA) noted during a press conference Wednesday.

Sandra Parrillo was sworn in yesterday as chairwoman of the board of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, during the association's 115th annual conference held in San Diego.

At the Reinsurance Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo, after conversations with attendees, the conclusion was that reinsurers need to take a happy pill and relax, observes Caroline McDonald in her blog. Read more at www.NoRiskZone.com.

Rating agencies, carriers and brokers spent the week at the annual Monte Carlo Reinsurance Rendezvous speculating about how long the currently soft but stable market can be sustained, given the looming threats on the horizon.

A.M. Best Europe-Ratings Services Ltd. in London said it upgraded the financial strength rating of Paris-based SCOR S.E. and its subsidiaries to "A" from "A-minus."