EU Court backs CCR’s French nat cat despite complaints, SCOR responds

The General Court of the European Union has backed the European Commission decision to approve CCR’s natural disaster reinsurance scheme based in France despite objections from French reinsurer SCOR.

The court also confirmed the guarantee granted to CCR by the French state, which the commission had already said was “compatible with European internal market rules”.

Previously, French reinsurer SCOR had called for the commission's decision to be overturned over financial ratings linked to the French state.

CCR said it welcomed the latest decision confirming the legality of the "French Natural Disaster scheme" with respect to European law. The scheme was confirmed in French law by the Constitutional Council in September 2013 and the Administrative Court of Paris in July 2016.

“The continuity of this scheme and the legitimacy of CCR's mission of serving the insureds, the insurers and the state, have been confirmed one more time,” it said.

SCOR noted the ruling but said: “The general court considers in particular that it was not up to the commission to consider whether another scheme could be more efficient economically and less restrictive in terms of competition rules.”

SCOR said it “remains open” to discussing an alternative reinsurance scheme in France, based on the GAREAT model - the co-reinsurance pool, mandated by its members, which are the French or foreign insurance companies authorised to operate in the French market.

However, the reinsurer added: [We] would like to point out that today’s [7 May] decision by the General Court of the European Union only relates to one of the two issues raised by SCOR, relating to nat cat reinsurance in France.

“[We] point out that the other issue [we] raised, relating to the CCR’s ‘commercial’ activities, was resolved to its satisfaction by the creation of the subsidiary CCR Re, which means that these commercial activities no longer benefit from the same financial rating as that of the French State.”