What’s New: In Brief (October 31, 2006)

The SCOR group has received the approval of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) for a reinsurance licence in China.The license will enable SCOR to open a branch in Beijing for the purpose of conducting property & casualty reinsurance transactions.The SCOR group opened a representative office in China in 2000 and submitted a request for a licence to the CIRC in March 2004. “SCOR believes that property and casualty reinsurance in China is going to see a major, recurring increase in demand, carried by expanding economic development and the rapid growth of insurable assets,” the company announced in a press release.”This licence in China will enable the group to speed up its development in the Asia-Pacific region, which is a priority region for SCOR.”Currently, SCOR has operating entities in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. The company predicted premium income for property and casualty reinsurance in the region should reach EUR160 million (CD$229.2 million) in 2006.

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) has announced a 2006 Q3 net operating income of US$283 million, compared to a net operating loss from continuing operations of US$39 million for the same period in 2005. “The third quarter of 2006 benefited from decreased catastrophe impacts of US$281 million, after-tax, as compared to 2005,” the company announced.Net income for 2006 Q3 was US$311 million, as compared with US$6 million for the same period in 2005. The 2006 Q3 combined ratio of CNA’s property and casualty operations was 94.5%.”We are pleased to report a very solid third quarter,” said Stephen W. Lilienthal, chairman and CEO of CNA Financial Corporation. “Every major driver of our results underwriting production, investment income, operating cash flow and expense management is contributing to consistently improving financial performance.”