“Doing new things and doing old things better”. With these words Alberto Minali, managing director of Cattolica Assicurazioni, opened the presentation of one of the "new things": "We are changing our business model and we also want to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Brexit". Cattolica thus launches, on the model of British Lloyd's, a new reinsurance company dedicated to non-traditional lines of risk. It's called CattRe and it's the new company's newco from Verona, born from the acquisition of the Luxembourg company CP-BK Reinsurance, thanks to which the decisive step of the “Specialty Lines” project is completed. A project that is part of the new industrial plan to 2020, presented last winter, which will aim to bring operating income back from 200 million in 2017 to almost double, approaching 400 million. As? Certainly not limited to traditional insurance activities.
“The Auto sector – also explained Valter Trevisani, general manager of Cattolica – is in a phase in which the competition suggests falling volumes. We need to push on Non-Auto Damage, also through specialist services, which require advanced technologies". These are the so-called "Specialty Lines" and will deal with special risks, such as those related to space, aviation and catastrophic reinsurance, meteorological risks and, starting from this year, marine, sports and property risks industrial. The business model envisages that CattRe reinsures the premiums collected by the various Managing General Agencies (MGAs) that will be established and/or acquired, i.e. agencies with specialist skills present on various markets. These agencies will be controlled by financial holding company Estinvest Srl 100% owned by Cattolica and based in Luxembourg. When fully operational, the MGAs will be able to underwrite risks on behalf of insurance companies, including those other than Cattolica.
Cattolica has currently acquired Satec Srl, which deals with all the specialist risk sectors mentioned above, with the exception of those related to the weather which are the prerogative of Meteotec Srl, indirectly owned through Satec Srl The development plan also envisages, shortly, the expansion of the business lines with the subscription in RC and sureties, cyber, financial lines, mobility & travel, operational risk sectors and still others. Nazareno Cerni, Deputy General Manager and Non-Auto Non-Life Director of Cattolica Assicurazioni declared: “The arrangement formed with CattRe and Estinvest represents an absolutely innovative tool for the Italian and continental markets for underwriting specialist risks. Provided for in the 2018-2020 business plan and complementary to traditional business of the group, CattRe aims to build specific skills on new or underdeveloped risks, with high growth potential, to offer clients and brokers an increasingly timely offer”.
Also yesterday the report card from Standard & Poor's arrived, which it has Cattolica Assicurazioni's BBB rating confirmed, instead adjusting the outlook, according to the agency's criteria, to that of the sovereign debt of the Italian Republic, which on 26 October 2018 it was revised from stable to negative. Cattolica's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) is confirmed at bbb+, one notch higher than the BBB financial strength rating.
