eReinsure the Company

4.1.02

Swiss Re joins Ereinsure

Swiss Re has signed up to use internet platform Ereinsure for its online reinsurance negotiations. The move is a surprise because Swiss Re has already set up online reinsurance exchange Inreon in conjunction with Munich Re, which some see as a rival platform to Ereinsure.

One of the biggest criticisms of Inreon is that, because it was set up by the world's two largest reinsurers, there is not enough focus on buyers' needs. Ereinsure, on the other hand, is marketing itself more specifically at buyers of reinsurance. US insurer Chubb has invested $2.5m in the platform. Swiss Re declined to comment on its reasons for choosing Ereinsure.

But Igor Best-Devereux, chief executive officer of Ereinsure, says Inreon and Ereinsure are not direct competitors. "Inreon and Ereinsure are two totally different concepts," he says. He argues that the two are often lumped together and confused as being similar because they both use the internet. "But the internet is just a standardised network," he says.

The two differ because Inreon is used as an online trading place for reinsurance capacity, whereas Ereinsure is not, says Best-Devereux. "Our business model is not an exchange or marketplace in any sense. It is not a source of capacity," he says. "Ereinsure is purely a developer of technology which aids particularly the buyers of reinsurance to manage their procurement process."

Inreon says that its relationship with Swiss Re will not change because of its decision to use Ereinsure. "Swiss Re has always been a very strong and committed partner for Inreon and we have an excellent relationship with Swiss Re globally," says Inreon spokesman Scott Farley.

Meanwhile, Inreon is looking to expand its shareholder base. It has already taken its first step. When AXA Corporate Solutions joined the exchange at the end of last year as a buyer, the insurer also took a shareholding in Inreon and has a place on Inreon's board. "The aim is for [the shareholder structure] to be representative of the industry as a whole," says Farley. "The ultimate aim is that you would have both buyers and sellers represented in the shareholding."

Used with permission of Reactions Magazine (www.reactionsnet.com)