Every year, the Reinsurance Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo has a theme. In 2005 it was Hurricane Katrina, which was unfolding during the course of the meeting, for example. Last year it was Ike.

During my first Rendez-Vous in 2003, the talk was all about downgrades, mostly centered on the Swiss reinsurer Converium, which had been downgraded just days before the meeting and SCOR, which had previously been downgraded. There was serious concern about the viability of the companies.

Not long after that, SCOR came up with a plan that included restructuring, and later massive PR events. Henry Klecan Jr., president and CEO of the Americas for SCOR in New York, told me the about the plan, explaining that it reigned in “cowboy” underwriters and put in place checks and balances for underwriting, shut down at least one location and developed teams to work in close proximity with clients.

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