SCOR has said it expects a negligible immediate claims impact from the ongoing Middle East conflict, with CEO Thierry Léger (pictured above) noting during a conference call that war is generally excluded from the reinsurer's contracts.
Where war-related coverage does exist, Léger said the company's exposures are clearly limited, monitored, and priced accordingly. On property, he noted that some larger regional assets do carry war cover but described those positions as controlled.
On marine, he said SCOR retains the ability to cancel cover, with clients in conflict zones already doing so. Aviation - both planes on the ground and in the air - is also being monitored.
The broader reinsurance industry has struck a similar posture. Goldman Sachs characterized exposure across the sector as "generally contained", noting that war coverage typically must be purchased separately.
RBC Capital Markets said potential losses could surface in marine-war and specialty commercial lines but described insurer exposure as largely immaterial. Autonomous noted that war-related losses in the Middle East continue to evolve, though these risks are "well understood in a region where conflict is not new."
S&P warned that sizable insured claims may yet materialize across marine, aviation, energy, political violence, and supply chain lines, but said the ultimate magnitude remains highly uncertain and could unfold over weeks or months.
The agency added that reinsurers with broad geographic footprints and meaningful specialty exposure in the Middle East are most likely to be affected – though it sees limited credit impact for the sector overall, citing an 11% capital redundancy among the top 19 global reinsurers at year-end 2024.
A few days ago, multiple P&I clubs – including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, and Steamship Mutual – issued cancelation notices on marine war-risk coverage in the region after reinsurers withdrew capacity.
Morningstar DBRS has estimated that war-risk rates for vessels transiting the area could exceed 0.5% if hostilities persist, while Marsh projected near-term marine hull rate increases in the Gulf of 25% to 50%, barring a direct attack on merchant shipping.
The comments came as SCOR reported full-year 2025 net income of €851 million, with a return on equity of 19.2%.
The P&C combined ratio came in at 82.3%, within its Forward 2026 target of below 87%, and its solvency ratio stood at 215%, at the upper end of the 185%–220% optimal range. The company also proposed a dividend of €1.9 per share, up 5.6% year over year.
On renewals, Léger said SCOR maintained terms and conditions at the January 1 round while raising pricing overall. Estimated gross premium growth for traditional reinsurance came in at 4.7%, while alternative solutions surged 80.5%.
Demand for reinsurance remains elevated, SCOR said, even as competition - fueled by strong profits and rising capital supply - has intensified, with nonproportional placements seeing the steepest price declines.
