Universal Re, Malayan Reagree to merge

Universal Reinsurance Corp. (Universal Re) and Malayan Reinsurance Corp. (Malayan Re) have agreed to merge resulting in the creation of Universal Malayan Reinsurance Corp. (URC) with a premium base of roughly P1 billion

A reinsurance company offers additional protection for insurers that have huge accounts but are unable to cover the entire policy.

"It is really a joint venture but the surviving entity will be Universal Re," Universal Re chief finance officer Romeo Carabeo said.

Universal Re, the reinsurance subsidiary of the Ayala Group of Companies, has a premium base of P740 million while Malayan Re recorded a premium base of P250 million by the end of 2002.

Malayan Re is an affiliate of the Malayan Group of Insurance Companies which is one of the major firms under the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

Other affiliates are Malayan Insurance Co., Tokio Marine Malayan Insurance Co., First Nationwide Assurance Co., and Malayan Zurich Insurance Co.

Universal Re is part of the Ayala Insurance Holdings Corp., and it is also affiliated with Ayala Life Assurance Inc. and BPI/Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Corp.

The largest reinsurer in the country is National Reinsurance Corp. (National Re) which handles government accounts including the Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS). It reported end 2002 premiums of P1.8 billion.

The three are the only local reinsurance competing with a huge basket of international players.