Canadian reinsurance branches here to stay

Representatives of the Canadian reinsurance market assured delegates of the A.M. Best Canadian conference that their Canadian branches are here to stay, despite recent changes to the Insurance Companies Act.
The changes to Part 13 of the Act re-defined in-Canada risk.
Before the amendment it was illegal for foreign insurers who are unlicensed in Canada to offer insurance products in Canada without a license, but with the changes foreign insurers can write business in Canada without a license, essentially making Canadian branches seemingly redundant.
Jean-Jacques Henchoz, CEO of Swiss Re Canada, assured the crowd that Canadian branches still hold value.
I think that we are acknowledging that there is market specificity here and were here for the long term, Henchoz said.
There is still business to do here and opportunities, I dont think that Part 13 will change anything from the current set-up, he said, admitting that there may be some instances where parts of the organization are re-organized from outside of Canada.
There is a reinsurance market here, it is only 1.5% of the global reinsurance markets, so its not huge, but theres specificity here to stay for the long term, Henchoz told the delegates.
John Phelan, chairman and CEO, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., nodded and simply said: Were here to stay.