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As investments into China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increase, Kirill Savrassov, CEO of Phoenix CRetro Reinsurance Company, told Baden-Baden Today that it represents big opportunities and challenges for the reinsurance industry, especially from a cat perspective.
He said the project, led by China and sometimes described as a multibillion dollar rebirth of the Silk Road, offers a key opportunity in exponential demand in additional cat capacity from local BRI transit markets.
However, he flagged potential challenges, saying: “I would note state ownership of critical infrastructure, low insurance penetration—below 2 or even 1.5 percent— with general underdevelopment of local markets in BRI transit countries, and existing and potential protectionism in re/insurance.”