Asian News - Pacific Life Re to open branch in South Korea
Source: Asia Insurance Review | May 2016
Pacific Life Re, the reinsurance division of the US-based Pacific Life group, has received regulatory approval from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to open a branch to write onshore reinsurance business in Korea.
“Following the approval, Pacific Life Re Korea may start its business in Korea immediately,” an official at the FSC said.
Mr Alex King, Managing Director of Pacific Life Re Asia, said: “This move demonstrates our on-going commitment to further deepen our footprint in Asia.”
The reinsurer has been working with its clients in Korea since 2009, operating out of its regional hub in Singapore.
Division CEO Dave Howell said: “This licence represents a further expansion of the Pacific Life Re global brand and its proposition in Asia. With a local team in place, we are enhancing our service proposition to meet the needs of the Korean insurers in the coming years.”
Currently, Korean Re controls the domestic reinsurance market, estimated at some KRW10 trillion (US$8.65 billion), with a share of about 60%. Other foreign reinsurers in Korea include Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, SCOR and Reinsurance Group of America.