SAO PAULO—Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd. has applied for local status in Brazil, the Zurich, Switzerland-based reinsurer said Thursday.
The Zurich-based reinsurer obtained permission from the Superintendencia de Seguros Privados to operate in the country as an admitted reinsurer in May 2008.
Last week, it submitted an application to the Brazilian regulator to be registered as a local reinsurer. About 40% of the reinsurance market in Brazil is reserved for local reinsurers, a Swiss Re spokeswoman said. She said Swiss Re does not know when it will receive a response to its application.
Reinsurers including Swiss Re began to open their doors in Brazil after a 69-year reinsurance monopoly by Instituto de Resseguros do Brasil S.A. ended in April 2008.
SAO PAULO (Reuters)—Zurich Financial Services Group, Switzerland's biggest insurer, plans to open a reinsurance unit in Brazil, where almost $1 trillion worth of infrastructure projects are boosting demand for risk coverage.