In the last years, the competition on the reinsurance market grew more acute and, given this context, the reinsurance companies must focus more on their competitive strategies, Valandis ELPIDOROU, Managing Director, Alternative Solutions, ARCH Re Europe, Switzerland, pointed out during the NatCat&Reinsurance Conference at FIAR 2017.

"The competitive strategy should focus on buyers and there are three dimensions through which one can analyze the buyers: the capitalization needs, the product bundling, and the need for coordination", Valandis ELPIDOROU explained. For example, global companies have a high need for coordination, compared with local companies.

"As a reinsurer, you have to find your feet: you need to find out who is the client that needs you and to understand what your strategic position is", he added. Based on their strategic position, ARCH Re identified 5 different clusters of reinsurers:

1. The Price taking profiteers
2. The Deal-making partners
3. The Patchwork partners
4. The Portfolio partners
5. The Blanket Partners