Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:12am EDT
(Adds Wrapup to headline)
* Swiss Re expects natural catastrophe price fall to slow
* Sees cover demand up some 50 pct in mature markets by 2020
* Hannover Re says retains market share, sees opportunities
* Munich Re sees tough competition before contract renewals
By Joshua Franklin and Jonathan Gould
ZURICH/MONACO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Major European reinsurers put a brave face on the outlook for an increasingly crowded business on Monday, saying they saw a slowing decline in prices and new opportunities in some markets.
The world's top reinsurers, meeting in the Mediterranean resort of Monte Carlo this week for their annual conference, are sitting on large cash piles but face risks to their business from falling demand from insurance companies and new entrants such as hedge funds.
Investment funds seeking higher yields in a low interest rate environment have poured billions of dollars into the reinsurance market via specialised investment vehicles, eating away at the pricing power and relevance of reinsurers.
The reinsurance market helps shoulder the risks faced by primary insurers.
Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer, said on Monday it expected to see a slowing decline in natural catastrophe pricing rates, with demand doubling in some markets by 2020.
Swiss Re said in a statement it expected demand for so-called "nat cat" cover to rise by roughly 50 percent in mature markets and by 100 percent in high growth markets from 2012 to 2020.
The company said the rise in demand for natural catastrophe cover would be driven by a more affluent middle class, more frequent extreme weather events and more valuable assets in exposed areas.
German reinsurer Hannover Re said it remained confident about its prospects even in the midst of further intense competition in the market.
"Competition in the market has not resulted in our losing market share," ceo Ulrich Wallin told a news conference. "Even in a soft market environment, we can expect stable, attractive business opportunities."
Reinsurers describe a market as 'soft' when their pricing power is weak relative to insurers.
Hannover Re's Wallin said there was "acute awareness" among reinsurers that they cannot let prices slip to the point where they are posting underwriting losses.
Rival Munich Re was less optimistic, however, saying on Sunday it expected tough competition in the coming months as reinsurers jostle over market share in renewing annual contracts with insurance companies. (Writing by Carolyn Cohn; editing by David Clarke)
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