SCOR closed 2025 with a full-year return on equity of 19.2%, capping a dramatic recovery for the Paris-based reinsurance group after a bruising 2024 that saw its results gutted by a sweeping life and health reserve overhaul.
The reinsurer reported net income of €208 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year figure to €851 million. The board has proposed a dividend of €1.9 per share, up 5.6%, subject to shareholder approval on April 28.
The rebound is stark. SCOR posted net income of just €4 million for 2024, implying a return on equity of 0.1%, after an assumptions review of its L&H book produced pre-tax hits of €0.7 billion to the insurance service result and €0.9 billion to the contractual service margin.
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The crisis, first flagged in mid-2024 when SCOR accelerated its reserving review after negative experience variance, prompted a leadership shake-up. L&H CEO Frieder Knüpling departed and group CEO Thierry Léger (pictured above) assumed direct oversight.
At its 2024 investor day, SCOR laid out a four-pillar plan: higher pricing thresholds enforced by a centralized team, an accelerated shift toward longevity and financial solutions, strengthened in-force management with quarterly board reporting, and the appointment of Milliman to independently validate reserve assumptions.
Read more: SCOR leans into capital relief transactions amid historic soft reinsurance pricing
By the third quarter of 2025, the L&H insurance service result had swung from a €210 million loss a year earlier to a €98 million gain. For the full year it came in above SCOR's updated Forward 2026 guidance.
SCOR's recovery placed it in the middle of a historically strong year for Europe's largest reinsurers. Munich Re reported a full-year ROE of 18.3% on net income of €6.1 billion, Swiss Re delivered 19.6% on record net income of $4.8 billion, and Hannover Re posted group net income of €2.64 billion with a nine-month annualized ROE of 22.0%.
A Fitch Ratings review from August 2025 noted the Big Four's combined average ROE hit 21.1% in the first half, surpassing the prior peak, with the uplift "driven by SCOR's recovery."
SCOR recorded a P&C combined ratio of 80.9% in the fourth quarter, improved from 83.1% a year earlier. The full-year nat cat ratio stood at 6.8%, below budget despite the Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Melissa.
P&C reinsurance revenue was €1.795 billion, down 1.6% at constant exchange rates, which SCOR attributed to past portfolio actions and heightened competition. Howden data showed risk-adjusted global property-catastrophe rates-on-line fell 14.7% at the January 1 renewals, the steepest decline since 2014.
Total invested assets stood at €23.5 billion, with 79% in fixed income at an average rating of A+ and duration of 4.0 years. The regular income yield rose to 3.8% from 3.6%.
The group solvency ratio stood at 215%, in the upper part of SCOR's optimal 185%–220% range. Léger said the results reflect "the robustness of its leading franchise and diversified business model," adding that SCOR "starts the year in a position of strength."
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