French insurance group, SCOR, has announced that it is selling Bermuda subsidiary Commercial Risk Partners (CRP).

The parent company said that CRP was considered “non-strategic” and would cease underwriting new business.

Graham Pewter, chairman and chief executive officer of CRP, has resigned and says that he is intending to stay in Bermuda and is pursuing other opportunities here.

Francois Bertrand, chief operating officer and chief actuary of CRP, has also resigned and is also understood to be pursuing opportunities in the Bermuda market.

Last year the SCOR group suffered losses of euro 400 million including $99.7 million underwriting losses attributed to CRP.

Following a major post-mortem, Denis Kessler, head of SCOR Group, approved a raft of measures to implement his “Back on track Plan”.

Most of the proposals concerned corporate governance, but among them was the news that CRP would go into run off.

A.M. Best reacted to the news by announcing a downgrade of its financial strength ratings on CRP and its US subsidiary, Commercial Risk Re-Insurance Company of Vermont, to B++ (Very Good) from A- (Excellent).

It placed both companies “under review with negative implications.””The under review status of the ratings reflects A.M. Best's concern regarding the future role of these companies within SCOR and the uncertainty as to the outcome of the annual year-end reserves review of the companies currently being carried out,” said the announcement.