ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss Re (RUKN.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Tuesday thevalue of its life and health reinsurance portfolio rose by 13percent in 2006, boosted by the acquisition of the reinsuranceunits of General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile , Research).

Swiss Re's embedded value -- an industry gauge for thevalue of a life insurance portfolio -- rose to 22.6 billionSwiss francs ($18.62 billion), while the new business value atthe world's largest reinsurer also rose.

"The acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions, which closed inJune 2006, contributed strongly to the increase in embeddedvalue and close to 100 percent of the business was retained,"the company said in a statement.

Swiss Re said in 2005 it would buy the units from the U.S.industrial and financial conglomerate for $7.4 billion,boosting its global presence in a bid to outpace rivals, asreinsurance markets stall.

New business value was 664 million francs, Swiss Re said,boosted by its acquisition of the life business of GeneralElectric in the UK for 465 million pounds last year, its secondacquisition from the US group.

The company specializes in buying life insurance portfoliosthat have others have stopped adding new clients to, makingmoney from continuing premium income and aiming to boostprofitability through economies of scale.

Embedded value is a life insurer's estimate of the worth ofits business, measuring future profits on policies it hasalready sold, as well as the value of free assets it does notneed for solvency or to meet policyholder payouts.

Shares in the company, which takes risks on its books thatare too large or too volatile for other insurers, have risenmore than 10 percent so far this year, outpacing the Dow JonesStoxx insurance index , which has traded flat.

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