Global: Reinsurers show greater flexibility
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Feb 2025
Reinsurers showed greater flexibility at the 1/1 renewals, as the expansion of available capacity after another year of strong results was more than sufficient to meet continued growth in global demand, according to Aon’s Reinsurance Market Dynamics January 2025 Renewal report.
The report, which reviews the 1/1 reinsurance renewal period and evolving trends in the sector, estimates that global reinsurer capital rose to a new high of $715bn at September 2024, an increase of $45bn compared to the end of 2023, with growth driven mainly by retained earnings. Capacity has been further bolstered by an easing of conditions in the retrocession market.
In the property sector, cedants with loss-free programmes were able to secure catastrophe coverage on incrementally improved terms. Reinsurers’ desire to grow created opportunities for buyers to align coverage and purchase additional protection.
Following hurricanes Milton and Helene, insured losses from global natural catastrophe events are expected to exceed $140bn in 2024. Renewal impacts were largely confined to the most affected local markets, notably Canada, Central and Eastern Europe and the UAE.
Casualty renewals were broadly stable overall, even in the US, where robust underlying insurance pricing helped to offset reinsurer concerns around adverse claims and litigation trends. Individual cedant outcomes varied, depending on loss experience, business mix and data quality.
Most reinsurers continue to view specialty business as a source of diversifying growth, said the report. January renewal outcomes varied, depending on class of business and loss activity, but pricing was generally stable to slightly lower, with a modest easing of other terms and conditions in some areas. M