In recent years, the size of the CEA’s risk transfer tower had decreased as its overall exposure base reduced. However, as at the end of 2025, the CEA’s in-force exposure actually increased to more than $653 billion from $641 billion at the end of 2024, although is still lower than it was at the end of 2023.

After the 2025 April reinsurance renewals, the CEA’s risk transfer tower grew to around $7.8 billion in total in-force coverage, falling slightly to $7.67 billion as of September 30th, 2025.

The latest data from the CEA shows that as of December 31st, 2025, total in-force reinsurance limit totalled $7.912 billion, so had increased in the final three months of the year.

Of this, roughly $5.037 billion was procured from the traditional reinsurance market, accounting for 64% of the total, while the remaining $2.875 billion, or 36% was from the catastrophe bond market.

Over $2.5 billion of traditional reinsurance limit expired at December 31st, 2025, with the rest set to expire between March 31st and September 30th. Of course, the CEA would have renewed its reinsurance coverage at the January renewals, and also procures protection at the April and mid-year renewals, so its risk transfer tower has likely already changed and will likely be adjusted further in the coming months.

Additionally, $1.305 billion of the CEA’s cat bonds are scheduled to mature this year, so it will be interesting to see if the authority returns to the capital markets for its risk transfer programme again this year, as cat bonds have become a core part of its reinsurance protection.

The CEA had total claim-paying capacity of $19.7 billion as at December 31st, 2025, an increase from $19.1 billion a year earlier. During a recent meeting, the Board approved, for 2026, to continue with a claim-paying target corridor of a minimum 1-in-350 year level and no greater than a 1-in-500 year level.

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According to the rating agency, this could lead to higher pricing on commercial risks, and changes to terms and conditions, exclusions and event limits.

“Moreover, the commission rates on certain classes may be adjusted, and there may be greater pressure for the local market to retain more,” AM Best added.

The firm’s new report suggested that this dynamic could pose challenges for a sector “heavily reliant” on reinsurance.

AM Best noted that, although risk-adjusted capitalisation remains robust for rated insurers in the region, the absolute capital base is limited for most participants.

“Their ability to increase retention is likely to be modest at best, and reinsurance capacity and expertise will still be required for the market to function effectively,” the rating agency concluded.

Earlier today, AM Best provided further details from the same report, stating that losses to the global reinsurance market from the ongoing Middle East conflict have so far been limited and would typically take the form of single large losses.

The agency highlighted that war risks are commonly excluded from policies but are offered as riders on certain risks, and that Iranian risks are largely uninsured by global reinsurers due to sanctions, meaning damage to infrastructure will have little impact on loss experience.

AM Best’s report also addressed the cyber insurance sector, noting that many insurers have been excluding war or state-sponsored attacks.

However, some products that cover war risks could be affected in the medium term if cyber risks escalate due to state-sponsored actors.

The agency underscored that, while the US remains the world’s leading cyber insurance market, it expects international markets to steadily capture a larger share of global premiums in the coming years.

Events such as the ongoing Middle East conflict could act as a catalyst for this growth if cyber attacks become a weapon of choice in the region.

AM Best added that state-sponsored cyber actors are likely to increase their activities amid geopolitical tensions, with the impact and success of such attacks depending heavily on the cyber defences and cyber hygiene of the insureds.
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For 2026, the retention for the core, North America property occurrence tower is unchanged from the previous year, while the top of the tower only extends to $3.75 billion this year, compared with $3.8 billion for 2025, as Liberty Mutual opted to reduce the volume of occurrence limit by $500 million.

At this year’s renewal, Liberty enhanced coverage through all perils placement across the core tower, whereas for 2025, the initial $1.5 billion was available on an all-perils basis.

So, all market layers for the 2026 renewal are written on an all-perils basis, with a small portion of the top layer limited to just hurricane and earthquake events, with one reinstatement.

Last year, a much larger, $1.3 billion of named storm and earthquake only cover was secured by the firm, which sat above the $1.5 billion of all-perils limit.

“We successfully placed our North America property catastrophe program on attractive terms, maintaining a $1 billion occurrence attachment point while enhancing coverage through all perils placement across the core tower, improved terms and conditions and select multiyear placements,” said Julie Haase, CFO of Liberty Mutual, during the firm’s recent earnings call. “We also continue to carry an aggregate property catastrophe treaty to help protect against frequency and severity of loss.”

For 2026, Liberty opted to lift the attachment point of its aggregate reinsurance protection to $3.15 billion, compared with $2.4 billion for 2025. However, this year, Liberty has disclosed an additional $100 million of aggregate cover “closer to income-volatility protection,” which appears to be the Class C tranche of its Mystic Re IV Ltd. (Series 2025-1) catastrophe bond.

The other two tranches of the 2025 cat bond issuance provide occurrence coverage and are therefore part of the core property occurrence tower. In December, Liberty sponsored Mystic Re IV Ltd. (Series 2026-1), a $150 million deal, which, as you can see from the diagram below, covers a portion of the tower above the retention, extending to the top of the programme. Liberty explains that the Mystic Re cat bonds include certain named perils and no reinstatement.

“2026 is the strongest capital position in our company’s history. We will manage this capital base in the best interest of our policyholders today and in the future,” said Haase.

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Gregory, alongside Lancashire’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alex Maloney, recently commented on the carrier’s experience at the 1.1 2026 reinsurance renewal season, during a call with analysts following the release of a robust set of results for the 2025 financial year.

“Looking at the market backdrop more broadly, we have always believed the market is cyclical, and whilst we have seen a more competitive market, the portfolio we secured at the 1st of January renewals is still one of the best we have ever had, in terms of rate adequacy,” said Maloney in his opening remarks.

He went on to highlight that the Group RPI, which ended 2025 at 96%, remains above pre-2023 levels, adding that “this is reflective of a market where, after a few profitable years, the supply of capital has increased as existing players deploy more retained earnings.”

“Demand, meanwhile, has not kept pace with the increased supply of capital. But I do want to emphasise that margins remain favourable, particularly at the net level, taking into account reinsurance costs. This gives us confidence when looking at our profitability for 2026 and beyond,” he continued.

CUO Gregory, in his opening remarks, delved deeper into the company’s experience at 1.1 2026, and also underlined the strong outcome of its own reinsurance purchases for the year ahead.

“To summarise the recent 1.1 renewal season, we’re very pleased with our performance, where we managed the more competitive environment well and secured an outcome in line with our expectations. This sets us up very well to execute on our plans for the remainder of the year.

“As always, we appreciated the ongoing support we received from our clients and brokers, and look forward to building on these valued relationships,” said Gregory.

Lancashire is also a buyer of reinsurance, and the firm is also “very pleased” with the outcome of its outwards reinsurance renewals at 1.1 2026.

Gregory explained: “As we’ve said, the one benefit of the softening market is the products we buy to protect our earnings and balance sheet are also more efficient. We can manage our reinsurance spend, which helps mitigate some of the margin pressure on the inwards book.

“As importantly, we have better tailored the structure of our reinsurance to box in our exposures, which better manages our earnings volatility. As an example, the aggregate catastrophe products that we described last year renewed at 1.1 with a lower attachment point and more limit. This provides more certainty of underwriting result in an active catastrophe loss year.”

In 2025, Lancashire decided to use some its headroom to buy-out the remaining names on Syndicate 2010, and while this increased share means the firm has assumed more cat risk, Gregory highlighted the continued retraction of the inwards retro portfolio, driven by market conditions, as well as the benefit of a more efficient reinsurance programme.

During the Q&A, Gregory was questioned on the cost of reinsurance for 2026, and whether the firm is buying more or looking to reduce any of the risk limits further.

“We would expect our RI spend in dollar terms to be broadly stable compared to 2025. So, you’re right, we’re definitely seeing the benefit of a softening reinsurance market, and that comes through in less premium spend. And as I mentioned in my script, there was also the opportunity to tailor better structured reinsurance products to help manage our earnings volatility. So, we’ve taken some of that saving and used it there to construct a more all-encompassing reinsurance protection for the business, to help us maintain sustainable earnings cycle. So, very simply, very similar spend year-on-year,” he said.

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In its recent Aerospace Insurance Market Renewal Outlook, WTW noted that while rumoured reinsurance increases were lower than expected at the 2026 renewals, further price rises in the primary treaty reinsurance layer could make purchasing this layer uneconomical. This would force direct insurers to retain a larger proportion of risk on their own balance sheets, potentially leading to tighter scrutiny of underwriting decisions.

Capacity in the aerospace reinsurance market remains widely available. WTW said it will continue to monitor this area closely, as movements here can affect direct insurers’ underwriting strategies.

WTW stated that the strong capacity in the aerospace insurance market continues to provide insureds with a degree of choice and competitive tension. This environment can help moderate pricing outcomes, although challenges can arise when seeking surplus capacity.

Major claims in 2025 put the aviation insurance sector under the spotlight, with underwriters needing to justify their strategies to senior management, particularly where profit margins may appear constricted at current pricing levels.

For its 2026 outlook, WTW said, “The key message of the Q3/4 2025 edition of the Willis Aerospace Insurance Market Update was that the market had not moved away from its relatively soft position yet, and that message still broadly holds true. Aerospace insurers are still operating in a very competitive environment, which has held back price increases for insureds that are profitable for insurers, demonstrate proactive risk management strategies and engage with their insurance partners in a thoughtful manner.

“While conditions remain good for buyers, insureds should always prepare ahead in case any capacity reduction leads to changes.

“Even now, insurers are examining their portfolios and strategies towards specific sub-sectors. The best advice for insurance buyers is to identify the areas of focus for insurers and develop a strategy with your broker to address these in a structured and timely way. Good data and early engagement remain key for achieving the best results.”

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In terms of the size, the £2.75 billion of retro reinsurance protection secured through this 36 month placement is unchanged from the 2025 renewal, and for 2026 was placed with 65 international reinsurance companies.

The programme provides reinsurance for property damage resulting from acts of terrorism certified by the UK Government, and includes chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear events, as well as damage caused by remote digital interference. For 2026, the programme has been expanded to include cover for non-damage business interruption, sub-limited to £25 million.

Pool Re’s retro programme transfers risk to the private market and is designed to ensure every business in Great Britain has access to affordable and comprehensive terrorism insurance. The terrorism reinsurer offers commercial property reinsurance cover for losses caused by terrorism on an “All Risks” basis, offering a financial safety net for more than £2 trillion of assets belonging to businesses of all sizes in the region.

Jonathan Gray, Pool Re’s Chief Underwriting Officer, said: “This marks another successful milestone for the business. It’s very encouraging to have received such strong support from reinsurers, with a number of partners increasing their capacity. The strong market reception reinforces our conviction in our strategy and in our role as the ultimate backstop against terrorism for the UK Commercial Property market.”

“We are delighted to have completed yet another successful renewal of our retrocession programme with the invaluable support of Guy Carpenter. Backed by a record number of retrocession partners, the programme remains a core part of our strategy to return risk into private hands and thereby distance the UK taxpayer from loss following a major terrorism event. In bolstering Pool Re’s capital position and safeguarding Members’ funds the programme also ensures that Pool Re is well placed to provide resilience to the UK economy should it ever be needed,” said Tom Clementi, Pool Re’s Chief Executive Officer.

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Alongside the release of its results for the 2025 financial year this morning, Swiss Re revealed the outcome of its January 1st 2026 renewal, announcing a -0.3% premium volume change and a -4.6% net price change, driven by 4.6% higher loss assumptions, very slightly offset by a 0.3% nominal price increase.

Roughly 55% of the company’s treaty business renewed in January, and of the $12.5 billion up for renewal, $600 million was either cancelled or not placed, meaning 95%, or $11.8 billion was renewed. If you then include a 2%, or $300 million change on renewed, and $900 million of new business, total premium volume at the renewal totalled $12.4 billion.

By line of business, Swiss Re reduced the size of its nat cat book by 7% with a gross premium volume of $2.4 billion, while the property book retracted by 6% to $1.9 billion, offset by 3% growth in specialty and 4% growth in casualty to $2.8 billion and $5.3 billion, respectively.

Swiss Re explained this morning that the reduction in nat cat reflects nominal price declines in a more competitive market, but added that, importantly, terms and structures were broadly stable.

During a recent call with the media, CEO Berger was questioned on the drivers of the softening environment, leading the executive to highlight the importance of cycle management, and also Swiss Re’s prominent market position.

“First of all, let me state there is not one cycle. So, it’s very important to say, because each line of business is in a different market cycle. There might be a few lines that are correlated to each other, but not in general. That’s what I said around the lines of business like credit/surety, which I mentioned before, which is not correlated to the traditional property and casualty lines of businesses,” said Berger.

He continued: “For the renewals, we have seen demand, but we have seen also higher competition on the supply side. So, there’s capital, abundant capital in the market, and that is reflected in a more intense pricing competition. The good news is that the structures stayed broadly intact, the terms and conditions and attachment points, and that’s something we need to observe, and we need to keep that discipline in the market.

“We’ve seen the sophisticated and very large reinsurance buyers, they have taken more risk, so meaning taking premium out of the market. But again, the good news is they need lead reinsurance partners, so our share of wallet in the market didn’t reduce.”

The CEO went on to note Swiss Re’s active role in the intersection between the liability and the asset side, and also the capital markets, underlining the firm’s leading role in the establishment of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

“So, this is normal cycle management. There’s parts of the cycle when rates go up. Then parts of the cycle, when, due to the high rates, investors think there’s an attractive market, capital will come in, it puts more pressure on pricing, competition goes up. Here, technical excellence, technical underwriting, how do you assess a risk? How do you price risk? Is very important. And you always have to look at rate adequacy and about composition of your portfolios and protecting your balance sheet,” he said.

Looking ahead to future 2026 renewals, Berger said that Swiss Re is expecting similar dynamics to 1.1 2026, adding that, as ever, this could change if there’s a huge loss.

“We’re going now into the April renewals; they’re mainly Asia or Japan driven. Again, the Japanese market is a very different market to the US market, or European markets. And then you go into the June/July renewals in the US, everybody’s waiting for that, obviously. So, let’s see. I think it’s higher demand. So, always a good sign. There’s demand for the product, and we just need to have discipline in keeping the rates adequate and keeping the structures disciplined,” said Berger.

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This morning, Munich Re posted a very strong set of results for the 2025 financial year, including a net result above target of more than €6.1 billion, a robust life and health reinsurance performance, and a property and casualty reinsurance combined ratio of 73.5%, or 80.1% on a normalised basis.

The reinsurer also provided some details of its experience at the key January renewals, where prices came down 2.5% overall as the volume of business written fell to €13.7 billion. At 1.1 2026, the carrier deliberately cut back in both casualty and property proportional business, opting to grow selectively in areas which met its requirements.

Munich Re said this morning that despite the current landscape, the price level of its portfolio remained good, and that looking ahead to April, it expects a market environment in which attractive price levels and improved terms and conditions can be largely upheld.

Recently, executives at the firm discussed the 2025 results and other market trends on a call with analysts, and the outlook for subsequent 2026 reinsurance renewal periods was raised, and specifically whether Munich Re expects to be able to grow volumes in various business lines throughout the remainder of the year.

“There’s plenty of opportunities, obviously,” said Jurecka. “We were able to renew a lot of our business at attractive prices, and the market generally is in a good place still. So, therefore, if you look at these reductions, which are indeed true, in basically all lines of business we were able to place business in attractive price and also attractive T&Cs still.”

He went on to say that even in the proportional space, where Munich Re reduced significantly, there were still opportunities for growth, and the firm took advantage of this in some casualty business in Europe and Latin America.

“But, what I would still like to underline, again, is that the market generally is still in an attractive territory, so there are plenty of opportunities out there.”

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2025 was the fifth consecutive year in which Munich Re’s annual profit outperformed the respective guidance, and the more than €6.1 billion is an improvement on 2024’s €5.69 billion, while the Q4’25 net result fell to €945 million from €1.068 billion in Q4’24.

Group-wide, insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued was stable at €60.412 billion in 2025, with Munich Re highlighting growth in the L&H reinsurance segment and at ERGO, its primary insurance arm, which largely offset the deliberate discontinuation of business in P&C reinsurance, and negative currency effects.

Munich Re’s return on equity increased to 18.3% in 2025 compared with 18.2% in 2024, while earnings per share totalled €47.15, an increase on the prior year’s €42.93.

For 2025, the total technical result increased by 13% to €9.8 billion, as the investment result increased by 5% year-on-year to €7.514 billion.

Within reinsurance, the net result increased from €4.88 billion in 2024 to €5.204 billion in 2025, so above the target of €5.1 billion. For Q4’25, the net result decreased to €824 million from €887 million a year earlier.

Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued fell to €38.731 billion in 2025, compared with €40.034 billion in 2024. Munich Re attributes the decline to negative currency effects, primarily associated with the US dollar, and the deliberate discontinuation of business that no longer met its return requirements, as well as changes in accounting practices that did not affect the net result.

Munich Re’s P&C reinsurance segment net result increased to €3.308 billion in 2025 from €3.153 billion in 2024, as insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued fell to €17.926 billion, compared with €19.487 billion a year earlier. The segment’s combined ratio strengthened to 73.5% from 77.3%, with a normalised combined ratio of 80.1%.

Within P&C reinsurance, major-loss expenditure, after retrocession and before taxes, fell from €2.807 billion in 2024 to €1.627 billion in 2025, and increased to €558 million from €377 million for the quarter. Man-made losses totalled €740 million, and natural catastrophe losses totalled €887 million, both down year-on-year. The LA wildfires in January, at a cost of €800 million, were the most expensive single claims event of the year for the reinsurer.

The total technical result for the L&H reinsurance business came down to €1.715 billion in 2025 from €1.857 billion, but was above the target of €1.7 billion. The segment’s net result dropped to €1.334 billion from €1.545 billion, while insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued increased to €12.179 billion.

The Global Specialty Insurance segment generated a net result of €562 million in 2025, a big increase on the prior year’s €182 million, as insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued rose to €8.625 billion, with an improved combined ratio of 85.9% driven by the decline in major-loss costs.

Alongside its results for the 2025 financial year, the reinsurer has provided an update on its experience at the January 1st, 2026, reinsurance renewals, revealing a 7.8% decrease in the volume of business written to €13.7 billion.

“Munich Re deliberately opted to not renew or write business that did not meet expectations with respect to return requirements or terms and conditions. The majority of business in January was written in Europe, the US and globally. With very few exceptions, Munich Re maintained the portfolio’s high quality thanks to stable contractual terms and conditions,” explains the company.

Overall, prices fell by 2.5% for Munich Re at the 1.1 2026 renewals, although the reinsurer says that the price level of its portfolio remained good. “Our prices largely compensated for higher loss estimates in some areas, which were primarily attributable to inflation or other loss trends,” says the firm.

Looking ahead to the April renewal, Munich Re expects a market environment in which attractive price levels and improved terms and conditions can be largely upheld despite the current market pressure.

Turning back to the carrier’s results, ERGO had a strong year with a net result of €917 million in 2025, up on the prior year’s €810 million, and again above the target of €900 million. Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued rose to €21.681 billion in 2025 from €20.796 billion in 2024.

Munich Re’s investment result hit €7.514 billion in 2025, up on the prior year’s €7.191 billion, with a rise in regular income from investments to €8.56 billion. The 2025 investment result represents a return of 3.2% on the average market value of the portfolio.

As announced in December 2025, Munich Re is targeting an IFRS net result of €6.3 billion in the 2026 financial year, while group insurance revenue is expected to reach €64 billion, and the return on investment is expected to improve to more than 3.5%.

Yesterday, the reinsurer revealed its plan to propose a dividend of $24 per share for 2025, while the Board has also resolved to purchase own shares amounting to a maximum value of €2.250 billion.

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After releasing a strong set of results for 2025, including a robust performance at Hiscox Re, the firm’s reinsurance business and third-party capital platform, Hiscox executives took questions from analysts on a range of topics.

One of the questions focused on the firm’s underwriting edge in reinsurance and what drives this, in light of Hiscox Re generating profit of $286.7 million for the year, up 7% on 2024’s figure, with yet another strong combined ratio of 67.4%, despite the softening environment and another year of more than $100 billion in nat cat losses.

The firm’s underwriting edge in reinsurance “is a combination” explained Musselle. “So, what we rely on… in that reinsurance world, is the best external models. As an example, we take what’s available, but then we blend and we put overlay what we call a Hiscox view of risk, and we do that across both our reinsurance and indeed, all of our other insurances. And that is really important, and that is proprietary, where we are utilising our own proprietary information, our own bespoke data sets, building in things like that forward looking view of inflation. It was really important for us to get ahead of some of these sub trends and price forward.”

As well as the blend of external and internal data, the CUO highlighted the use of technology in the underwriting process to do a number of things, including making Hiscox Re easier to do business with.

“So, take the reinsurance example, how can we consume submissions quicker? Clearly, the advance of technology enables us to consume more submission in a much shorter time. So, be much better in terms of response time back to, in that instance, brokers, or indeed, more broadly, customers. We’re utilising it there,” she said.

Adding: “And absolutely utilising it to make better decisions. So, whether that is ingesting third party data to make better underwriting decisions, pricing decisions. That’s the second area that we’re utilising it, and clearly making us more efficient. So, I’d say it’s a combination. It definitely is looking outside and taking the best external information that exists, and then blend into that our own proprietary data sets.”

At the January 1st, 2026, reinsurance renewals, elevated competition from incumbent reinsurers and alternative capital saw rates decrease 13% for Hiscox Re, but despite softening, the company feels that 83% of its portfolio is adequate or adequate plus, while reduced outwards reinsurance costs also served as a positive tailwind for the business.

Further, in 2025, Hiscox Re saw rates decline by 5% amid heightened competition, but at year-end, cumulative rate increases since 2018 were 83% for the business. Importantly, terms and conditions remained broadly stable in 2025 and at January 1st, 2026, following the significant adjustments made in 2022 and 2023.

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