This agreement is Pacific Life Re’s second longevity reinsurance transaction in the Netherlands, following its landmark €2bn longevity swap with Nationale-Nederlanden last year.

As per Pacific Life Re, this latest transaction covers a portion of the defined benefit pensions included in a pension buy‑out, and was supported by global law firm Hogan Lovells.

Vanessa HoVon, Managing Director, Savings & Retirement for Europe & Americas at Pacific Life Re, commented: “We are delighted to partner with a.s.r. on this significant transaction, our first Dutch deal covering defined benefit liabilities for both pensioners and deferred members, and which reflects our shared commitment to protect people in retirement.

“Pacific Life Re look forward to continuing to deliver bespoke solutions and supporting our partners in the Dutch market as they navigate the ongoing pension reform through the provision of risk transfer solutions.”

Jouke Hottinga, Managing Director, Group Strategy & Balance Sheet Management at a.s.r., said: “We are pleased with this transaction. Pacific Life Re is a highly reliable and reputable counterparty with whom we are pleased to enter into cooperation. This reinsurance transaction effectively mitigates our longevity exposure and is fully aligned with our continued objective of optimising the balance sheet.”

You can read about this transaction and many other longevity swaps and longevity risk transfer transactions over on Artemis’ list of such agreements.

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Double-digit base earnings growth in the final quarter of the year followed 20% year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2025 for Canada Life Re.

The reinsurer attributes the robust end to the year to a combination of strong demand for capital efficient solutions and disciplined execution.

For the full year 2025, Canada Life Re generated base earnings of CAD 965 billion, and net earnings of CAD 861 million, compared with restated base earnings of CAD 856 million, and restated net earnings of CAD 656 million in 2024.

“Our reinsurance business contributed another year of record performance at Great-West Lifeco, which delivered 12% growth in base EPS, surpassing our medium term objective. All four of our segments have had a great year and this emphasizes the strength of a well-diversified organization,” said Jeff Poulin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Canada Life Re.

Group-wide, Great-West Lifeco delivered total base earnings of CAD 1.245 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 12% on the prior year, as total net earnings decreased by 6% to CAD 1.048 billion.

For the full year 2025, the company’s base earnings rose by 11% to CAD 4.649 billion, as net earnings increased by just 1% to CAD 3.96 billion.

“To our clients: thank you for your continued partnership. Your confidence fuels our ability to deliver innovative, capital efficient solutions that help you navigate complexity and achieve long term stability.

“To our team: I remain incredibly proud of the talent, discipline and commitment you bring to our business. Your expertise strengthens our strong reputation and reinforces our leadership in global reinsurance,” added Poulin.

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The latest deal, finalised with a UK-based life insurer, marks a significant expansion of the firm’s footprint in the competitive UK Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) market.

This transaction was executed using an efficient, bespoke structure that was specifically designed to meet the client’s risk and capital management objectives.

While specific financial terms of this transaction have not been disclosed, it underscores InEvo Re’s repaid scaling strategy and growing role as a key capital partner for global life insurers.

“It is another significant step in delivering our strategy, providing value and security to our partners and their policyholders. We look forward to building on this momentum as we move into 2026,” Tim Humphrey, InEvo Re Chairperson, stated.

The latest transaction underscores InEvo Re’s strong underwriting capabilities and its increasing ability to provide complex solutions to international markets.

InEvo Re’s inaugural UK transaction was in March 2025, having entered into an agreement with a leading UK insurer to reinsure their PRT liabilities, including both pensions in payment and deferred pensioners.

in September 2025, the life reinsurer announced it entered into its second reinsurance agreement, this time with a US-based life insurer, covering approximately $1 billion of long-dated liabilities.

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These credit moves reflect AIRG balance sheet strength, assessed as very strong by AM Best, as well as its adequate operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings of AIRG also reflect the company’s role as a reinsurer of affiliated international business, and the reinsurance, liquidity and other explicit and implicit support provided by other AIG entities. AIRG is expected to start assuming affiliated reinsurance in 2026.

The positive outlooks are in line with the current outlook for AIG and its subsidiaries.

AIRG serves as an international reinsurance vehicle, meaning its primary purpose is to insure the risks of AIG’s own international insurance businesses rather than selling reinsurance to third-party companies.

The creation of this entity appears to be part of AIG’s broader strategy to optimise its capital structure. By centralising international reinsurance in a Bermuda-based entity, AIG can more efficiently manage capital, liquidity, and risk across its global operations.

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Our directory of the top 50 global reinsurers, based on AM Best’s data, reveals that Everest is the largest Bermuda-based firm based on 2024 gross written premiums (GWP), which rose to $12.9 billion for the firm, up from $11.5 billion in 2023.

This leap places Everest as the largest Bermuda-based reinsurer by premiums and fourth among non-IFRS 17 peers worldwide.

RenaissanceRe Holdings followed with $11.7 billion in premiums, slightly down from $12.3 billion in 2023, though still firmly positioned among the top global reinsurers.

Bermuda-based Arch Capital Group recorded one of the sharpest increases, rising to $11.1 billion from $9.1 billion a year earlier, highlighting successful growth in specialty lines. PartnerRe remained steady with $9.3 billion in 2024 compared with $9.1 billion the year prior.

Among mid-tier Bermuda reinsurers, Axis Capital reached $2.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion in 2023, while Convex Group expanded to $2.3 billion from $2.1 billion.

Aspen Insurance Holdings advanced from $1.5 billion in 2023 to $1.9 billion in 2024, reflecting meaningful improvement in its turnaround strategy.

SiriusPoint registered a modest increase to $1.3 billion from $1.27 billion. Somers Re grew from $1.05 billion to $1.3 billion, while Hamilton Insurance Group made one of the largest percentage jumps, moving from $839 million to over $1.1 billion. Hiscox Re and ILS also improved, climbing from $970 million to just over $1 billion.

The year-over-year comparison shows Everest overtaking RenaissanceRe as the top Bermuda reinsurer, a reversal from 2023 when RenaissanceRe held the lead. Arch’s growth also stood out, closing the gap with the island’s top two reinsurers.

Aspen, Hamilton, and Somers Re added to the momentum with healthy gains, demonstrating resilience in a challenging environment.

Our Top Global Reinsurance Groups directory is based on AM Best research and ranks companies according to full-year 2024 performance.

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In AM Best’s Top Global Reinsurance Groups rankings, RGA rose from fourth place in 2023 to third in 2024 by gross premiums written, reaching $15.6 billion compared with $14.3 billion the year prior.

While RGA’s premiums increased year over year, Swiss Re’s shift from non-IFRS 17 to IFRS 17 reporting was a key factor in its move up the rankings. As a result, Swiss Re now holds the top spot in overall reinsurance revenue, surpassing Munich Re at year-end 2024.

It is important to note that Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which holds the top position for companies reporting under non-IFRS 17, and Lloyd’s, which ranks second, as well as the big for European reinsurers, all write life and non-life reinsurance. Whereas, among pure life reinsurers, RGA remains in the leading spot.

Canada Life Re, predominantly a life reinsurer but also offering P&C solutions, reported $3.4 billion in revenue in 2024, placing it eighth among IFRS 17 reporters. In 2023, the firm’s revenue hit $3.6 billion, putting it in seventh place for IFRS 17 reporters.

Meanwhile, pure life reinsurer Pacific LifeCorp held steady in 14th place among non-IFRS 17 reporters, with total premiums of $2.8 billion in 2024, down from $3.2 billion in 2023.

Our Top Global Reinsurance Groups directory is based on AM Best research and ranks companies according to full-year 2024 performance.

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In its analysis, Fitch notes that reserves ceded by insurers—measured through reserve credit and modified coinsurance (modco) reserves reported in U.S. statutory filings—rose from $2.0 trillion in 2023 to $2.4 trillion in 2024.

Fitch Ratings emphasises that collaborations between re/insurers and alternative investment managers have been a major catalyst for this expansion.

These partnerships often take the form of sidecars and offshore reinsurance platforms, allowing life insurers to shed capital-intensive legacy liabilities more effectively. By the end of 2024, Fitch estimates that nearly 40% of ceded reserves were associated with entities connected to alternative investment managers, a trend that has continued to strengthen into 2025.

The agency also points to the growing use of offshore reinsurance platforms—primarily domiciled in Bermuda—as an important factor in the sector’s growth.

Fitch notes that Bermuda’s regulatory environment, which saw enhancements in 2024 including increased capital requirements and greater oversight, remains attractive to insurers because it offers a more economic and flexible framework compared to the US Bermuda, along with Barbados and the Cayman Islands, now accounts for approximately 95% of offshore ceded reserves, according to Fitch’s data.

Fitch Ratings attributes the surge in annuity sales to a combination of rising interest rates, an aging population, and strong capital positions within the industry. In 2024, retail annuity sales hit a new high of $434 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of record sales.

Although Fitch expects sales growth to moderate in 2025 with interest rates projected to stabilise near 4.50% by year-end, the firm highlights that demand remains robust.

Fitch further explains that insurers are increasingly leveraging innovative reinsurance structures such as sidecars and offshore platforms in partnership with alternative investment managers. These vehicles offer enhanced capital management, allowing insurers to support new business volumes while optimising capital usage.

Sidecars generally take on all the business from their sponsoring insurers, whereas reinsurance platforms tend to start with business from their sponsors but are expected to gradually include third-party business. Fitch cautions, however, that rapid growth in these transactions can increase counterparty credit exposure and requires ongoing vigilance.

In examining recent market activity, Fitch Ratings observes that large block reinsurance deals have had mostly neutral effects on insurer credit ratings.

While cedants benefit from improved business risk profiles, reinsurers take on complex liabilities but manage them by resetting key assumptions. Fitch lists several high-profile transactions involving major insurers such as Lincoln National Corporation, MetLife, and Guardian Life Insurance Company, noting that this pattern of large deals is likely to continue.

Publicly traded insurers frequently divest complex or lower-return liabilities to free up capital, while reinsurance consolidators—many backed by alternative investment managers—seek to scale up and reposition assets toward less liquid strategies leveraging their investment expertise.

Looking ahead, Fitch anticipates that offshore reinsurance will remain a growing component of the North American life insurance market. The agency underscores that the ongoing demand for capital optimisation amid strong annuity sales and expanding partnerships supports this trend.

Fitch Ratings stresses the importance of evaluating reinsurance arrangements individually, taking into account jurisdictional regulatory environments, reserve requirements, and structural safeguards to ensure prudent risk management.

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The report, titled “Bermuda Remains the Largest Offshore Life/Annuity Reinsurance Domicile,” further notes that Bermuda was involved in over 60% of ceded reserves for life/annuity transactions effective in both 2023 and 2024.

While growth in ceded reserves from US life/annuity insurers slowed to 6.4% in 2024, it still follows more than 10% growth in each of the three years prior, analysts noted.

“Bermuda has a long history of reinsurance regulator accessibility, along with solid networks of legal, actuarial and accounting expertise,” said Jason Hopper, associate director, AM Best. “Capital efficiency tends to be cited as the primary business rationale for using offshore reinsurance.”

The strong annuity growth over the past two years was driven by higher interest rates and an ageing population in the US, the report stated.

Although growth slowed in 2024, it is projected to persist, potentially leading more companies to seek reinsurers for managing growth and capital.

Affiliated offshore reinsurance can provide country-risk diversification and capital efficiency, which supports balance sheet growth. Yet it can also provide accounting and tax benefits, the report noted.

Jacob Conner, associate analyst, AM Best, said: “However, cross-border reinsurance introduces operational complexity and opaqueness, which may complicate analysis.”

According to the report, nearly 70% of reserves ceded offshore go to affiliated companies, with the firms backed by asset managers or private equity sponsors making up 46% of these offshore affiliate reserves.

The report also includes data on US life/annuity insurers, including the highest share of in-force ceded reserves held by offshore affiliates, a breakdown of in-force reserves assumed by region and a ranking of the largest reinsurance transactions for ceded reserves in 2024.

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The reinsurer explains that a key driver of its decision to cease new US Trad Life business is expanding the resources devoted to the structured reinsurance market.

For US Trad Life clients with treaties open for new business, Canada Life Re says that it will provide notices to terminate new business effective December 31st, 2025.

Canada Life Re will continue to manage, process, and support all in-force business and clients, and states that it will work with existing clients to provide a smooth transition process for both facultative and automatic new business.

Jeff Poulin, Executive Vice-President, Reinsurance, commented: “This carefully considered decision will allow Canada Life Reinsurance to focus on our core markets of structured solutions, longevity reinsurance and Catastrophe retrocession.”

“With a large U.S. Trad Life inforce block to manage, our clients will be expecting the same high levels of service that we have been providing. We remain committed to meeting our clients’ expectations,” added Poulin.

The reinsurer, a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, primarily operates in the U.S., Barbados, Bermuda, and Ireland.

Despite ceasing new business for US Trad Life, Canada Life Re emphasises that it will continue to focus on providing capital and reserve financing solutions for firms in a wide range of product lines and geographies.

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This reinsurance transaction covers an in-force portfolio of participating whole life and annuity policies.

It also transfers materially all risks associated with the guaranteed benefits of these policies from the cedent to Resolution Life, including market, policyholder behaviour. and mortality risks.

According to the terms, the cedent will continue to service and administer the policies.

The transaction builds on Resolution Life’s announcement last month of a block reinsurance transaction in Japan.

These deals align with the insurer’s strategy of providing holistic reinsurance solutions to life insurers across Asia and supporting the industry to deliver improved policyholder outcomes.

Rushabh Ranavat, Chief Executive Officer, Asia of Resolution Life, said, “We are proud to announce a further transaction in Asia, and excited to bring our solution set to Hong Kong with a new blue-chip counterparty.

“We will continue to combine our global platform and regional commitment to provide leading solutions for life insurers in Hong Kong and across Asia.”

Linklaters Asia, Eversheds Sutherland London and Walkers Bermuda served as legal counsel to Resolution Life in connection with this transaction.

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