Reinsurance renewals news

Speaking today during the quarterly earnings call of US insurance company Travelers, CFO Dan Frey explained that even with the lower retention it now has, thanks to adding a new $1 billion lower layer to the treaty, the firms 2025 catastrophe loss experience would not have seen it make any recoveries from the tower.

US primary insurance company Travelers has added an additional $1 billion lower layer to its catastrophe excess-of-loss (XoL) reinsurance treaty at the January 1st renewals, reducing the retention by an equivalent amount to $3 billion while securing $4.675 billion of coverage above that.

According to Howden Re, the dynamics of supply and demand in the US casualty reinsurance market led to predominantly stable conditions during the January 2026 renewals. But the firm also highlighted that rising use of casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS) and sidecars in the US contributed to enhancing clients’ negotiating power throughout the season.

As per reinsurance broker Howden Re, capacity within the retrocession market was more than sufficient to meet demand at the January renewals, largely due to a combination of retained earnings for insurance-linked securities (ILS) and rated carriers, as well as ILS inflows, and new entrants.

Analysts at Fitch Ratings highlighted how record amounts of reinsurance capital supply from both traditional and alternative sources exceeded the slight demand increase from buyers during the January 1, 2026 renewals, driving a softening market but one they feel can still deliver profits.

The retrocession renewals for January 1st 2026 were finalised much later than usual. But, with ample capacity available from traditional and ILS markets, buyers achieved price reductions and also re-introduced more frequency protection to their coverage, according to Gallagher Re.

At the January renewals, property catastrophe reinsurance and retrocession markets both saw rate declines in the mid-teens. Most still agree that rate adequacy remains, while attachments stay at their current higher levels, but KBW’s analysts highlight how this may only drive compounding price competition over-time.

American Coastal Insurance Company (AmCoastal) has successfully renewed two excess-of-loss catastrophe reinsurance arrangements at the January 2026 renewals, growing its all other perils cover slightly and also refreshing its catastrophe aggregate coverage at the same size as last year.

Despite an ease on pricing, reinsurance programme structures are expected to remain largely unchanged, with reinsurers holding firm on elevated attachment points following the post-2023 reset, leaving primary P&C insurers to continue retaining a greater share of secondary-peril losses and associated earnings volatility, according to Moody’s Ratings.

QBE Re, the international reinsurance arm of the global insurance group, has sponsored its first casualty reinsurance sidecar vehicle, securing over $550 million in fully collateralised quota share reinsurance through George Street Re, with the transaction backed by institutional investors Culpeper Capital Partners and Calidris Investment Partners.