Reinsurance renewals news

Analysts at Moody’s Ratings expect the alternative reinsurance capital space to continue to expand over the long-term, stating that much of the growth will come from reinsurers with additional growth expected from non-catastrophe risk, as the rating agency shifts its outlook on the global reinsurance sector to stable from positive.

Alternative capital remains a critical source of retrocessional reinsurance capacity for some of the biggest reinsurers in the market, with it seen to increase in importance for some of the top-tier companies over the last year, S&P Global Ratings has said.

While reinsurance rates have been trending downward throughout 2025 as the market softens following a period of historic hardening conditions, pricing pressure is now expected to persist absent a severe hurricane season or other major loss, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Record levels of catastrophe bond market issuance in 2025 are reshaping the pricing landscape, AM Best believes, but the rating agency sees no sign of a slow-down ahead, as “all indications point to continued growth.”

As the reinsurance market begins to look towards the end of year renewals and negotiations leading up to that, Mike van der Straaten, the CEO of Antares Global, has highlighted that while the property retrocession market is “buyer-favourable” at this time, capacity remains somewhat constrained.

Speaking during an analyst call for Hannover Re’s Q2 2025 financial results this week, Sven Althoff, Member of the Executive Board for Property & Casualty (P&C), explained that despite natural catastrophe pricing being under pressure, terms and conditions and importantly attachment points remain stable.

According to the latest projection from rating agency AM Best and broker Guy Carpenter, third-party capital deployed in reinsurance is anticipated to grow by almost 7% this year, projected to end the year at a new high of $114 billion.

Swiss Re’s CEO Andreas Berger explained today that the company sees the current state of the reinsurance market as one where discipline is being maintained, which he believes is a new normal and must be sustained, while he also said that margins were particularly attractive for natural catastrophe risks in recent renewal rounds.

Swiss Re has continued to grow across its natural catastrophe, property and specialty lines business through renewals this year so far, with 3% volume growth at the mid-year renewals, against a backdrop of continued price increases, but with rising loss assumptions, meaning a net price change of -2.4% at June and July.

Hannover Re is currently operating on the assumption that its retrocession needs for 2026 will result in a similar placement as we saw at the start of this year, unless pricing proves particularly compelling to purchase more, Sven Althoff, Member of the Executive Board for Property & Casualty (P&C) explained today.