Reinsurance | Renewals, Cat Bonds & ILS Analysis

From Our Desk Original analysis · Reinsurance

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Reinsurers Carry 40% of Cat Exposure but Pay Under 25% of Losses

Reinsurers carried 40% of natural-catastrophe exposure since 2021 but paid under 25% of 2025 losses. Howden Re's 2022 backtest shows why that gap can close faster than its cycle model predicts.

By Sam · 4 min read · Sep 9

ReinsuranceSep 9 · 4 min

One QBE Deal Is 62% of PwC's 2026 Run-Off Volume

One $1.6B QBE-RiverStone deal makes up 62% of PwC's $2.57B insurance run-off volume for 2026, leaving an implied $57M per other announced deal and a public series that cannot reveal legacy pricing.

ReinsuranceSep 8 · 5 min

Reinsurers' Cost of Capital Rose 96 Basis Points While Property Cat Rates Fell 16%

AM Best puts reinsurers' 2025 cost of equity at 9.6%, a fourth straight annual rise, and the weighted average cost of capital at 8.63% by early 2026, up 96 basis points as property cat rates fell 16%.

ReinsuranceSep 7 · 5 min

Gallagher Re: Reinsurers' 19.9% Return Is 13.8% Underlying, and 2027 Is Priced Off the 19.9%

Gallagher Re puts its reinsurance composite at a 19.9% half-year ROE and a record-low 85.8% combined ratio, yet the underlying return is 13.8% and the cat-normalised combined ratio deteriorated to 94.2%.

ReinsuranceAug 31 · 5 min

AM Best: Big Four Kept Cat Appetite by Raising Attachments and Exiting Aggregate Covers

Hannover Re grew its June and July book 12.3% while risk-adjusted prices fell 4.5%. AM Best says Europe's Big Four held property catastrophe appetite only by raising attachments and exiting aggregate covers.

Cat ModelingAug 31 · 5 min

State Farm Patents a Crowdsourced Catastrophe Loss Engine

State Farm's US Patent 12,700,043, granted August 4, 2026, fuses a weather feed with geotagged crowdsourced photos to estimate damage at a single address, and lets a neighbor's claim trigger the assessment.

Cat ModelingAug 31 · 4 min

42%, 45% or 52%: Swiss Re's Quiet Half Has Three Insured Shares

Global insured natural catastrophe losses ran $42 billion in the first half of 2026, 16% below the ten-year average and the lowest first half since 2020. Whether that half's insured share of economic loss reads high or low depends entirely on which baseline Swiss Re's own figures are measured against.

ReinsuranceAug 28 · 5 min

AmCoastal's $25.5M Cat Bond Buys First-Event Retention Down to $23.5M

American Coastal placed a $25.5 million Armor Re II 2026-2 cat bond on August 1, cutting its first-event Florida named storm retention from $49 million to $23.5 million for about $8.4 million, a 33% rate on line.

ReinsuranceAug 27 · 4 min

Munich Re and Swiss Re Post Sub-80% Ratios Atop AM Best's 50 Largest Reinsurers

Munich Re reclaimed the top of AM Best's 50 largest reinsurers on a 12.9% euro move, not on growth: its revenue fell 3.7% pre-forex while a 73.5% combined ratio hands cedents leverage into January 2027.

On the Wire Sep 9

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Renewal Rounds Risk-adjusted price change on renewed business · Mid-year 2026

Full round history →

Mid-year 2026 Every reporting reinsurer priced the latest book down. Munich Re −5.5% on −9.1% volume; Hannover Re −4.5% on +12.3% volume.

Munich Re

−5.5%

vol −9.1%

Mid-year 2026

Hannover Re

−4.5%

vol +12.3%

Mid-year 2026

Munich Re

−2.5%

vol −7.8%

Jan 2026

Hannover Re

−3.2%

vol +3.3%

Jan 2026

Price change on renewed business as disclosed by each reinsurer, risk-adjusted (Hannover Re additionally inflation-adjusted). Round windows differ by reinsurer; see each entry. Volume change shown under each figure; ▲ marks volume growth. Every figure links to its source release on the P&C Pricing Pulse.

Reinsurer Earnings Latest reinsurer filings · Q2 2026

All filings →

Q2 2026 6 reinsurers have reported. Median combined ratio 92.2, with 4 of 6 improving vs. PY and all 6 underwriting below 100.

RenaissanceRe

72.8CR

2.3pt vs PY

Q2 2026

Everest

91.5CR

4.9pt vs PY

Q2 2026

Arch Capital

98.5CR

5.1pt vs PY

Q2 2026

AXIS Capital

93.1CR

4.2pt vs PY

Designated areas

From Our Desk Original analysis · Reinsurance

Reinsurers Carry 40% of Cat Exposure but Pay Under 25% of Losses

One QBE Deal Is 62% of PwC's 2026 Run-Off Volume

Reinsurers' Cost of Capital Rose 96 Basis Points While Property Cat Rates Fell 16%

Gallagher Re: Reinsurers' 19.9% Return Is 13.8% Underlying, and 2027 Is Priced Off the 19.9%

AM Best: Big Four Kept Cat Appetite by Raising Attachments and Exiting Aggregate Covers

State Farm Patents a Crowdsourced Catastrophe Loss Engine

42%, 45% or 52%: Swiss Re's Quiet Half Has Three Insured Shares

AmCoastal's $25.5M Cat Bond Buys First-Event Retention Down to $23.5M

Munich Re and Swiss Re Post Sub-80% Ratios Atop AM Best's 50 Largest Reinsurers

Renewal Rounds Risk-adjusted price change on renewed business · Mid-year 2026

Reinsurer Earnings Latest reinsurer filings · Q2 2026

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