SIRC 2026: ‘Risk is moving faster than price’: Antares’ Sri Ram Pappu
November 3 2026 by Aidan Gregory
The steep ongoing softening in Asia Pacific’s reinsurance market masks a proliferation of risk in the region, according to Sri Ram Pappu, deputy CEO of Antares Singapore.
Pappu said that the coming 1.1 renewals will be shaped by four factors, creating a complex multispeed marketplace.
“Capacity is abundant — at the start of this year APAC had over 130% of the capacity it needed, and more has arrived since,” Pappu said. “Pricing follows that: in financial lines, Asian rates have now fallen for more than three years and were down 7% in the second quarter alone. Retentions are the quiet one; buyers are keeping them broadly where they are and putting the savings into more limit.”
Due to the sustained market softening, and intense competition due to the abundance of capacity, reinsurers now face intense pressure to loosen terms and conditions, with wordings being “where the real negotiation will be”, Pappu said.
“In cyber, cover is being stretched to pick up AI, fraud and physical damage,” he added. “Rate is a cyclical conversation while coverage is a structural one. Insurers need to be far more careful when adapting to structural change, and it is important that we communicate this to clients.”
Most lines of business in APAC have seen double-digit rate reductions over the past 12 months, with financial lines and property catastrophe being particularly soft.
The steep softening masks an environment where risk is intensifying, which is not being reflected in the current rates across multiple lines of business.
“Risk is moving faster than price,” Pappu said. “Ransomware hit a record in the first half of this year, including a record half for Asia and Oceania, yet cyber rates have fallen for four years running. Hull and machinery went into 2026 only marginally profitable, with ageing fleets and higher repair costs. And in D&O, regulators in Hong Kong, China and Southeast Asia are all stepping up enforcement just as cover has become cheaper.
“None of that shows up in a single renewal. It shows up two or three years later, in the claims. That gap — between where the risk is heading and where the price is heading — is the conversation we as underwriters have every week.”
Growth spurt
At the coming 1.1 renewals, the carrier will seek to grow in marine and financial lines, particularly cyber, which it sees as its core strengths, while limiting its exposure to proportional treaties that do not meet its pricing expectations.
“Our appetite is growing, but deliberately,” Pappu said. “We want to do more in the classes where we have real depth — marine and financial lines — and in cyber, where we’re still scaling our proposition. We won’t follow the market into business that’s priced below the risk.”
According to Pappu, the primary softening of proportional treaties is a “major concern,” while on quota shares, which inherit original rates, cedents have pushed for higher commissions.
“Falling rates and rising commissions squeeze the margin from both ends,” Pappu added. “Our approach is straightforward: we wl back cedents whose original pricing is holding up, and we will be transparent where it isn’t.”
Antares sees long-term opportunities in marine cargo in Asia, which accounts for 30% of the world’s marine premium and is a major driver of global cargo growth.
“Asia now writes close to 30% of the world’s marine premium and leads global cargo growth, much of it out of China, which we write from Singapore.” Sri Ram Pappu, Antares
“That’s where our marine franchise needs to be strongest,” he added.
Despite the current softening, financial lines is also a strategic priority for Antares, with booming equity capital markets across APAC, particularly Hong Kong, creating long-term demand for D&O coverage.
“Equally important is that we won’t chase classes where capacity has run well ahead of the risk,” Pappu added. “Choosing where not to grow is as much a strategy as choosing where to grow.”
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