SIRC: Capacity ready to go, Hannover Re says, ahead of robust renewal discussions
November 3 2025 by Mithun Varkey
Global reinsurer Hannover Re continues to see opportunities in emerging and developed markets in Asia Pacific, executive board member Sharon Ooi told InsuranceAsia News.
“We look to deploy more capacity if required by our clients and expect robust discussions leading up to renewals,” Ooi said ahead of the Singapore International Reinsurance Conference.
“Southeast Asia remains an incredibly dynamic market with prices depending on the loss experience after the catastrophes we’ve seen in the past.
“For us, price adequacy remains a focus, and we are also seeing an increased trend of introspection by cedents to revisit the sufficiency of cat limits especially after the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand.”
Discussing the reinsurance giant’s appetite for Asian risks, especially considering Hannover Re’s premium growth was flat at 1.1 2025, due to lower primary rating increases, Ooi said.
“The rate adequacy on the primary market does remain a concern, more impacting the proportional treaties, and we look to engage in dialogue with our clients to better manage the portfolio through risk selection, with focus on a sustainable growth together,” she added.
Ooi, who has regional responsibility for Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa and includes facultative reinsurance, said that the consolidation in major Asian markets like Australia and Japan “will result in less contestable reinsurance premium”.
“The clients’ focus on volatility and capital management will open different opportunities for reinsurers and we have the right offering and experience to accommodate these demands,” she said.
Hannover Re said it had adjusted its client-specific and product-specific appetite in Asia Pacific at the January 1, 2024, renewals due to the lower primary rating increases in the region.
“First and foremost, we want to support our clients achieving their goals. Be it on their traditional core reinsurance programmes or with more specialised solutions.”
Sharon Ooi, Hannover Re
The reinsurer’s P&C premium growth in the region for the 1.1 renewal was a muted 0.8% at EUR1.22 billion (US$1.4 billion) compared with EUR1.21 billion in 2024.
Hannover Re’s Asia Pacific gross P&C reinsurance revenue for 2024 was down 4.5% to EUR2.7 billion compared with EUR2.83 billion in 2023, the company said in its annual earnings report.
While it grew its business in Australia by 8.7% to EUR741 million in 2024 from EUR681.4 million a year ago, Asia revenues fell to EUR1.9 billion from EUR2.1 billion over the same period.
Its treaty business revenue in the region also fell by 4% year-on-year to EUR1.9 billion compared with EUR2.1 billion in 2023
Gross reinsurance revenues, including life and health, for the region stood at EUR4.59 billion, up marginally from EUR4.57 billion in 2023. Revenues from Asia for the period were EUR3 billion, while Australia accounted for EUR1.5 billion.
“First and foremost, we want to support our clients achieving their goals. Be it on their traditional core reinsurance programmes or with more specialised solutions,” Ooi said
“We continue to see more opportunities than challenges as our clients mature and we deepen our relationships. This will result in more open and strategic discussions around how to help them navigate a continued dynamic market environment affected by volatility resulting from climate change as well as the financial markets.”
Reflecting on the region’s outlook in its March earnings call, the reinsurer had said: “While we are seeking to maintain our strong market position in traditional property and casualty business, we aspire to play a stronger role in the region’s market for catastrophe covers to cater to the increasing frequency of natural disasters and the large protection gaps that still remain.”
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