Full capacity: Discipline meets discounts at mid-year renewals
May 31 2025 by Mithun Varkey
Welcome to Full Capacity, a weekly briefing on all the most important developments of the past week with a personal take on the news from our editor-in-chief, Mithun Varkey, delivered to your inbox every Saturday.
Leadership shakeup. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ China CEO Jeffrey Pan and Southeast Asia head Didier Bélot will leave the company, InsuranceAsia News reported exclusively.
APAC CFO Meng Hwi Chin, meanwhile, will step into the role of head of Swiss Re CorSo China, effective from August 1.
M&A spotlight. Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has made a beachhead in China with the acquisition of Beijing-based Nongxin Insurance Brokerage.
The acquisition gives the reinsurance broker access to the Chinese market after Gallagher’s acquisition of Willis Re in 2021 had excluded operations in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Bermuda bound. Hong Kong-based Peak Re has established a subsidiary in Bermuda, Peak Reinsurance North America. The Gene Zhang-led US casualty reinsurance-focused entity “is a significant step in our group’s global growth strategy”.
Nat cat brief. Insurers have received more than 7,300 claims related to the Mid North Coast and Hunter Regions floods as of Friday, according to the Insurance Council of Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the flooding posed “massive challenges” and that the recovery would take several months.
It is likely to result in diverse types of claims from property to agriculture and BI, and prompt further scrutiny of climate risk models and pricing strategies across the industry, IAN reported.
Rates moderate as Florida renewals close
As Florida’s reinsurance renewal season draws to a close, brokers report that renewals are following the broader market’s lead – plenty of capacity and growth appetite. This dynamic has led to a welcome moderation in rates, yet reinsurers are exercising commendable discipline.
Notwithstanding the gloomy hurricane season outlooks, rate reductions seem to be accelerating, especially in the higher layers.
Guy Carpenter reports that while the lower layers of reinsurance programs are largely flat, the upper layers are experiencing risk-adjusted reductions in the high single digits to low teens. Guy Carpenter noted that catastrophe losses have already been factored into the pricing of lower-layer reinsurance rates.
According to Howden Re, rates are between flat and down 20%, contingent on loss experience and attachment points. Notably, upper layers of reinsurance programs are benefiting from rate reductions ranging from 10-20%.
Capital flows are rebounding, with newly formed reinsurers and syndicates actively deploying significant capacity into mid-year placements.
The supply of reinsurance is expanding, outpacing rising demand – a trend supported by improved retained earnings among reinsurers and ongoing activity in the catastrophe bond market.
Notably, the appetite from cat bonds is strong, adding further capacity in the remote-attaching layers.
The LA wildfires don’t seem to have had a meaningful impact on reinsurer growth plans or appetite.
Rates are moderating, but reinsurers are disciplined and the market’s profitable but cautiously optimistic. Which in Florida, means the next hurricane season is the only wildcard left to play. Board up.
People moves
Miller’s Japanese unit, Lead Insurance Services, has promoted Naoteru Akigami as president and CEO, succeeding Toru Suzuki, who has taken over as executive chairman, IAN reported exclusively this week.
Gallagher Re has appointed Chulmin Jang of Aon as CEO for South Korea, as Phil Won Jeong moves up as chairman.
In Hong Kong, Berkley Insurance Asia has appointed AIG’s Vivian Chow as commercial professional indemnity underwriting manager, confirming a report by InsuranceAsia News in March.
Be sure to check out our weekly roundup of personnel moves to stay updated on the key appointments in the region.
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