SIRC: Motivated market drives appetite for alternative structures: Gallagher Re’s Jones

November 6 2025 by

As the market is getting motivated with growth aspirations of both reinsurers and insurers, there is a notable rise in appetite for alternative or structured solutions, said Richard Jones, chairman for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Korea, of Gallagher Re.  

“I always like a motivated reinsurance market because it usually produces some innovative structures and people are willing to talk about alternative structures. 

“That market has always been alive out here, but we’ve found more players coming in and saying, yes, we can consider structured solutions, longer-term arrangements, which is helping the clients out to achieve their goals because our clients want to grow their business as well,” he said.  

“Since the last 1.1 renewal, we have seen reinsurers being more flexible and cedents getting a slightly easier, more straightforward renewal.” 

With both insurers and reinsurers pursuing growth, Jones expressed a strong sense of optimism for clients during the 1.1 renewals. 

“There’s a lot of chat around keeping discipline and I completely understand that. But I think there is more capital available and they want to use their capital.  

“So that in itself should help us to create some more innovative products which are going to help maybe with the attritional end of the business,” said Jones.  

“Of course, there’s still pressure in the system, but I would like to think that there’ll be some further flexibility and open-minded solutions which obviously will be at the forefront.”  

“I think there's a good opportunity for clients to make the most of that and help them grow their business.”

Richard Jones, Gallagher Re

As cedents navigate challenges, such as the changing model of agency business going over to digital as well as developing risks, including cyber and the energy transition, reinsurance can provide essential support, according to Jones.  

“And in the longer term, if they want to go into new products, there is an appetite from the reinsurers, who are keen to make strategic partnerships to manage portfolios in a market that’s becoming a little bit more flexible.  

“I think there’s a good opportunity for clients to make the most of that and help them grow their business.” 

Besides, the growing MGA space, which is stepping into the specialty line, is also providing a consistent immune capacity, which is going to be of use in the future, he said.    

“Yes and it’s giving cedents more options and I think that’s a positive thing.”  

Growth in Asia  

The primary insurance markets are having challenges in growing, according to Jones.  

While India and China are seeing “definite growth” with many positive indications, insurers in certain regions of Asia, such as Korea, are facing challenges to expand their domestic business. 

“But what’s quite exciting is that they’re now looking overseas. We saw recently the headline purchase of Fortegra by DB, Samsung and their Canopius investment, etc. 

“I find that very energising for the region and it’s great to see more Asian-based entities going global and overseas, they start bringing product back. And from our viewpoint, we can bring real value with our global reach. 

“In my view, Asia, at the moment, is a pretty dynamic and healthy market,” he said, adding that it’s important to find innovative solutions to match the motivated market, where re(insurers) both want to grow 

“My key message is we need to match the motivated reinsurance market. 

“This is so that we can get great results for our clients and align with their own goals. If we can match the two, it’ll be a very successful outcome.” 

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