SIRC 2026: Regional reinsurance growth to welcome limit expansion, better program design
November 3 2026 by Mithun Varkey
Growth in the regional reinsurance market is likely to stem not only from premium expansion but also from increased limit purchases and improvements in program design, according to Soon Keen Lee, APAC and MENA CEO at Canopius.
A softening market should give cedents more options, with benefits extending beyond headline pricing, Lee said.
“With capacity more readily available and competition increasing, cedents are in a stronger position to review program efficiency, purchase higher limits, lower attachment points where economically appropriate, reinstate previously reduced layers and secure broader or more tailored protection,” she said.
“We are also seeing greater interest in restructuring programs to address specific volatility, accumulation and earnings-protection needs through a combination of traditional excess-of-loss cover, aggregate solutions, structured arrangements, multi-year capacity and parametric products.”
This is particularly relevant in Asia, where economic growth, urbanisation, rising asset values and persistent protection gaps continue to increase the amount of risk requiring protection.
Governments are also increasingly exploring ways to transfer a greater share of natural catastrophe exposure from post-event public disaster relief to pre-arranged insurance and reinsurance solutions.
“This should create further demand for catastrophe capacity- and encourage the development of public-private risk pools and other innovative structures,” Lee added.
“A recent example is Thailand’s natural-catastrophe pool purchased by the Thai government, which illustrates how sovereign and public-sector demand can complement traditional cedent purchasing.”
Measured appetite
Canopius’ appetite for Asian risks remains positive and is evolving in a measured, portfolio-led way.
The company has clearly defined risk appetites by line of business and by market, and its priority is to build selectively within those parameters rather than pursue growth for its own sake.
It continues to favour well-managed risks with strong underwriting information, credible controls and terms that appropriately reflect the underlying exposure, while maintaining particular discipline in catastrophe-exposed, loss-affected or rapidly softening segments.
“Primary-market competition is increasing across parts of the region, with greater capacity and more ambitious growth targets putting pressure on rates, particularly for clean and well-performing accounts,” Lee said.
“However, the degree of softening is not uniform: pricing and terms continue to vary materially by country, class, peril, loss experience and the quality of the underlying portfolio.”
“Our key concern is ensuring that risk quality, exposure growth and changing loss patterns remain properly reflected in program structures and technical pricing.”
Soon Keen Lee, Canopius
Overall rate adequacy remains healthy across most of Canopius’ target lines, in part because of corrective action taken over recent renewal cycles, but the margin for error is narrowing as reductions compound.
“That is why we look beyond headline rates and closely monitor portfolio-level rate adequacy, exposure movements, attachment points, deductibles, commissions and changes in coverage,” she said.
Where pricing no longer reflects the technical risk, or broader terms weaken the expected return, Canopius is prepared to reduce participation, adjust structures or step away.
“Our key concern is ensuring that risk quality, exposure growth and changing loss patterns remain properly reflected in program structures and technical pricing,” Lee said.
Cedents should use the current capacity environment strategically.
“The priority should not simply be to secure lower pricing, but to build resilient, sustainable programs that perform when they are needed most,” Lee added.
Regional growth
For Canopius, growth will come from two directions: building out its established franchises in Singapore and Australia, and expanding its product offering, particularly in specialty lines and complex, evolving exposures such as climate-related agricultural risks and cross-border political risk.
“In Australia, where we currently hold approximately 1% market share of the US$21.3 billion market for products we can write across the group, we see significant headroom to grow through a stronger middle-market proposition, deeper cover-holder relationships and a broader product range,” Lee noted
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