Global reinsurers face discipline test as competition rises

Asia players are expanding into mature overseas markets to diversify their portfolios.

The global reinsurance industry has reached a key turning point: whether firms can maintain strict underwriting discipline as capital accumulates and market competition increases. 

At the same time, the ongoing transition to the IFRS 17 accounting standard is reshaping the annual rankings of the world's 50 largest reinsurers, with positions shifting depending on the accounting methods used.

These findings feature in credit rating agency AM Best’s latest annual research, published as industry leaders gather in Monte Carlo for the annual Rendez-Vous de Septembre.

Whilst the sector has produced strong technical results and disciplined underwriting, market observers question whether this control reflects a permanent structural shift or merely a brief phase in the traditional underwriting cycle as conditions begin to soften over the next 12 months.

In Asia, increasing market competition has led several regional reinsurers to expand into mature overseas markets to diversify their portfolios.

In Europe, the four largest reinsurers posted strong first-half results for 2026, aided by lower-than-expected natural catastrophe losses, and remain on target to meet ambitious profit goals.

In North America, AM Best’s composite of rated US and Bermuda reinsurers recorded a fifth straight year of underwriting profitability, even as premium growth slowed significantly.

In the Middle East and Africa, reinsurers delivered another year of solid underwriting results. The Middle East and North Africa region remains attractive to international capital, whilst sub-Saharan Africa offers high growth potential.

However, ongoing regional conflict has led reinsurers to become far more selective in their underwriting.

In Latin America, primary insurance companies are taking advantage of softer reinsurance conditions to secure additional catastrophe protection ahead of potential severe weather from a Super Niño event.