Americas offer lands of opportunity for reinsurers, says AM Best

Last year was tough for reinsurers, with hurricanes Florence and Michael, typhoon Jebi and California wildfires helping to rack up losses, said global credit rating agency AM Best.

However, it was not as bad as 2017, said AM Best. The loss ratio for the global reinsurance market fell to 68.2 in 2018, down from 76.5 in 2017, but above the five-year average of 63.5.

Reinsurers are finding growth opportunities in Latin America, said the agency. Colombia, Chile and Peru have surpassed reinsurance market expectations, and this has offset disappointment in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

The agency also points to the mortgage reinsurance, especially in the US market, as government agencies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae transfer risk.

Swiss Re has overtaken Munich Re as the world’s biggest reinsurer by gross premiums written (GPW). Munich Re had held the top spot every year since 2010, with the exception of 2016, and now, 2018, said AM Best. Swiss Re’s GPW rose 4.7 percent in 2018 to $36.4 billion, driven by its life business, while Munich Re’s GPW fell 5.3 percent to $35.8 billion.

Swiss Re and Munich Re are likely to continue to vie for the top slot, said AM Best. Together the two account for nearly 30 percent of GPW. Hannover Re is in third place, at $22 billion.

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