Active Re eyes Asia growth, not volume — won’t follow pricing down

Asia is a growth market for Active Re, but with abundant capacity putting pressure on terms, the reinsurer is betting on technical depth, selective expansion and the discipline to walk away, CEO Ramón Martínez-Carrera tells SIRC Today.

Key points:
Capacity alone no longer differentiates
Asia growth creates new exposures
Alternative risk transfer gains ground

Abundant capital is intensifying competition for attractive reinsurance business, but Active Re chief executive Ramón Martínez-Carrera cautions that softer pricing and terms are raising the stakes on risk selection as opportunities grow in specialised client needs, alternative risk transfer and new sources of capital.

“Capital is abundant and competition for good business is intense. Pricing and terms are softening in several lines, and that makes risk selection more important, not less,” Martínez-Carrera told SIRC Today.

Asia-Pacific generated 24.9% of Active Re’s gross written premium in 2025, making it a core part of its portfolio. But regulation, maturity and client needs vary widely across the region, so underwriting decisions, he said, have to be made “market by market”.

Active Re has “favoured territories with lower catastrophe exposure”. When rates fell sharply in some property occupancies last year, the Barbados- domiciled global reinsurer chose not to renew part of that business rather than follow pricing down.

“Technical profitability comes first,” Martínez-Carrera said. “Then comes focus on a diversified portfolio, a strong balance sheet and relationships that extend well beyond a single renewal.”

Market by Market

Cedant demand is becoming more sophisticated as capacity becomes easier to find.

“Cedants still need capacity, but capacity on its own no longer sets a reinsurer apart.”

Martínez-Carrera said buyers are increasingly looking for reinsurers that understand their portfolios, respond quickly and remain committed when the cycle turns. Depending on the market, the driver may be capital pressure, regulatory change, new exposures or the need for more efficient structures.

Active Re is also seeing growing interest in combining traditional reinsurance with alternative risk transfer, where technical knowledge and flexibility can make a tangible difference.

In Asia, demand is strongest where economic growth is creating new exposures faster than insurance penetration can keep up. Martínez-Carrera pointed to infrastructure and construction, trade, and life and health protection for a growing middle class.

Asia-Pacific is already the largest source of Active Re’s credit & surety portfolio, contributing 44.8% of its revenue in 2025. The reinsurer also sees selective opportunities in secondary perils and is pursuing recognition as a foreign reinsurer in well-regulated markets.

“Geographic expansion is not an objective in itself,” he said. “We go where our expertise and capacity add value for the client and generate an adequate return for us.”

“Growth is the result of good underwriting, not a target that justifies relaxing it.”

Discipline over volume

Active Re does not view growth and underwriting discipline as competing priorities. Growth, Martínez-Carrera said, should be the result of “good underwriting, not a target that justifies relaxing it.”

Every opportunity is assessed on data quality, loss history, accumulations, contract terms and risk-adjusted return, he stressed. When a submission falls short, Active Re will adjust terms or decline it, even if that means writing less premium.

Its 2025 results reflected that approach: an 88.4% combined ratio, 16.1% return on equity and a $26.7 million technical result. “We gave up some volume, and the portfolio is stronger for it,” he said. In October 2026, AM Best affirmed its A (Excellent) rating for a fourth consecutive year.

That discipline also shapes its approach to emerging risks. On climate, more frequent and severe events are testing models and pricing assumptions. Active Re is refining its models around extreme weather and closely monitoring severe convective storms and flooding, where modelling remains less developed.

Cyber creates a different accumulation challenge because it evolves quickly, crosses borders and can affect large numbers of insureds simultaneously.

“Clarity on wordings, aggregation and exposure must come before capacity is deployed,” he underlined.

By the end of 2025, 50% of Active Re’s treaty technical accounts were processed with AI support, while key underwriting decisions, including risk appetite and accumulation management, remained firmly in the hands of experienced underwriters.

Across the cycle

For 2027, Martínez-Carrera expects opportunities from growing insurance markets, more specialised client needs, alternative risk transfer and new sources of capital. The challenge is resisting the temptation to chase volume as capital becomes plentiful.

“Business written today on inadequate terms will show up later in results and in solvency,” he said.

“The companies that perform well in 2027 will be those that combine financial strength, technical depth and the discipline to decline business when the price does not reflect the risk.”

As Active Re approaches its 20th anniversary in 2027. Martínez-Carrera said the milestone reinforces a principle carried through different market cycles. “In reinsurance, consistency across the cycle matters more than growth in any single year.”

Ramón Martínez-Carrera is the chief executive of Active Re and can be contacted at:  r.martinez@acreinsurance.com

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