The global property reinsurance market remained highly competitive during the mid-year renewal season, supported by abundant capacity and a growing appetite from reinsurers that continued to put pressure on pricing, according to global risk and reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter.
Guy Carpenter said cedents continued to secure favourable pricing and terms, while increasingly exploring alternative risk transfer solutions such as parametric insurance and sidecars to complement traditional reinsurance programmes.
Guy Carpenter President and CEO Dean Klisura said insurers have turned to additional forms of protection as market conditions remain favourable.
“In the current market conditions, cedents have secured competitive pricing and terms on their reinsurance programs, but many are also exploring alternative options, such as parametric solutions and sidecars, as ways to complement their traditional protection. We expect this trend to continue as we move through the remainder of the year,” Mr Klisura said.
The company also said capital availability continued to soften the property reinsurance market, with the global property catastrophe rate-on-line index falling to -16% at the mid-year renewals from -12% at the start of 2026.
Catastrophe bonds also reached a record, with more than US$61bn in outstanding limits during the first half of the year, while demand for parametric solutions continued to grow, particularly for secondary perils.
On geopolitical instability, Guy Carpenter said tensions have fuelled innovation in specialty insurance products, including new structured quota share offerings. In the marine market, however, the company warned that the loss reserve for the 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore had increased to $2.8bn from $1.5bn and is expected to affect marine reinsurance pricing during the 2027 renewal season.