Munich Re regains top reinsurer crown in AM Best global ranking

Munich Re has topped AM Best’s global reinsurance ranking for 2020, overtaking Swiss Re following changes to methodology and returning to number one for the first time since 2017. Using year-end gross reinsurance premiums, which strips out primary business, to determine the ranking for 2020, AM Best said Munich Re recorded 21% growth, or $7.9bn, in 2020. European giants Swiss Re and Munich Re accounted for 25.6% of the top 50’s reinsurance gross premiums in 2020, although down slightly from 27.8% in 2019. The top ten players wrote 68.5% of reinsurance premiums last year and recoded a “substantial” 11% increase in gross reinsurance premiums, AM Best said. This was driven by rate increases, which AM Bests expect to continue this year. Lloyd’s was nudged down the ranking by China Re, which jumped from eighth place in 2019 to sixth after boosting gross premiums by 26.6%. China Re was helped in part by currency appreciation against the US dollar and its acquisition of Chaucer in 2019. However, stripping out life reinsurance, Lloyd’s ranks as the fourth-largest non-life reinsurer in the world. AM Best said both Hannover Re and Berkshire Hathaway recorded significant growth in premiums at 20.2% and 19.3% respectively, but held the same ranking. Qianhai Re recorded the biggest rise in the top 50, jumping from 39th to 34th place. Arch Reinsurance, Generali and Caisse Centrale de Reassurance all moved up the ranking by four positions. Hiscox, IRB and Qatar Re all moved down AM Best’s top 50 reinsurance ranking for 2020. Hiscox fell the furthest to 47th position, from 40th in 2019, after redirecting capital to its primary business as it followed rate increases in the direct market. Korean Re found its way back into the top ten for 2020, while Fidelis and Lancashire, both specialty writers in Bermuda, were new top-50 entrants. Covid-19 losses weighed heavily on reinsurers’ results in 2020, with the top 50 reporting a combined ratio of 104.9%, deteriorating from 102.4% in 2019, according to AM Best. P&C Covid-19 reinsurance losses accounted for between five and 15 extra points on the four largest reinsurers’ combined ratio, it added. AM Best’s outlook for the global reinsurance sector is stable, underpinned by improved pricing trends for most business lines. “Their balance sheets remain resilient; business has been renewed under more restrictive terms and conditions and at better rates,” it said. AM Best said a key challenge for the reinsurance sector going forward is to “maintain relevance” within the broader economy. “A higher share of uninsurable risks – because they are considered non-measurable, non-manageable, or systemic – translates into a smaller role for the (re)insurance industry,” it said. “Only the most innovative players may be in a position to succeed” in emerging and evolving risk, it added. AM Best top ten global reinsurers 2020 Rank Company Gross reinsurance premiums (life and non-life) $m 1 Munich Re 45,846 2 Swiss Re 36,579 3 Hannover Re 30,421 4 Scor 20,106 5 Berkshire Hathaway 19,195 6 China Re 16,665 7 Lloyd’s 16,511 8 Canada Life Re 14,552 9 Reinsurance Group of America 12,583 10 Korean Re 7,777 Source: AM Best Global Reinsurance Markets AM Best top ten global non-life reinsurers 2020 Rank Company Gross reinsurance premiums, non-life only $m 1 Munich Re 30,237 2 Swiss Re 21,512 3 Hannover Re 20,568 4 Lloyd’s 16,511 5 Berkshire Hathaway 13,333 6 Scor 8,795 7 Everest Re 7,282 8 Korean Re 6,427 9 China Re 6,422 10 General Insurance Corp of India 6,310 Source: AM Best Global Reinsurance Markets

Munich Re regains top reinsurer crown in AM Best global ranking

Sector outlook remains stable

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