According to Gallagher Re’s 2025 Reinsurance Market Report, roughly 76% of reinsurers within its cohort posted double-digit capital growth in 2025, underscoring another year of strong balance sheet expansion across the sector.
As previously reported, Gallagher Re estimated that global reinsurance dedicated capital reached a record $648 billion in 2025, representing an 11% increase compared with 2024.
The figure marks the second-highest annual growth rate recorded over the past decade.
“Using revenue growth as a proxy for reinsurance demand, growth in capital supply was significantly ahead of growth in capital demand in 2025, an imbalance which has continued into 2026,” the broker explained.
Traditional reinsurance capital remained the primary driver of overall expansion, accounting for approximately 68% of total capital growth. The segment increased 10% year on year to $513 billion.
At the same time, non-life alternative capital continued to accelerate, rising 18% to $135 billion on the back of strong net inflows.
Gallagher Re noted that this represents the strongest annual growth rate for alternative capital since it began tracking the market.
The report also highlighted the breadth of capital growth across the industry, with 76% of the reinsurer cohort recording double-digit increases during the year.
Gallagher Re added that foreign exchange movements provided a significant boost to capital growth for non-USD reporting reinsurers, as local currencies strengthened against the US dollar during 2025.
“For example, USD basis capital increases for Euro reporters had c. 13% support from FX. For the Big Four European reinsurers, local currency basis growth was strongest for Swiss Re (which reports on a USD basis) at 13%, followed by Hannover Re (5%), Munich Re (5%) and SCOR (-1%),” Gallagher Re said.
The broker further noted that traditional reinsurance capital has risen by almost 50% cumulatively since year-end 2022.
“Bermudian reinsurers reported some of the highest growth at 73% cumulatively. Capital growth for the Big Four European reinsurers was relatively modest at 34%. The lower capital growth for the Big Four European reinsurers is a reflection of a more consistent capital return policy and relatively higher payouts compared to most,” the firm concluded.
In related news, speaking in a recent interview with Reinsurance News, Andrew Johnston, author of Gallagher Re’s InsurTech Quarterly report series and Global Head of InsurTech at the broker, discussed how investment trends, artificial intelligence, and emerging liability risks are reshaping the insurance and reinsurance market.
