At the April 1 renewals in India, Gallagher Re saw broad softening of risk-adjusted rates in the majority of lines and treaties across the country’s property segment, as loss-free and well-performing programmes achieved -10% to -15% rate reductions on average.
Reinsurance broker Gallagher Re’s latest 1st View Report highlights the transition to a softer and capital-driven phase in India. The broker says that the market does remain technically underwritten, with reinsurers demonstrating clear differentiation based on performance, exposure, and data quality.
Property treaty renewals in India took place in a well-capitalised and increasingly competitive environment, with Gallagher Re emphasising that reinsurer appetite remains strong across most lines of business. As a result, ample capacity was available across most segments, however, oversubscription was common on high-quality placements, with reinsurers seeking to deploy capital in India’s growth market.
In terms of rate movements, risk loss-free programmes, catastrophe loss-free programmes, and catastrophe loss-hit programmes, all saw risk-adjusted rate decreases of between -10% and -20% at 1.4 2026.
“There was competitive pressure on lead terms. Increased follow capacity enabled cedants to challenge lead pricing and structures, particularly on attritional layers,” said Gallagher Re. “Accounts with recent loss activity or cat exposure saw stable to firm pricing, with reinsurers maintaining underwriting thresholds.”
According to Gallagher Re, structured solutions gained traction this year with a slight increase in activity in multi-year excess of loss for attritional layers, whole-account quota share covers, and parametric structures.
“April 1 reflected a softer market, but renewal outcomes were still clearly differentiated based on cedent performance and data quality,” said the reinsurance broker.
In terms of capacity in the Indian market, Gallagher Re finds that momentum has persisted, supported by global inflows and expanding participation via GIFT City (a low-tax financial hub in Gujarat).
“Cedants leveraged this market depth to expand reinsurer panels. GIC Re [India’s national reinsurer], Foreign Reinsurance Branches (FRBs), and reinsurers operating through GIFT City played a critical anchoring role in placements. However, the Indian insurance regulator IRDAI’s order of preference, and local retention requirements, continue to shape placement strategies, with domestic reinsurers also playing a central role,” said the firm.
