PwC has published its half-year review of the non-life insurance run-off market, reporting that only two run-off transactions were made public during the second quarter, with combined gross liabilities of roughly $50 million changing hands, a noticeably quieter period than the first quarter, when PwC recorded 11 disclosed deals involving five different acquirers.
Looking at the first half of the year overall, PwC notes that the total of thirteen disclosed deals falls short of the twenty-three seen across the same period in 2025, and that the estimated $780 million of gross liabilities transacted in H1 2026 also compares modestly with the $1.537 billion recorded in H1 2025.
PwC cautions against over-interpreting the decline, with strong appetite for legacy solutions and significant liabilities under review. Public disclosures understate activity, with many deals private or still progressing. Longer timelines reflect complexity, but PwC expects notable closes in H2.
Both of the transactions publicly confirmed in the second quarter concerned captive insurers, PwC reports. Riverstone Group finalised its purchase of an undisclosed North American captive, made up largely of workers’ compensation exposures, while Swiss Re carried out a novation of a captive book in Continental Europe, adding to the four deals it had already announced in the first quarter.
PRA and FCA are currently consulting on a new UK regime for captive insurers, and suggests it will be worth watching how much captive-related deal activity this generates within the UK, and what knock-on effect that might have on captive arrangements based elsewhere. PwC observes that the legacy market has long served as an exit route for captive insurers and their parent companies, and anticipates that the new UK framework could bring fresh deal flow into this part of the market.
PwC says the first half of 2026 run-off activity was geographically diverse, with Europe and other regions accounting for a larger share of liabilities transacted than North America. It also notes softer re/insurance market conditions, particularly in property lines.
Looking ahead, PwC highlights three drivers of deal activity: Lloyd’s syndicates taking action on underperforming portfolios, continued uncertainty around casualty reserves and long-tail exposures, and the rise of flexible structures such as forward flows and renewable covers. PwC expects providers able to address future reserve uncertainty to expand the legacy market.
PwC concludes that the combination of a softening underwriting cycle, unresolved casualty reserve uncertainty, tightening reinsurance returns and broader structural change within the legacy market together point towards a sector well placed to sustain meaningful run-off deal activity through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
Technology and AI adoption is accelerating across the legacy sector, noting that it is currently working with a number of insurers and legacy market participants on technology strategy, helping to embed AI into core processes and decision-making at scale in order to generate tangible operational and commercial benefits.
PwC’s figures show thirteen deals disclosed across H1 2026 by six acquirers, involving names including Compre Group, Fara Recovery Affiliate, Quest Group, Riverstone Group, RiverStone International and Swiss Re, with estimated gross liabilities transacted of approximately $780 million.
PwC notes that this total excludes around $4.8 billion of gross technical provisions which, based on AF Group’s most recent public filings, are expected to transfer to Enstar once Enstar’s acquisition of AF Group completes.
By region, PwC’s data points to North America and Continental Europe as the most active territories by deal count, with the rest of the world and North America ahead on disclosed value, while the UK & Ireland saw two deals with undisclosed liabilities and no further activity in Q2. Regarding the mix of deal types, PwC’s breakdown shows re/insurer transactions making up the majority of H1 2026 activity, with captive, Lloyd’s and corporate deals accounting for smaller shares.
View our directory of legacy insurance and reinsurance transactions.
