A softening reinsurance market and property catastrophe rate declines weighed on Marsh’s reinsurance segment in the second quarter of 2026, yet executive leadership believes there are still strong growth opportunities in the sector.
In Q2 2026, Guy Carpenter, a global reinsurance broker and Marsh business, saw its revenue go down 2%, to $664 million, on both a GAAP and underlying basis. For the first half of the year, growth remained flat.
In reinsurance, persistent soft market conditions driven by abundant capacity and growing reinsurer appetite have created a favourable market for insurers, driving down rates.
The June 1 Florida catastrophe renewals saw rate reductions between 15% and 20%, as excess supply outweighed a modest increase in demand, John Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, explained.
The size of Guy Carpenter’s property book also weighed on the quarter’s results, as it accounts for 50% of the broker’s global portfolio and represents the largest property cat book in the market.
“Our property cat rate online index, which you see every quarter, was down 16% at mid-year, accelerating down from negative 12% at the January 1 renewal, and the steepest year-over-year decline we’ve observed since the index was created 25 years ago,” Dean Klisura, President & CEO, Guy Carpenter, added.
Consolidation activity across the sector in the first half of the year further impacted top-line growth.
Despite pricing pressures in property cat, CEO Doyle noted that execution remained strong, supported by excellent new business generation and client retention.
Klisura agreed with Doyle’s comments, adding: “Our negative growth in the quarter and our flat growth for the first half of the year, as John noted, are clearly driven by declining property cat pricing.
“We continue to deliver strong execution in a very challenging market. Despite pricing headwinds, we see strong opportunities to grow moving forward. We had record new business in the first half of the year, strong double-digit new business growth.
Additionally, the international facultative business delivered double-digit growth, while US casualty grew in the mid-single digits with differentiated pricing based on loss experience and portfolio quality.
Capital and advisory services continue to deliver strong double-digit growth in M&A advisory, structured deals, sidecars, and other capital structures.
Cat bond market limits reached $61 billion outstanding through the first half of 2026, with Guy Carpenter issuing 20 cat bonds in H1 2026 totaling $5 billion of limit—a record for the company.
Klisura concluded: “We continue to invest in top production talent around the world. We’ve grown our headcount for five straight years, and demand for our advice and solutions from clients has never been stronger. Despite our growth challenges in the first half, we feel great about our team, our talent, our platform and our prospects for growth moving forward.”
