PwC has reported that legacy market momentum continued in the opening three months of 2026, with nine publicly disclosed non-life run-off deals announced by five acquirers, with cumulative gross liabilities of approximately $730 million transacted for the five transactions that disclosed deal values.
According to PwC, three of the deals announced in the first quarter of 2026 were sub-$50 million liability deals, with two transactions in the quarter sized at more than $250 million.
“We expect to see more transactions of this size being announced during the course of 2026,” says PwC in its Non-life insurance run-off deals – Q1 2026 review.
Of the nine publicly announced deals, four came from Swiss Re, two from legacy specialist RiverStone International, one from legacy group Compre, one from Fara Recovery Affiliate, and one from Quest Group.
Four of these deals were in North America and totalled $67 million in disclosed liabilities transacted, while three deals were in Europe with $383 million in disclosed liabilities, and two deals were in the rest of the world, amounting to $280 million in disclosed liabilities transacted.
As per PwC’s report, numerous legacy acquirers also undertook activity outside of the traditional legacy space in the first quarter of this year, including Enstar’s acquisition of AF Group, while Compre increased its focus on the prospective market with its participation in QBE Re’s inaugural casualty reinsurance sidecar.
Another notable development in Q1 was RiverStone International’s entry into the Australian market via a local acquisition and legacy portfolio transaction with global insurer Zurich.
“This marks a significant step in the evolution of the Australian run-off market, with the presence of another major global acquirer expected to support future deal flow,” reads the report.
“Overall, the quarter represents a solid start to 2026, with continued participation from established market players and further evidence of evolving transaction structures. In addition, collaboration between ILS solutions providers and traditional run-off players remains a consistent theme. The partnership between Enstar and Artex Capital Solutions to deliver exit solutions for ILS investors, combining prospective and retrospective capabilities, highlights the increasing convergence between legacy and alternative capital markets, with potential to broaden the investor base and support future transaction activity,” says PwC.
Enstar’s arrangement with Artex was announced last month, and sees the former offer streamlined exit solutions for investors in the Artex ILS transformation vehicles.
For a list of recent and historic legacy transactions, see our Legacy and run-off reinsurance transaction page.
