During RenaissanceRe’s Q2 2026 earnings call, CEO Kevin J. O’Donnell said the company has spent decades navigating the property catastrophe market and has developed a clear understanding of when to expand and when to remain disciplined.
He added that property catastrophe rates remain broadly adequate and continue to guide the firm’s underwriting approach.
While underwriting income was broadly unchanged from $601.7 million in Q2 2025, the combined ratio improved from 75.1%, reportedly reflecting the strong current-year underwriting performance, low catastrophe losses and favourable prior-year reserve development.
During the earnings call, O’Donnell said the performance reflected the long-term, disciplined execution of RenaissanceRe’s strategy, which has positioned the company to continue expanding.
The executive explained, “Our strategy does not change from quarter to quarter. We manage the business to build efficient portfolios of risk that maximise profitability. What does change, however, are the tactics we employ to achieve that strategy as markets shift.
“You can see this in action at the mid-year renewals. Property catastrophe rates were down in the high teens, which was consistent with our expectations.
“Our leadership position allowed us to grow property catastrophe limit with high-quality clients. The result is a portfolio that remains rate-adequate at today’s pricing.”
O’Donnell added, “We continue to like the property catastrophe market. Recent rate decreases have come off the step change in pricing and terms that reset this market in 2023. As a result, property catastrophe rates remain broadly adequate, and that is what dictates our underwriting behaviour.
“Thinking about our business in terms of rate adequacy provides us with a more nuanced strategy than having one playbook for a hard market and another for a soft market. What sets us apart is that we know how to navigate the transition between the two, as well as having more tools to do so.”
RenaissanceRe’s CEO said that his firm has been navigating the property catastrophe market for decades and that it knows when to grow and when to exercise discipline.
O’Donnell continued, “Rate changes tend to be asymmetric. Periods of gradual decreases are punctuated by rapid, large increases, which is what occurred in 2023. We recognised the opportunity at the time and grew aggressively, both organically and through the Validus acquisition. This positions us well for the current market.
“Ultimately, this is a margin business, not a growth business. In a declining rate environment, discipline is not about how much you write; it’s about how much you keep.
“We start by seeing the entire market on both the inwards and the outwards side. This gives us an informed view of where the best risk actually sits.
“We exercise risk selection to concentrate on the specific accounts and layers where the economics are strongest, and manage line size aggressively.
“We then deploy the rest of our toolkit, including retrocessional buying and capital partners vehicles, to shape what we have retained.
“That combination lets us grow the gross portfolio where we see opportunity while managing the net portfolio to achieve the optimal mix between risk and return that maximises long-term growth in tangible book value.”
