Andreas Berger, Group CEO at global reinsurer Swiss Re, said he expects the mid-year reinsurance renewals to see similar trends to those observed at January and April, with high demand and continued pricing pressure, while emphasising that Swiss Re will remain focused on prioritising portfolio quality over volume.
During Swiss Re’s Q1 2026 results conference call, Berger highlighted that the renewals have progressed broadly as expected.
He noted, “Through the January and April renewals, we have successfully defended our market position and relevance and, importantly, maintained underwriting discipline and terms and conditions. That’s key for us.”
Looking ahead to the mid-year renewals, Berger emphasised that the company’s focus on prioritising portfolio quality over volume remains unchanged, while noting that competition has intensified, particularly in non-proportional nat cat.
He said, “You will continue to see us applying discipline and cycle management. Subject to loss event development, we expect similar trends into June and July. This means high demand, but continued pricing pressure.
“Accordingly, at this point, you should not expect us to write higher volumes. We will remain focused on defending the overall price adequacy and quality of our portfolio.”
During the call, Berger was also questioned on whether there had been any spillage in terms and conditions.
He replied, “I think we have been very clear, terms and conditions, structures remain stable. We have also heard of individual cases where aggregates suddenly were a topic again, but we will apply discipline and stay very cautious here. We don’t see a reason why this should be supported.”
Berger continued, “We have also heard from primaries and certain individuals referring to rates shooting down in certain markets, particularly E&S, and here I can assure you we are observing the whole situation. We’re reinsuring some of it, which is why we’re very attentive here.
“I can assure you, on the CorSo side, we have very limited activity and exposure there, mainly exclusively in property, with a very low volume of around $200 million in revenues coming from that area. So, we’re observing it, obviously as a leading reinsurance market, but we’re very cautious.”
