The rankings for the world’s largest reinsurance companies saw a lot of movement through 2021, new data from AM Best shows, with particularly significant shake-ups seen within the top 10 list.
Munich Re maintained its top spot as largest reinsurer last year, with gross life & non-life reinsurance premiums written of more than $46.8 billion, ahead of number two Swiss Re at $39.2 billion and third place Hannover Re at $31.4 billion.
But fourth place was claimed by Canada Life Re, which jumped four places up the rankings from its previous eight place position as premiums hit $23.5 billion.
This put it above SCOR, Berkshire Hathaway, China Re, and Lloyd’s, and marks the first time a solely life reinsurance group has ever made the top four.
AM Best notes that Canada Life Re entered several new long-term reinsurance agreements in 2021, including a multi-billion dollar block transfer of Japanese whole life policies, as well as agreements to reinsure pension liabilities in the Netherlands and the UK.
Additionally, Korean Re, which had been in 10th place in 2020, fell off the top 10 list to number 13 this year, owing to currency fluctuations.
And despite premium growth of around 7%, China Re, in sixth place in 2021, slipped back to eighth, the position it held in 2020.
Although surpassed in the rankings by Canada Life, Berkshire Hathaway (which came fifth in 2021 and sixth in 2022) and Lloyd’s (seventh in 2021 and 2022) nevertheless experienced premium growth, as Berkshire Hathaway’s premiums rose 3.5%, and Lloyd’s, 17.2%.
Lloyd’s reported increases of more than 10% for all of its reinsurance segments—property, casualty, and specialty—with the casualty segment, which includes US workers’ compensation, rising the most percentage-wise.
AM Best also found that SCOR (which came fourth in 2021 and fifth in 2022) saw a decline of less than 1% in premiums, due entirely to currency conversion and fluctuations of the euro versus the US dollar.
Across the whole top 50 list, Pacific LifeCorp experienced the most dramatic leap in position, moving up eight places from 27th to 19th, with QBE Insurance Group and W.R. Berkley also climbing a significant three spots each to 33rd and 41st, respectively.
By contrast, the most significant downwards movements were exhibited by SiriusPoint and American Agricultural Insurance Company, who both fell six places to positions of 38th and 44th, respectively.
Other downward movers included Caisse Centrale de Réassurance, which fell five places to rank as the 31st largest reinsurer, as well as IRB – Brasil Resseguros, which fell five places to 36th, and AXIS Capital Holdings, which fell four places to 28th.
Other significant points from the data showed that, despite notable cat losses in 2021, many stemming from secondary perils, the top 50 reinsurers on average posted a combined ratio under 100 for the first time in five years.
The average combined ratio of the top 10 was 99.2, significantly better than the 104.9 in 2020, while the top 15 non-life reinsurance groups had an average combined ratio of 98.5.
