AM Best, the credit rating agency and provider of insurance industry data and analysis, has reported that a group of leading US and Bermuda reinsurers remained underwriting profitable for a fifth consecutive year in 2025, despite a significant slowdown in premium growth.
The findings are contained in AM Best’s latest Best’s Market Segment Report, US & Bermuda Reinsurers Maintain Strong Performance Despite Softening Market. The report is part of AM Best’s wider review of the global reinsurance market ahead of the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo, with further analysis of the sector being released across August and September.
AM Best’s composite covers seven reinsurance groups based in the US or Bermuda where reinsurance makes up most of their underwriting operations. The companies are Arch Capital Group Ltd.; Everest Group, Ltd.; General Re Corporation; Odyssey Group Holdings, Inc.; PartnerRe Ltd.; RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.; and Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (Transatlantic).
AM Best said the composite delivered an aggregate net return on equity of 16.8% in 2025, matching the result achieved in 2024. The agency said the reinsurers continued to benefit from strong underwriting performance, while investment income provided additional support amid the higher interest rate environment, particularly in the US.
However, the pace of premium expansion slowed considerably. Gross premium growth fell to less than 1.0% in 2025, compared with 11.7% a year earlier.
AM Best said the sharp reduction in growth reflects a more cautious approach from reinsurers as market conditions become softer. The agency noted that companies are continuing to prioritise underwriting discipline, particularly as opportunities capable of delivering attractive returns become less readily available.
Looking ahead, AM Best expects premium growth across the composite to remain subdued during 2026. “AM Best expects top-line growth for the composite to be similarly muted in 2026, given the acceleration of rate decreases seen in property reinsurance and a slowing of price improvement in US casualty lines after several years of strong gains,” commented Greg Dickerson, Director, AM Best.
The composite’s underwriting performance did weaken year on year, with its combined ratio rising to 90.2 in 2025. AM Best said this represented a 1.7 percentage point deterioration from 2024, although the result was achieved alongside lower catastrophe losses and increased favourable development of loss reserves.
AM Best also reported that the first six months of 2026 had been relatively quiet in terms of major loss events. Despite faster rate reductions at the main 2026 renewal dates, the agency expects the reinsurers covered by the composite to record solid underwriting income for the first half of the year.
The outcome for the full year, however, remains dependent on developments during the Atlantic hurricane season and the potential for further adverse loss reserve development in US casualty business.
AM Best said these factors are expected to play a significant role in determining whether the strong performance of the US and Bermuda reinsurance market can be sustained through the remainder of 2026.
