Reinsurance Rates Continued Softening During April Renewals, Despite Iran War
Article 0 Comments Reinsurance rates continued to soften during the April 1 renewals despite the unstable geopolitical landscape and uncertain economic outlook, according to major reinsurance brokers. “The orderly completion of the renewal, with no structural disruption, disciplined capacity and cedent-friendly pricing outcomes, is testament to the underlying health of the market even in a period of heightened geopolitical uncertainty,” said Howden . The main reasons for the ongoing competitive market conditions were lower natural catastrophe losses in 2025 and Q1 2026, robust reinsurer balance sheets, and abundant capacity, indicated brokers Aon, Gallagher Re, Guy Carpenter and Howden, in their separate renewal reports. April 1 is the main renewal period for insurers in Japan, Korea and India, with some U.S. ceding companies also renewing. “Risk-adjusted property-catastrophe rates-on-line returned to levels last seen in the early 2020s even as geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East drove acute stress across multiple specialty lines globally,” said Howden Re in a report on the April renewals titled “Howden Re: 1 April renewals reflect continued softening, insulated from Middle East volatility.” “The orderly completion of the renewal, with no structural disruption, disciplined capacity and cedent-friendly pricing outcomes, is testament to the underlying health of the...