Reinsurers report higher premium, profitable underwriting

Reinsurers in the United States reported premium growth of more than 20% in the first quarter and global reinsurers reported double-digit premium growth last year, according to two reports released Friday.

The Reinsurance Association of America said the group of 17 U.S. property/casualty reinsurers it tracks reported $22.7 billion in net written premium in the first quarter of 2022, a 26.8% increase over the same period last year. Gross written premium for the group increased 15.5% to $27 billion.

The combined ratio for the group improved to 95.1% from 98.4% in the 2021 quarter.

In a separate report by Aon PLC, the brokerage said a group of 22 reinsurers it tracks globally, which it says represent more than 50% of worldwide reinsurance premium, reported gross property/casualty reinsurance premium of $134 billion last year, a 16% increase over 2020. The group reported $131 billion in primary insurance premium, up 20% over the prior year.

The property/casualty combined ratio for the reinsurers improved to 96.2% in 2021 from 103.3% in 2020.

Total global reinsurer capital rose to $675 billion, a 3.8% increase over 2020, Aon estimates.