Global re/insurers accelerate to 12% premium growth in H1: Gallagher Re

Global re/insurers enjoyed 12% premium growth in the first half of 2022 as commercial lines and reinsurance continued to take wing from updrafts in pricing,  Gallagher Re said in its review of H1 earnings.

Pricing gains dovetailed with muted nat cat claims, OPEX controls and improved prior period reserve development to deliver a 94.1% combined ratio, within 0.3 percentage points of the year prior result.

But not all elements of the underwriting profit picture spoke to improvement. Attritional loss ratios rose, with trouble visible in personal line loss trends.

Top line gains were said to be strongest for global reinsurers (+18%) and North American and Bermuda-based players (+14%).

Growth-leading reinsurers included Hannover Re, Munich Re and SCOR, all amongst the top 5 of 25 firms analysed by Gallagher Re. Only Swiss Re is the no-grow stand-out.

Q2 premium gains proved to be an acceleration from Q1 and a full 9 of 25 analysed firms beat the 20% growth mark versus just in Q1.

"Continued pricing gains for commercial lines business remained the key driver of premium growth in Q2," analysts wrote.

By the bottom line, investment losses had wiped out the underwriting improvements. Average ROE for the broad sector came down to 9.3% from 13.9% one year ago.

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.