SCOR preparing for competitive reinsurance environment to persist & intensify into Jan 1

Thierry Léger, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SCOR, one of Europe’s big four reinsurers, said this morning that although there’s not been an influx of new entrants in the reinsurance market, competition was high at the mid-year renewals and could be even more competitive at January 1st, 2026.

Addressing the media after the release of SCOR’s second quarter 2025 results, CEO Léger was questioned on the company’s experience at the mid-year reinsurance renewals and the adequacy of rates.

During the June and July renewals season, around 14% of the firm’s annual P&C reinsurance premiums are up for renewal, and SCOR revealed this morning that Estimated Gross Premium Income on the business up for renewal in June-July was flat, with continued growth in the diversifying lines. At the same time, the reinsurer further reduced its exposure to US casualty.

“We have seen generally pressure on prices in the first half of the year. We haven’t seen any external new competitors come in, but generally the capital build of the incumbents has been strong. And accordingly, capacities are high and seek for deployment. So, that creates this competitive environment we are in,” said Léger.

“We have seen only a few lines loss impacted areas, like aviation, where prices went up or cats with loss effects, where we have seen prices go up. But generally, the pressure on prices was across the lines. I would say, particularly so, however, on the cat lines. As you know, typically the cat lines are the most cyclical,” he added.

Despite the overall deterioration of price quality, the CEO stressed that rates are still at a risk adequacy level today.

In terms of what score has done within the current market environment, at the mid-year renewals and throughout the year, Léger said: “We can shift, for example, the mix of our business, which we have done. We have reduced our US casualty exposures again in the first half year and in June / July, because we didn’t like the price levels that we have seen on the reinsurance side. And so, as you obviously reduce high combined ratio type business, you reduce, overall, your combined ratio on the portfolio you keep. So, that was one way for us to improve our combined ratio.

“We have also looked carefully at proportional and non-proportional business. We have looked at the different areas in different countries, and risk advocacies, and have very thoughtfully and quite proactively shifted where needed from one to the other to really get the best possible mix.

“And the third thing we’ve done to maintain for us a stable underwriting ratio, was that we have been using retro in a very proactive way as well. So, all three have proven for us quite successful in avoiding a deterioration of our combined ratio, so far.”

Léger expects the competitive reinsurance environment to persist into the January 2026 renewals, stating that SCOR is being realistic and preparing for this to be the case.

“It’s a market that might be even more competitive than in January 2025. But it will, of course, like always, depend on the loss activity in Q3 and Q4. So, we all will have to wait and see actually what the claims will be in the next six months,” he said.

Adding: “At SCOR, as you know, and I’ve described it before, we have a very distinct and very specific strategy to go and put diversification and profitability on equal standing. So, we are always looking at business profitability but also adding to our diversification. And therefore, the lines we grow into very successfully, and have grown into over the last two and a half years, we still expect those to add a lot of value to us.

“Also, next year, even in a more competitive market, we think, therefore, that our strategy still fits the environment well, and is the right response… We are very realistic. We expect competition to be up, and that’s what we are preparing for.”

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