Global property cat reinsurance rates increase 3% at renewals

Global property catastrophe reinsurance rates rose 3% on a risk-adjusted basis at Jan. 1, 2024, reinsurance renewals while retrocessional markets registered flat, according to a report Tuesday from U.K.-based Howden Broking Group Ltd.

Renewals were described as “stable and orderly” as “Reinsurers’ plans were better telegraphed in the lead up to 1 January 2024, meaning the tensions and dislocations that characterized last year’s renewal were far less acute,” Howden said.

Concerns over the impact of so-called social inflation, or higher court awards and settlements, and its effects on reserve adequacy as well as rising loss costs in casualty markets were offset by “sufficient capacity to meet high demand,” leading to “stable renewals overall,” according to Howden.

In primary markets, global commercial insurance pricing across all lines rose by a weighted average of 9.6% during the first three quarters of 2023, compared with 12% for full-year 2022, with substantial divergence among lines.

Cyber, financial and professional lines, and workers compensation all saw rate decreases in 2023 as commercial property insurance markets saw the highest increases among major product lines, the report said.