Peak Re’s diversified European reinsurance portfolio is helping it navigate softer pricing and rising competition across the market. says Matteo Cussigh, CEO, Peak Re Switzerland and head of marketing & production, Europe.

Peak Re has developed a well-diversified European book of business. The portfolio spans multiple European markets, with a natural focus on Continental Europe’s core insurance markets like Germany, France and the Benelux countries. Over recent years, we have selectively strengthened our participation in proportional business, long-tail casualty and credit & surety, while continuing to optimise our property, motor and life portfolios. We have also expanded our Structured Solutions capabilities and broadened our geographic reach, including entry into selected Latin American markets through our Swiss platform, supporting the global expansion of our group.

This diversified portfolio positions our Swiss subsidiary well to navigate a market environment characterised by slower economic growth, abundant capacity and increasing competition. Following several years of strong profitability, the European reinsurance sector continues to benefit from earnings generated during the hard market cycle, supported by investment income and a relatively moderate catastrophe loss environment. In addition, the inflow of third-party capital has continued, contributing to ample capacity and increased competitive pressure. As a result, rate softening is seen in several classes, particularly in property catastrophe business, with competitive dynamics gradually extending into other lines.

NAVIGATING HEADWINDS AND TAILWINDS

While pricing dynamics are increasingly competitive, some of the structural improvements introduced during the hard market remain intact. We have observed that relative attachment points have come down somewhat with recent market growth, and we expect them to be tested in the coming renewals. While these levels may come under pressure, they continue to provide an important degree of protection against frequency losses.

At the same time, Europe is picking up an interesting trend already well established in the U.S. and UK – the growth in MGAs. Due to their strong client network and distribution capability, MGAs can access risks that have often been under-served by traditional channels. Their recent track records have encouraged some European reinsurers to start or explore partnerships with MGAs as a means of accessing specialised risks and distribution channels.

Furthermore, emerging areas such as cyber, AI-related infrastructure, energy transition and selected M&A activities create evolving demand for reinsurance solutions.

INTEGRATING HEATWAVES AND WILDFIRES INTO RISK MODELS

Heatwaves and wildfires have been a focal point of public discourse in Europe for most of this summer. From an insurance point of view, based on the current information, the losses — in forestry, livestock and destroyed houses — remain largely manageable within current reinsurance frameworks. However, the fires have come close to Madrid and Bordeaux, as well as some of Europe’s most precious wineries. This illustrates one of many scenarios in which both economic and insured losses could increase sharply. The industry increasingly needs to recognise that heatwaves and wildfires are evolving from secondary into more material drivers of economic and insured losses. The trend towards rising economic losses from these perils remains unchanged and should be considered in the assessment and pricing weather-related risks.

Looking ahead to the coming renewals, we anticipate robust and highly analytical renewal discussions, as risk exposures continue to rise while capacity remains abundant. Peak Re will continue to work closely with our clients to meet their reinsurance needs. Our focus remains on supporting clients through long-term partnerships while maintaining underwriting discipline. We will continue to deploy capital selectively, with careful consideration of market conditions, portfolio balance and risk-adjusted returns. Sustainable growth remains dependent on maintaining underwriting discipline and portfolio diversification across geographies, lines of business and exposures.

Structured Solutions remains another important growth area, and we will further scale up our engagement across both non-life and life business. We are currently seeing that some of the aggregate structures introduced during the earlier hard market being restructured into more traditional solutions with higher retentions. Going forward, we aim to build deeper capabilities and move into more sophisticated solutions where margins are under less pressure.

The article was first published on The Insurer on 6 September, 2026. Please refer to the full article here.