Swiss Re has claimed the top spot among the world’s largest reinsurers for 2024, thanks to its switch to the IFRS 17 accounting standard. This shift has caused a significant reshuffle among leading reinsurers, according to a recent report by AM Best.
Until recently, Swiss Re reported under the older GAAP standards. With the move to IFRS 17, the company jumped from being the largest reinsurer not using IFRS 17 in 2023 to the largest IFRS 17 reporter in 2024. For those still reporting under the previous standards, Berkshire Hathaway now leads the pack, taking the place Swiss Re held last year.
Munich Re, which was the top reinsurer under IFRS 17 in 2023, slid to second place this year, followed by Hannover Re in third. At the end of 2023, Swiss Re reported $40.5 billion in gross premiums written (GPW), and for 2024 it recorded $36.2 billion in reinsurance revenue, reflecting the differences between non-IFRS and IFRS accounting methods.
When it comes to underwriting results, Munich Re led with a combined ratio of 77.3 in non-life reinsurance—a number indicating profit since it is below 100. Swiss Re had a combined ratio of 89.9, while Hannover Re and SCOR both posted 86.6. AM Best notes that combined ratios don’t perfectly match across IFRS 17 and non-IFRS 17 reports and tend to be lower under the new standard.
Looking at non-IFRS reporters, Berkshire Hathaway climbed to first place in 2024 with $26.9 billion GPW. Lloyd’s followed in second with $23.5 billion. The top five also include Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) at third with $15.6 billion, Everest Group rising to fourth with $12.9 billion, and Renaissance Re (RenRe) in fifth with $11.7 billion. Combined, these five saw a 3.5% increase in GPW to $90.7 billion.
Everest’s jump in ranking came from growing its property lines and improving casualty rates, while RenRe slipped because its third-party premiums dropped nearly 5%. However, RenRe’s overall group premiums grew by over 32% during the same period.
AM Best also points out that few new reinsurers have entered the market recently. The current hard reinsurance environment and limited new company formations mean the list of top players remains fairly stable. Still, investment in catastrophe bonds remains strong, with record issuance offering attractive options for investors.
Looking ahead to 2025, the report highlights how results will depend heavily on the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season. California wildfires early in the year already hit some reinsurers’ first-quarter profits and used up much of their catastrophe budgets. Some rate softening has appeared mid-year, especially in Japan, and some insurers might return excess capital to shareholders rather than deploy it at lower rates.
Despite some bright spots, the casualty market is marked as a continued concern due to rising social inflation pressures in the U.S.
IFRS 17, which took effect from January 1, 2023, changes how insurers report their financials, focusing on “Insurance Service Revenue” rather than gross premiums. This shift means AM Best now produces two separate rankings because comparing companies using the old and new standards isn’t straightforward.
Overall, this change aims to provide clearer and more meaningful information about how reinsurers perform. The 2024 rankings show how the industry is adapting as these new accounting rules reshape the leaderboard among the world’s biggest reinsurers.