Munich Re remains the industry’s largest reinsurer after writing $35.67bn of reinsurance premiums in 2017 with Swiss Re in second place and a $29.95bn book.
But the giant $10.2bn in premiums that Berkshire Hathaway collected for a $20bn adverse development cover for AIG propelled Warren Buffett’s company into third place for 2017.
According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Berkshire Hathaway’s reinsurance premiums written jumped from $12.71bn in 2016 to $22.74bn last year.
But because the transaction was a one-off, it is likely that Hannover Re and Scor will resume their positions as third and fourth respectively for 2018.
Until this year, the European big four – Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and Scor – had held their positions since at least 2008, S&P found.
Once Axa’s $15.3bn acquisition of XL completes and the two firms combine later this year, the joint entity could also jump a few spaces with the 2017 pro forma reinsurance numbers of $11.75bn.
Lloyd’s reinsurance premiums climbed 6.75 percent from $12.75bn to $13.61bn while Hannover Re and Scor also saw their reinsurance income climb 11 percent and 9.23 percent respectively.
