Article ID: 5218de0c1ee4c688fedbbaf7c534f29576ad88d69e5e2057b230ea3f4eca25a6
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At RVS 2026 in Monte Carlo, Massimo Reina offered a counterpoint to the narrative of reinsurers rushing to deploy record capital. The CEO of Howden Re International told Reinsurance News that competition is intensifying, but discipline, not indiscriminate deployment, is what’s actually characterising the market. As pricing falls, he explained, generating economic value only gets harder. Speaking at the 68th edition of the Monaco event, Reina addressed the current softening market amid an abundance of capital, and what that shift means for cedants, structure, and pricing discipline going forward. On the subject of how conversations with cedants are changing, beyond just price, the executive said, “Price is still part of it, but the more interesting conversations are about structure. “Cedants are revisiting retentions they raised during the hard market and asking whether they still make sense. We’re seeing renewed appetite for aggregate covers, for diversifying across geographies and perils, and for locking in multi-year terms or reinstatement provisions while capacity is willing to offer them. “Reinsurers, for their part, are being more disciplined about where they deploy that capital even as competition intensifies, because economic value creation gets harder as pricing falls.” With a more buyer-friendly phase having been ushered in at recent renewals, we asked Reina what this shift actually looks like in the international markets that he oversees. The executive emphasised that it’s a market correcting from an unusually profitable period rather than one in genuine distress. He added, “Reinsurer capital is abundant, underwriting results have been strong, and that combination is pushing pricing down after several years of exceptional terms. “For international buyers, that’s translating into more competitive terms across most classes, greater willingness from reinsurers to discuss structure rather than just price, and more capacity chasing the same programmes. On the whole, a healthier negotiating environment than we’ve seen since before 2023.” The conversation then shifted to whether international buyers are using this softer market to buy more coverage, push down attachment points, or restructure programmes altogether. According to Reina, all three have been prevalent, to varying degrees, depending on the buyer. He continued, “Some are using the opportunity to buy down retentions and reduce the earnings volatility from mid-sized losses. Others are using freed-up premium to expand limit or diversify into new geographies and classes. “What is consistent is that buyers are thinking beyond this year’s price. The smart conversations are about using currently favourable conditions to build resilience and preserve optionality before terms become harder to secure again.” Later in the interview, the executive addressed how much of the current pricing softness reflects a genuine absence of major losses versus structural overcapacity building in the market, suggesting it is more the latter than people sometimes assume. “Attritional nat-cat activity has stayed elevated across primary and secondary perils, but higher attachment points and the exceptional pricing locked in since 2023 have absorbed a lot of that. Those tailwinds are now fading just as capital keeps growing, and that’s the more structural driver. It’s worth remembering that the economic value-added spread across the sector was already close to break-even by mid-2026, which tells you pricing is approaching the point where it stops properly rewarding the risk being taken on,” the executive explained. Howden Re’s Reina also touched on property-cat and retro pricing, in particular how both saw double-digit declines this year, with the pace of decline picking up further into the June renewals. He noted that the direction is consistent everywhere Howden Re International works, but the pace does vary. “Markets and programmes that hardened fastest and furthest since 2023 generally have the most room to correct, so they’re seeing the sharpest declines now. Where pricing had already stayed closer to technical levels, the softening is more measured. The common thread is that capacity is willing and looking to deploy, which is what’s driving the acceleration into each renewal,” Reina stated. Elsewhere, the executive observed that International Casualty has moved into a buyers’ market, where competition is accelerating, and 1 January renewals should favour cedants. “The reason for this is that International Casualty has not produced the adverse loss deterioration seen in US Liability, and with Property prices under pressure, reinsurers increasingly focus on other classes, creating extra competition. “Against this backdrop, there is a contradiction: reinsurers believe that International, and more specifically European Casualty loss trends are becoming more dangerous, even while current experience is encouraging them to cut prices.” Closing the interview, we discussed the possibility of softening continuing into 2027, the risk that discipline slips too far, and how Reina is thinking about that for the regions he’s responsible for. The executive concluded, “It’s the right question to be asking now, precisely because conditions are still good. History shows that markets rarely turn on one factor alone. It’s usually an interaction between underwriting performance, capital, and the wider financial environment, and today the reinsurance market is softening while the world around it is anything but settled: inflation is elevated, bond markets are pricing more risk, geopolitical tension hasn’t gone away. “My own view is that discipline holds better when reinsurers stay selective about where they deploy capital rather than compete indiscriminately on price. “For the regions I cover, that means watching where pricing is falling fastest relative to underlying risk, and making sure clients are using today’s favourable conditions to build resilience rather than simply taking the cheapest terms on offer. A good break-the-glass strategy should mean the glass never actually needs breaking.”
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