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Reinsurance buyers seek more protection against lower-level catastrophes - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Reinsurance buyers seek more protection against lower-level catastrophes by Gavin Souter P/C Pricing , Reinsurance Hannover Re , Marsh , Swiss Re Sep 8, 2026 MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Insurers are looking to buy more reinsurance protection against a series of smaller catastrophe losses as capacity increases, while structured and parametric products are also being used to cover losses below the higher attachment points imposed during the hard market. Aggregate covers have already made a significant comeback. The aggregate excess-of-loss limit traded has increased by 50%, and nearly 40% of buyers now include frequency protection in their excess-of-loss programs, up from just over 25% two years ago, according to a Marsh Re report issued last week . The increased demand follows a sharp shift after the Jan. 1, 2023, renewals, when reinsurers raised attachment points and reduced their exposure to more frequent catastrophe losses, experts said during discussions at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre reinsurance meeting this week. Since then, losses from wildfires, severe convective storms and floods have fallen disproportionately on insurers because many individual events have not been large enough to trigger catastrophe reinsurance programs, said David Duffy, New York-based global property leader at Marsh Re. “I think you’re going to see a little bit of a pivot in 2027,” Mr. Duffy said. “It won’t just be a negotiation around price; it’s also going to be a negotiation around structure.” The protection could include lower-level occurrence coverage targeted by region or peril, standalone coverage, or increased use of aggregate protection, he said. While reinsurers have lowered property catastrophe pricing in recent renewals, they have largely kept the higher attachment points, Mr. Duffy said. Hannover Re has also seen increased demand for aggregate and frequency protection but is more inclined to address lower-layer exposures through structured reinsurance rather than conventional aggregate covers. The reinsurer can provide lower-layer aggregate protection on a multiyear basis, spreading volatility over several years. “There is clearly a bit more demand coming,” said Ralf Weyand, managing director at Hannover Re. Swiss Re is also seeing demand for frequency protection, but it remains cautious about expanding its aggregate book. “There is continued interest” in addressing frequency losses from secondary catastrophe perils, said Gianfranco Lot, chief underwriting officer of property/casualty reinsurance at Swiss Re. Swiss Re writes some aggregate covers but generally plans to maintain its existing portfolio rather than add substantial new aggregate exposure, he said. Secondary perils such as severe convective storms, wildfires and floods can be harder to model than major hurricanes and earthquakes, and Swiss Re generally prefers protection against larger losses that threaten an insurer’s capital rather than more frequent losses that affect earnings, Mr. Lot said. Parametric reinsurance providers say their products can offer another way to protect against catastrophe risk below traditional reinsurance attachment points. Descartes Underwriting provides coverage for insurer retentions in the United States, including severe convective storms, winter storms, hurricanes, and wildfires, said Paris-based Tanguy Touffut, CEO and co-founder of Descartes. “That’s why we come up with solutions for the retentions and also to cover aggregate losses, sometimes across different perils,” Mr. Touffut said. Arbol began providing parametric reinsurance for low-layer property risks during the hard market in 2022, when conventional reinsurance for those exposures became difficult to obtain, said New York-based Siddhartha Jha, founder, chairman and CEO of Arbol. “As a storm tracks through, you have a calibrated payout based on wind speed and track, calibrated to your loss history,” he said. “Parametric is a hard market product,” Mr. Jha added. “Generally speaking, if markets are tough to place, then parametric demand goes up.” Related News Boston Scientific says unlikely to meet sales, forecast after cyberattack September 8, 2026 Aspen’s Dunleavy to take over at Conduit September 8, 2026 Markel chairman to retire, succeeded by CEO September 8, 2026 Cincinnati Insurance found in bad faith over pandemic-era claim denials September 8, 2026 Vantage names Yves Charbonneau chief risk officer September 8, 2026 Indiana court upholds benefits for worker who fainted while driving September 8, 2026 Compre takes on Lloyd’s reserves in retrospective reinsurance deal September 8, 2026 China proposes fivefold increase in insurer capital September 8, 2026 Brown and Brown enters Scottish retail market September 8, 2026 Facebook-f X-twitter Linkedin-in Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. 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