Willis Re Reinsurance Market Report April 2019: Results for year-end 2018

Now in its fifth year, the report provides in-depth analysis of the size and performance of the reinsurance industry, based on the Willis Reinsurance Index group of companies.

Key findings:

• Total capital dedicated to the global reinsurance industry measured USD 462 billion at year-end 2018.
• The largest component of this figure is the total shareholders’ equity of the 32 reinsurance companies tracked in the Willis Reinsurance Index, which was down 10% to USD 335.7 billion, reversing growth of 8% in 2017.
• Index capital reduced by USD 13.7 billion due to the exits of Validus and XL Catlin through M&A.
• Companies paid out the majority of the USD 20.5 billion of net income as dividends and buybacks, which together reduced index capital by USD 17.6 billion. This equated to a pay-out ratio of 86% of net income.
• The overall decrease in index capital was due to unrealized investment depreciation of USD 21.4 billion, mainly due to falling equity markets and rising bond yields.
• The second largest component is alternative capital which — in contrast to index capital — grew by 6%.

Click the link below to download the full report.