Arundo Re grows 13% at 1.1 renewals to record €970mn

By Ryan Hewlett

Feb 6 - (The Insurer) - Paris-based reinsurer Arundo Re, the newly rebranded CCR Re, achieved estimated gross premium income growth of 13 percent at the 1 January renewals, driven by an expansion in its life and health, specialty lines and non-life reinsurance business.

• Non-life reinsurance premiums up 15% to €632mn

• Volume in specialty lines up 18% increase to €92mn+

• L&H business “stabilised” = one-third of the total portfolio

• Welcomes changes to program structures and increased deductibles

• CUO Nessi: Market “more challenging environment than expected”

The double-digit growth was achieved while maintaining underwriting discipline, Arundo Re confirmed in a statement, with the reinsurer pointing to both strong organic growth and new business.

Gross written premiums at 1.1 – which accounts for approximately 70 percent of Arundo Re’s total portfolio – amounted to €970mn ($1.01bn), an increase of 13 percent at constant exchange rates compared to last year.

“Despite stable market capacity and a changing climate, as well as an uncertain political and economic environment, supply gradually outpaced demand as negotiations progressed,” Arundo Re said.

“Ultimately, many programs were oversubscribed, leading to less favourable pricing conditions for reinsurers,” it continued.

The 1.1 2025 outcome marked the ninth consecutive year that the reinsurer achieved double-digit growth at renewal.

Growth was driven by strong organic expansion alongside a widespread increase in primary insurance premiums across most countries and lines of business.

Arundo Re also said it successfully secured a strengthening of program structures, particularly through increased deductible levels.

For non-life reinsurance, premium volume increased by 15 percent to €632mn. This increase was particularly pronounced in the Middle East and North Africa region, where significant adjustments were required following the Dubai floods of 2024, and in Asia, where new business drove a 33 percent increase.

Specialty lines expanded by 18 percent to €92mn, primarily in the financial and marine sectors.

Arundo Re said the specialty growth had allowed it to further diversify its portfolio while benefiting from satisfactory insurance rates within proportional coverage structures.

The reinsurer added that its life and health segment had “stabilised at the desired size”, representing approximately one-third of the total portfolio.

Premium volume in the segment increased by 12 percent compared to 2024, supported by an expanding range of services, particularly in medical pricing and selection.

CUO Hervé Nessi said: “We are particularly pleased with this campaign, which took place in a more challenging environment than expected for reinsurers. For the ninth consecutive year since the creation of Arundo Re, we have achieved double-digit growth. However, our true success each year lies in the simultaneous improvement of our return on capital."

CCR Re formally rebranded to Arundo Re last month, completing the reinsurer’s breakaway from state-backed Caisse Centrale de Réassurance.

The name change was first unveiled in September last year and took effect from 16 January, marking a new chapter in the reinsurer’s transformation, which began in 2016 and continued with the arrival of two new majority shareholders.

CCR Re was acquired by a consortium of mutual insurers made up of SMABTP and MACSF in a deal first announced in February 2023. As previously reported, the deal closed in July 2023 and valued CCR Re at close to €1bn.

Arundo Re is now present in 94 countries worldwide, operating across property and casualty, life and health, and certain specialty lines including credit, marine, aviation, space and agriculture.

In 2023, the Arundo Re generated gross written premiums of €1.2bn, with net income of €56mn. The reinsurer has ambitions to grow its premium base to €2bn by year-end 2027.