New data from AM Best reveals that Swiss Re has taken over from Munich Re as the world’s largest reinsurer for companies that report under IFRS 17, with Berkshire Hathaway taking the top spot for non-IFRS 17 reporters, based on year-end 2024 figures.
AM Best now ranks the top 50 global reinsurers in two lists. Companies that report under IFRS 17 are ranked 1-16 based on gross reinsurance revenue, while companies that report under non-IFRS 17 are ranked 1-34 based on gross written reinsurance premium (GWP).
In 2023, Swiss Re was number one for non-IFRS 17 reporters but has now shifted its reporting and based on year-end 2024 revenue, Swiss Re tops the list for IFRS 17 companies with revenue of $36.2 billion.
The large reinsurer takes the number one spot from Munich Re, the only other firm to have revenue of more than $30 billion in 2024 at $32.6 billion. Although Munich Re dropped down one place on the list, in terms of loss performance, the company led with a non-life reinsurance combined ratio of 77.3%.
Hannover Re sits in third place for IFRS 17 reporters with 2024 revenue of $27.5 billion, followed by SCOR with revenue of $16.8 billion, and then China Re completes the top five with revenue of $5.9 billion.
In light of Swiss Re’s move to IFRS 17 reporting, Berkshire Hathaway is the new global leader for non-IFRS 17 reporters, with 2024 GWP of $26.9 billion, the most significant change among the top five.
The specialist Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance marketplace is number two on the list for non-IFRS 17 reporters with GWP of $23.5 billion, followed by Reinsurance Group of America with GWP of $15.6 billion, Everest Group with GWP of $12.9 billion, and then RenaissanceRe with 2024 GWP of $11.7 billion.
“The California wildfires in January heavily impacted results for the first quarter, with many reinsurers who had California exposure reporting their worst quarterly underwriting experience in recent years and the impact of the wildfires eroding substantial portions of budgeted catastrophe loads for the year.
“As 2025 plays out, the market has witnessed pockets of rate softening among non-loss affected accounts, though rates modestly improved or maintained on loss affected accounts,” said Chris Pennings, financial analyst, AM Best.
