Munich Re, Lloyd's Top AM Best's Largest Reinsurer Rankings

Munich Re and Lloyd's have risen to the top of AM Best's rankings of the world's largest reinsurers, aided by foreign currency gains against the US dollar and, in Lloyd's case, premium growth.

Munich Re reclaimed the top position among reinsurers reporting under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17, driven in part by the euro's strength against the US dollar. Lloyd's moved into first place among non-IFRS 17 reinsurers, supported by premium growth and appreciation of the British pound against the dollar.

The rankings appear in AM Best's new Best's Market Segment Report, "World's 50 Largest Reinsurers," part of the rating agency's analysis of the global reinsurance industry ahead of the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo.

The US dollar depreciated against most currencies in 2025, benefiting the rankings of many reinsurers that report in other currencies. AM Best converts reporting currencies to US dollars using foreign exchange rates as of the dates of companies' financial statements. The latest rankings also mark the third full year in which financial information has been reported under IFRS 17, providing additional insight into year-over-year performance.

Among IFRS 17 reporters, Munich Re overtook Swiss Re for the top position. Swiss Re had ranked first among non-IFRS reporters in 2023 and among IFRS 17 reporters in 2024 after transitioning to the accounting standard. Both Munich Re and Swiss Re reported modest year-over-year declines in reinsurance revenue. Hannover Re remained third, followed by SCOR in fourth and China Re in fifth.

"The top 5 IFRS-17 players had solid performance in 2025, reporting a weighted combined ratio of 80.0 percent," Christopher Pennings, senior financial analyst at AM Best, said. "This marked a notable decline from the prior year's weighted combined ratio of 84.9 percent."

Among non-IFRS 17 reinsurers, Lloyd's overtook Berkshire Hathaway, which had moved into first place last year after Swiss Re transitioned to IFRS 17.

Reinsurers maintained strong underwriting performance in 2025 despite material price softening, according to AM Best. The industry generated record capital levels following several years of strong profitability as rates hardened and terms and conditions became more favorable. Investment returns also supported operating profits.

"Risk-adjusted rate reductions occurred during the more recent renewal cycles, as the market experienced tailwinds, with terms and conditions largely holding strong," Dan Hofmeister, associate director at AM Best, said.

The absence of significant US hurricane activity also supported profitability in 2025, when no major hurricane made landfall. Severe convective storms remained costly, however, with US loss estimates reaching as much as $61 billion, according to broker estimates.

The California wildfires produced the largest insured loss of 2025 within weeks of the start of the year. The event led many reinsurers to report their worst quarterly results in years and eroded a significant portion of exposed reinsurers' catastrophe capacity allocated for 2025.

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