Best’s Market Segment Report: Latin American Reinsurance Market Demonstrates Resiliency, Sustained Growth Amid Prolonged Soft Cycle

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEXICO CITY - SEPTEMBER 09, 2026 10:34 AM (EDT)
As soft-market conditions persist across Latin America’s reinsurance landscape, primary insurance companies are taking advantage of the overall flexible conditions to strengthen their catastrophe protections, according to a new AM Best report.

The Best’s Market Segment Report, “Latin American Reinsurance Market Demonstrates Resiliency With Sustained Growth Amid a Prolonged Soft Cycle,” is part of AM Best’s look at the global reinsurance industry around the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo. Other reports, including AM Best’s ranking of top global reinsurance groups and in-depth looks at the insurance-linked securities, Lloyd’s, life/annuity, health and regional reinsurance markets, have been published in August and September.

While non-life business continues to be the largest portion of Latin America’s reinsurance markets, saturation in catastrophe lines of business has kindled interest for casualty businesses and specialty lines, which have been growing in the more sophisticated markets such as Chile, Mexico and Brazil. Factors like migration and demographic changes, as well as new guidelines, risk measures and increasing protection requirements stemming from the pandemic, have increased demand for life and health reinsurance.

“Interest in Latin America among the larger reinsurers is there, reflected by abundant capacity and generally flexible conditions,” said Inger Rodriguez, senior financial analyst, AM Best. “However, catastrophe experiences during the second half of 2026 given the potential impacts of a ‘Super Niño’ could move the needle toward a localized hard market.”

Brazil’s reinsurance industry remains a key Latin America market and has showed signs of improvement amid challenging political and macroeconomic environment, according to the report. At the same time, although the volume of reinsurance accepted by Brazil’s reinsurers has grown, the share of Brazil’s reinsurers among the total premium ceded by local primary insurers has decreased. Local reinsurers accepted approximately 70% of the premium ceded between 2015 and 2018; at year-end of 2025, this percentage dropped to 53%. “This drop indicates that local insurers are ceding significantly more to reinsurers offshore, which coincides with the country’s regulatory framework that is evolving toward a more open and less restrictive reinsurance market,” said Ricardo Rodríguez Perez, senior financial analyst, AM Best.

Other report takeaways include:

• Commercial and geopolitical tensions, as well as the conflict in the Middle East, have created significant variations in regional and global commodity markets, particularly in the price of oil, which has demonstrated increased volatility and created uncertainty in Latin American economies.


• International reinsurers’ interest in Latin America continues, as these markets experienced solid levels of profitability in 2025, supported by strengthening currencies against the U.S. dollar and low levels of insured losses.


• The use of managing general agents, either to provide capacity to the Latin American market or to take risks by regional reinsurers from abroad, continues to gain popularity and has contributed to the prolonged soft market.

To access the full copy of this market segment report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=368471. 

For recent global reinsurance reports and coverage of AM Best’s “Reinsurance Market Briefing – Rendez-Vous de Septembre (Monte Carlo),” please visit the Reinsurance Information center. AM Best TV coverage of Rendez-Vous de Septembre can be seen at https://www.ambest.tv/rvs26.