Speaking to Reinsurance News during the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous 2026, Xavier Crepon, Global Insurance Leader at PwC, emphasised that growth, capital management, and adapting operations to technological advancements represent the biggest challenges currently facing the reinsurance market today.
On growth, Crepon stated that this is a big challenge in today’s reinsurance market, particularly regarding obtaining growth within a softening market environment.
“That is one that everybody is talking about. Which line should I go for? Which lines are going to be more favourable and are going to provide the return that you want to maintain,” Crepon told Reinsurance News.
“Another challenge I think falls towards reinsurers’ operations and how they are adjusted for the different features that advancements in technology can bring. Obviously, a lot of this falls towards AI and how it is impacting underwriting, claims and operations in a broader sense,” Crepon continued.
“When I look at where AI has really started to transform most of our clients, I see a lot in the front-end and claims areas, much more so compared to the back-office roles, such as finance and HR.”
Turning towards capital management, Crepon views this as a “key challenge” in today’s reinsurance market.
“When returns are likely to be lower or top-line growth is under pressure, optimising capital deployment is critical, whether by adjusting risk exposures or refining the capital base to stay aligned with market realities. Maximising these returns while navigating those conditions makes capital management, along with the other two points mentioned, one of the biggest challenges in the market today,” Crepon explained.
Moving on to artificial intelligence and how it’s impacting the reinsurance industry, Crepon recognises that while the technology streamlines front-end tasks like underwriting and claims, he believes that its transformative potential is far greater for direct insurers than for reinsurers.
“I see AI having a major impact on the front end, particularly by accelerating underwriting decisions, sharpening pricing models, and claims processing. Beyond those areas, its impact on reinsurance is more limited.
“However, AI plays a larger role in direct insurance. Direct insurers face distinct technology challenges with legacy systems, which reinsurers often avoid due to leaner operating models, and have far more opportunities to transform client interactions,” he said.
When asked where the reinsurance market will find its next growth opportunities, Crepon highlights the industry’s unique position to act as both a liquidity engine and a partner in risk prevention.
“When you consider that we still have a massive protection gap in the market, alongside the fact that certain risks are becoming increasingly more difficult to insure, I do think that reinsurers have a vital role to play because they are the ones putting the capacity in the market. Effectively, they are the ones providing the liquidity to a certain extent. Reinsurers can definitely help their clients with prevention-type initiatives, because they’ve got data that some of the direct insurers don’t have,” Crepon said.
“This creates a distinct opportunity for reinsurers to step in, as well as an avenue for MGAs to aggregate new or niche demands. Yet, regardless of market structure, reinsurers play a significant role in capital deployment, making their participation essential to closing the gap,” he concluded.
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