Rising anti-globalisation sentiment and softening market conditions will test reinsurers at upcoming renewals, demanding sharp operational efficiency and resilience to maintain performance, said Paul Brand, Co-founder and CEO, Convex Group, at PwC’s Executive Breakfast during the latest Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo.
The executive also suggested that carriers with relevance, resilience and efficiency do absolutely fine during this phase of the cycle.
Brand’s comments point to a widening gap in performance between companies as market conditions soften, with strong underwriting discipline and a clear market proposition becoming increasingly important.
Rather than viewing softer conditions as a uniform challenge, Brand suggested that the cycle tends to expose carrier quality and positioning. Firms maintaining relevance, efficiency, and resilience are best equipped to handle downward pricing and competitive pressure.
PwC also hosted an AI-focused panel discussion, From Disruption to Reinvention: The Future of Reinsurance — Powered by AI, featuring PwC’s Prafull Sharma, Andreas Hufenstuhl and Ashish Jain, joined by Sherif Zakhary, CEO of Strategy and Technology Group and Inpoint at Aon.
Findings from PwC’s 2026 AI Performance Study, cited during the session revealed that only 20% of companies capture 74% of total AI value, with the most AI-fit firms achieving 7.2× higher AI-driven financial performance.
Panellists noted that top performers point AI at outcomes that matter, build repeatable foundations, and embed it enterprise-wide rather than confining technology to isolated pilot programs.
Matt Britten, Partner-Insurance, PwC Bermuda, stressed that success across both market headwinds and technological shift hinged on early, repeatable execution.
He stated: “PwC’s events highlighted the strategic choices facing insurers and reinsurers as the industry responds to changing risk dynamics, market volatility, technological disruption, evolving capital requirements, investor expectations and the need to build more resilient operating models.
“When it comes to AI, the winners won’t be defined by the tools they can access, but by how well they convert them into repeatable value. As our latest PwC research shows, just one in five companies captures three-quarters of the returns from AI. As the cycle softens, the leaders will be those who bring these decisions into the conversation early and build the foundations to act at scale.”
Britten added: “As might be expected, discussions at this year’s Rendez-Vous have been dominated by the outlook for rates and, perhaps more importantly, the direction of terms and conditions. However, alongside the immediate focus on renewals, there has also been a broader conversation about the many forces shaping the future of the reinsurance industry.
“These include the continued strength of reinsurers’ capital positions and the options available to deploy excess capital; sustained interest from third-party capital in selected specialty and casualty classes; the anticipated benefits and potential applications of AI; and the increasingly important partnerships between MGAs and reinsurers.
“There has also been discussion about the potential for private credit to play a greater role beyond life reinsurance, as well as the significant growth opportunities presented by areas such as data centres, emerging risks and efforts to close the global protection gap.”
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