Speaking to Reinsurance News during the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous 2026, Jörg Bruniecki, Group Chief Underwriting Officer at MS Re, set out his view of where the market stands heading into the January 1 renewals, and what he wants to change about the reinsurer’s global underwriting approach.
On property pricing, Bruniecki said the softening of the past year has brought the market close to what he regards as a sustainable floor. “For property, over the last year we have seen a steep decline of rates.
“I do think we are nearing the technical adequate level, which means all the excess margin has gone out of the business. Currently there’s still abundant capital in the marketplace. With a lack of further activity, I think there will be continued softening.”
That said, he suggested the pace of decline should ease from here, and that underwriters will need to hold the line as pricing approaches its technical limit. “As we’re nearing the technical floor, it will be much more moderated going forward. People will have to get disciplined in their underwriting because we cannot support business which is below technically adequate levels.”
Casualty, in Bruniecki’s assessment, remains a different story, with rate adequacy still an open question given how varied the class of business is. “In the other lines of business, I think casualty still needs rate. The question is always there: Does rate actually beat trend? And that will be an ongoing discussion. Especially, as casualty is such a diverse universe where risks are big and very volatile, I do think risk and rating go more hand in hand.”
Turning to terms and conditions, and specifically attachment points, Bruniecki argued that discipline throughout the risk chain is what has kept retentions intact since the market reset of 2022.
He noted: “The attachment levels are crucial. If you look at the chain of risk-carrying entities from insurers via reinsurers up to the retro, everyone has to be invested in the business of managing risk. We have seen this in the reset that happened after 2022. This is especially true for managing secondary perils like severe convective storms and wildfires. These perils need to be managed as part of a smart portfolio by the insurers and cannot be solely passed on via reinsurance.”
Bruniecki was clear that MS Re sees this as a shared responsibility with cedents rather than something reinsurance alone should absorb. “You have to have the partnership with your insurance client, who manages this risk upfront, and you can share the excess volatility of it. I do think for the most part retentions will stay in place. If you have an issue as a client that you look to solve specifically, I think we, as a reinsurance partner, are always there to have discussions. But I don’t think there’s a general shift.”
Bruniecki explained that the real scarcity in today’s market is not capital but relevance. “This is not a market where capacity is scarce, but where relevance is scarce, so actually having a partner that understands you as a client: Where are you going with your strategy? How can I help you to be a better company? To have partners that are invested and offer the permanence of capital, that is a scarce resource, and I think this is what clients are looking for, and we are an ideal partner to provide that.”
On artificial intelligence (AI), Bruniecki was careful to distinguish between the parts of the business that remain fundamentally relationship-driven and those where AI is already delivering efficiency gains for MS Re. “We are in a relationship-based business, so I don’t see that changing. Machines do not do ‘relationships,’ but in the analysis of risk, in the end-to-end processes, and in the administration part of what we do, I think there are huge benefits of using AI.”
He does not see full automation of underwriting processes on the immediate horizon, but pointed to concrete tools already in use across the business. “I haven’t seen a full implementation of end-to-end processes using AI, so there’s always still a human touch involved, and I think it will be interesting how quickly it evolves.
“We use it to get more efficient. Copilot is amazing from getting from a white paper to a sketched first thought on emails, so efficiency gains are already there. In some parts, in the analytics, it plays more and more of a role. I think for the reinsurance world, it’s certainly an evolution. I don’t see yet that it will be a total revolution overnight.”
Looking further ahead, Bruniecki pointed to consolidation as the factor most likely to shape the market’s next phase, describing the current stage of the cycle, he said: “I think we’re entering what I call the ‘cheating phase’. Results are still good, but existing margins are much tighter. I cannot predict the biggest challenge, but M&A will be a big topic that’s emerging, and as the industry consolidates, that’s again will drive how the cyclical development is going to go.”
Having recently stepped into the CUO role, Bruniecki added that his priority is consistency rather than a departure from what has made MS Re successful to date. “I do think we’ve built a great reputation in the market for being a solid partner that can walk with clients and deliver on its promises. I will change nothing about this.” Instead, he wants the client experience to be uniform wherever in the world a cedent engages with the company.
“It’s important to get more consistent in truly understanding the needs of our clients. What I want ideally is that in five years we sit here and we have this conversation, and you come in here and say, I’m meeting someone from MS Re, and the experience, the message, approach is consistent.”
Bruniecki added that mutual commitment is what allows for honest conversations about which parts of a portfolio are working. “We are looking for partnerships where there is commitment on both sides. If you have that, you can have candid conversations about the parts of the portfolio that are working well and the parts that are not.”
He acknowledged that not every piece of business will suit MS Re at every stage of the cycle, but argued that longer-term relationships give both sides more room to manage that. “Not every risk is a good risk, and not every deal works at every point in the cycle. But if you have a broad-based relationship, you have more table stakes to work with. You can use the element of time, because there is a business today and a business tomorrow.”
Bruniecki concluded: “For me, that is how you balance relationships and discipline. You stay clear on pricing, risk appetite and portfolio quality, while working with clients over the long term to find solutions that make sense for both parties.”
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