Europe’s 30 biggest reinsurance buyers increased their spending by 85% over the past decade, with ceded premiums rising from €46.2 billion in 2016 to €85.6 billion in 2025, according to new analysis by Solvency II Wire Data.
The figures were drawn from group-consolidated Solvency II and Solvency UK non-life regulatory returns filed between 2016 and 2025, held in the Solvency II Wire Data database.
The top of the ranking was dominated throughout the period by Lloyd’s, Allianz, AXA, HDI and Mapfre.
None of the five moved by more than one place in any given year, and first and second place were held exclusively by Lloyd’s and Allianz.
Below the top five, the ranking was considerably more fluid, as per Solvency II Wire Data.
A total of 53 groups appeared in the Top 30 at some point during the decade, but only 13 featured in every year.
Concentration among the largest reinsurance buyers also reportedly declined. The biggest buyer accounted for 24% of Top 30 ceded premium in 2016, compared with 19% in 2025.
UK reinsurance buyers maintained a clear lead over their EU counterparts in terms of ceded premium.
UK groups ceded between 22% and 27% of their non-life premium in each year of the decade, compared with 13% to 15% for EU groups, a gap of eight to 13 percentage points throughout.
Lloyd’s accounted for 67% of UK ceded premium in 2025, but the difference was not solely attributable to the market: excluding Lloyd’s, the remaining UK groups still ceded between 19% and 26% of their non-life premium.
Individual reinsurance buyers showed much wider variation. Admiral Group reduced its cession rate from 60% in 2016 to 19% in 2025, while AIG’s European operations increased theirs from 25% in 2017 to 50% in 2025. Across the largest buyers, cession rates ranged from below 4% to above 90%.
For the Top 30 collectively, however, the non-life cession rate increased by only one percentage point over the decade, from 15% to 16%.
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