SCOR, a global reinsurance company providing risk management solutions, has published its latest analysis of Europe’s captive insurance and reinsurance market, examining financial strength, premium trends and solvency positions using year-end 2025 Solvency II data.
The report, European Captives: Analytical review of Solvency II reports, identifies 347 licensed European captives, with 223 providing at least some quantitative regulatory data. SCOR assesses their premiums, assets, technical provisions, capitalisation and solvency, alongside comparisons across 14 industrial sectors.
According to SCOR, Luxembourg and Ireland remain the leading domiciles, accounting for 69% of identified European captives and 81% of those included in the study. France, Germany and Belgium are among the main countries where captive-owning groups are headquartered.
The median captive wrote approximately €12 million in annual non-life gross written premiums, while total premiums across the sample reached €6.6 billion. Property was the most common line of business, written by 77% of captives, followed by liability at 68%. SCOR also found that 68% of captives operated primarily as reinsurance captives.
The analysis recorded €37.3 billion in total assets and €23.1 billion in available own funds across the relevant reporting samples. The median captive held approximately €37 million in own funds, with financial investments and cash accounting for 62% of reported assets.
SCOR identified non-life underwriting risk as the largest contributor to solvency capital requirements, representing 69% of the average requirement. The median solvency ratio was 221%, indicating that eligible own funds were more than twice the regulatory Solvency Capital Requirement.
The report also highlights substantial differences in premium volumes, capital levels and risk profiles across captive sizes and industrial sectors. SCOR’s benchmarks are intended to help captive owners and insurance professionals compare their financial and solvency positions with those of similar organisations.
The findings are based on available year-end 2025 Solvency II disclosures, with the number of captives covered varying by indicator.
