Andrew Krasner, chief financial officer (CFO) and co-head of corporate development at global insurance broker WTW, today revealed that the company is pleased with Willis Re’s participation in the recent January 2026 renewal.
After completing the sale of its Willis Re treaty reinsurance business to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in late 2021, WTW confirmed in late 2024 its intention to re-enter the market through a joint venture with private investment firm Bain Capital.
Willis Re has since made significant hires as expansion work continues. In April last year, WTW Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carl Hess emphasized that the joint venture was going well.
During WTW’s recent fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call with analysts, WTW leaders were grilled about the situation at Willis Re, specifically whether anything was learned from the 1.1 2026 reinsurance renewals.
“So we’re very pleased with the trajectory of Willis Re and it’s on track. The business is able to participate in the 1.1 refresh cycle and we’re very pleased with that progress from a business and operational perspective,” said CFO Krasner.
In today’s results announcement, WTW revealed that it expects Willis Re to post adjusted diluted earnings of approximately $0.30 per share this year and said the remaining equity investment in the associate’s earnings interest is not expected to have a material impact in 2026.
Krasner emphasized on the call that WTW will continue to invest in its reinsurance joint ventures to expand its newly launched commercial business.
During the Q&A, WTW was also asked whether a fully operational Willis Re would make the group more competitive in winning some digital infrastructure business, with WTW highlighting its strong and growing presence in this area, supporting five of the world’s 10 largest data center developers.
Lucy Clark, president of risk and brokerage at WTW, responded: “Will reinsurance be supportive? Absolutely. But we’ve done a lot of work in this area and really leveraged the work we’ve done with some of the largest global owners and developers and many of the top data center construction companies. These guys have just announced that they’ve developed a comprehensive global risk framework to address the industry’s risk profile, which is increasingly systemic, interconnected, and difficult to address through traditional insurance solutions on their own.”
“Their framework is designed to address the full range of risks faced by data center owners, operators and investors throughout a project’s lifecycle, from development and construction to steady-state operations. The framework does provide a holistic view of current and emerging risks, including those that are systemic, difficult to model, or are still evolving.
“As a result, we continue to see high demand for our products from new business and, of course, a strong pipeline developed from our existing customers.”