Informe de sostenibilidad Howden 2024

Report

3 minutes

22 September 2025

Past the pricing peak

The first half of the 2020s will be forever synonymous with global turbulence. The sequence of events that unfolded during the period is indicative not only of the ubiquity of risk in today’s world but also the interconnectivity.

Our report is something of a wake-up call for the industry. Carriers have experienced strong growth for the best part of a decade now but, as we show today, a reliance on price alone is no longer enough to sustain that momentum. The dawn of a new cycle brings fresh opportunity as insurers look for new business to drive growth.

 

- David Howden, CEO

Read the key takeaways from our new report on the (re)insurance sector below, and download the PDF.

Accumulating and intersecting crises since the turn of the decade – a global pandemic, devastating (and escalating) wars, commodity shocks, significantly higher prices, financial market volatility, weakening global trade, high debt levels – have ushered in a new world (dis)order that carries far-reaching implications for security, commerce, investment, supply chains and political stability.

Add into the mix elevated losses from natural catastrophes (every year since 2020 has seen annual insured costs exceed US$100 billion), more episodes of civil unrest, adverse litigation trends, evolving cyber threats, fraying social cohesion (exacerbated by the spread of misinformation and disinformation), and businesses and (re)insurers are navigating a hostile operating environment.

Following a prolonged run of rate increases across the (re)insurance sector (exacerbated by accumulating and intersecting crises), the degree of deployable capacity now available in the marketplace marks an important break with the recent past and heralds a new phase in the cycle.

Reinsurance renewals at 1 January 2025 saw rate reductions overall, reflecting a desire for growth on the part of reinsurers. Client-level differentiation was again a key feature of renewals, underlining the need for data transparency and relationships.

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Healthy supply led to risk-adjusted rate reductions for the first time this decade

Pricing fell from a high base across all major property lines

Risk-adjusted rate change at 1 January 2025

57%

of employees start treatment within a week of diagnosis. 36% say delays have made their condition worse, and 41% paid out of pocket to get treated, even with private cover

53%

of employers expect obesity-related drug prices to rise by up to 25% in 2026. Demand for new metabolic drugs like GLP-1s is rising fast, but their cost is a concern.

68%

of employees say they would trust AI in their healthcare, and 48% of employers want to see AI-powered tools adopted more widely.

2025 renewal report cover

Download the full report

Explore the findings in our full report and see the forces reshaping global employee health and medical benefits.

Download the report