The Growth of Foreign Reinsurance Continues Unabated: ALIRT Insurance Research Discusses Implications for The U.S. Life Insurance & Annuity Market

In a recent client release, ALIRT discusses the continued proliferation of foreign reinsurance strategies by the U.S. life insurance and annuity industry

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- There has been growing concern over the last several years regarding the rapid increase of U.S. life insurance and annuity reserves ceded to reinsurers in non-U.S. jurisdictions, especially those domiciled in Bermuda. 

As a leading source of market intelligence on the U.S. insurance industry, ALIRT Research has closely tracked this phenomenon which appears to mark a secular change in domestic life insurer strategies around capital management and product growth.

In a recent client release, ALIRT provides an in-depth update on the use of foreign reinsurance by U.S. insurers as of the year-end 2024 regulatory financial statements. Some of the more interesting findings include:

• As of year-end 2024, U.S. life insurance and annuity reserves ceded to Bermuda-based reinsurers equaled 38% of the total $2.4 trillion reserves ceded by U.S. based life insurers, up from 26% in 2020.
  
  
• Bermuda based insurers accounted for 84% of U.S. life insurance and annuity reserves ceded to all non-U.S. countries as of year-end 2024.
  
  
• As of year-end 2024, 90% of outstanding ceded U.S. life insurance and annuity reserves to Bermuda were from transactions effective 2017-2024.

The remarkable growth in non-U.S. reinsurance is further analyzed in the balance of the study, including a discussion of:

• The largest Bermuda reinsurer counterparties,
  
  
• The largest Bermuda reinsurance transactions in 2024 and through July 2025,
  
  
• Recent entrants to the Bermuda life reinsurance market, and
  
  
• The top reinsurance exposures among U.S. life insurers.

The study concludes with a discussion of both the benefits and risks of foreign reinsurance utilization for U.S. life and annuity insurers and what this on-going strategy may mean for individual insurers going forward, especially amid recent regulatory developments in the U.S. and Bermuda.

About ALIRT Insurance Research

ALIRT Insurance Research models the financial performance trends of life, health, and property & casualty insurers versus their peers and respective insurance industry sectors. This work is used by ALIRT's clients to meet due diligence, competitive intelligence, and sales/marketing needs. With over 25 years of experience, long-time insurance market relationships, and an emphasis on service, ALIRT helps its customers go beyond ratings and financial data to enhance and strengthen their insurance carrier oversight efforts.

Contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE ALIRT Insurance Research