Hong Kong reinsurer Peak Re has joined the Global Asia Insurance Partnership (GAIP) as a principal partner. Its arrival puts a reinsurer inside the Singapore-based body's work on Asia's protection gap, a gap in which only around 8% of the region's natural catastrophe losses were insured last year.
The move continues a run of underwriting firms signing on. Taiwan's Cathay Life joined as a principal partner on September 10, and Lloyd's Asia followed as a supporting partner. GAIP now has the primary carrier, specialty market and reinsurance sides represented in the same working groups.
The scale of the problem explains the interest. Swiss Re Institute data show natural catastrophes caused about US$65 billion in economic losses across Asia in 2025, while insured losses were only US$5.2 billion. GAIP's own figures put the Asia-Pacific protection gap at US$886 billion in 2022, and its chairman, Yoshihiro Kawai, said last year it was approaching US$1 trillion.
Peak Re, backed by Fosun International, began operations in 2012. As at December 31, 2025, it served 550 cedents across 63 markets, and it ranks 28th among global reinsurance groups by net reinsurance premiums written, according to S&P Global Ratings. It carries financial strength ratings of A- (Excellent) from AM Best and A3 from Moody's, and describes its aim as helping insurers meet the protection needs of middle-class communities in Asia and beyond.
"By contributing our reinsurance expertise and regional perspectives, we look forward to working with GAIP and its partners to advance practical solutions that help close Asia's protection gap," said Victor Kuk, chief executive of Peak Re.
As a principal partner, Peak Re will take part in GAIP's working groups, dialogues and collaborative initiatives, with access to the platform's research, tools and workshops on key and emerging risks. GAIP's partner network spans insurers, regulators, academia, industry associations and international bodies, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the World Economic Forum. Its work runs across three themes: integrated approaches to protection gaps, health and retirement protection gaps, and climate change and insurance.
"Their reinsurance expertise and diverse perspectives complement GAIP's strengths, and we're confident that this partnership will generate impactful insights that translate into practical action for the industry and society," said GAIP chief executive Min Hung Cheng.
The reinsurance seat matters most where pilots have stalled. GAIP's August research on parametric insurance found many initiatives across Asia struggle to progress beyond pilot programmes, despite generally favourable regulatory conditions. For brokers working on parametric or middle-market programmes in emerging Asia, the frameworks GAIP publishes from here will carry carrier, Lloyd's and reinsurer input together. Those outputs are worth tracking alongside the capacity conversations that decide whether a pilot becomes a product.
