AM Best has affirmed its credit ratings across RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., its core subsidiaries, and its Bermuda-domiciled joint ventures. The action assigns a positive outlook to the group's long-term issuer credit ratings as the reinsurer's earnings diversification begins to offset property catastrophe volatility.
The rating agency affirmed an A+ (Superior) Financial Strength Rating (FSR) for RenaissanceRe's core operating subsidiaries, including Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. and its European and US counterparts. The FSR outlook is stable, while the parent holding company's long-term ICR of "a-" (Excellent) carries a positive outlook.
The positive ICR outlook reflects an improvement in operating performance that AM Best attributes to the growth of RenaissanceRe's specialty and casualty lines. Those lines now account for more than half of the group's earned premiums. They have partially offset volatility in the property catastrophe book, and fee income was identified as an additional earnings source that reduces the group's reliance on any single income stream.
That diversification argument carries weight as property catastrophe pricing softens materially. Risk-adjusted property catastrophe rates fell 14.7% at the January 2026 renewals, the sharpest year-on-year decline since 2014, according to Howden Re figures. AM Best revised its outlook for the global non-life reinsurance segment to stable from positive in January 2026, citing the same pricing pressure.
AM Best also flagged two countervailing risks. Property catastrophe exposure remains a source of high-severity loss potential. Growth in casualty lines introduces reserve volatility, and the agency noted that RenaissanceRe makes extensive use of retrocession protection across both exposures.
The casualty picture has direct precedent in recent results. In Q2 2026, the group's casualty and specialty book posted a combined ratio above 100%, with US$54 million of adverse prior-year development linked to the reclassification of Baltimore Bridge Collapse loss estimates from property.
RenaissanceRe's balance sheet supports the ratings. The group posted US$9.9 billion in net earned premium at year-end 2025. Liquidity is backed by more than US$1.7 billion of cash and US$23.6 billion of investment-grade fixed-income securities, with risk-adjusted capitalisation assessed at the strongest level under AM Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) framework.
AM Best also affirmed ratings for three joint ventures. DaVinci Reinsurance Ltd. and Vermeer Reinsurance Ltd. each received an FSR of A (Excellent) and a long-term ICR of "a+" (Excellent), with stable outlooks. Fontana Reinsurance Ltd., RenaissanceRe's first third-party capital-backed vehicle focused on casualty and specialty risks, received the same ratings.
On the debt side, AM Best affirmed a long-term ICR of "bbb" (Good) on US$250 million in 5.75% Series F perpetual preferred stock. It also affirmed a long-term issue credit rating of "a-" (Excellent) on US$300 million in 3.45% senior unsecured notes issued by RenaissanceRe Finance Inc., due 2027. Both carry positive outlooks.
