Dedicated reinsurance capital expected to reach $650bn by end of 2025: Doyle, MMC

Speaking during Marsh McLennan’s Q3 2025 earnings call, John Doyle, President of the firm said that dedicated reinsurance capital is projected to reach $650 billion by the end of 2025, while also stating that the reinsurance market remains resilient in the face of elevated nat cat losses, geopolitical instability and an uncertain macroeconomic landscape.

Doyle also acknowledged that reinsurers are eager to deploy capacity as competition within the market increases.

“We continue to see a competitive market characterised by slower growth from an uneven economy, stronger carrier ROEs, and continued decreases in overall rates, particularly in property reinsurance and property cat reinsurance,” Doyle explained.

He continued: “In reinsurance, the market remains resilient. It has responded to an extended period of elevated natural catastrophe losses, as well as ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.

“Dedicated reinsurance capital is projected to reach approximately $650 billion by year end 2025. With ample capacity, increased competition is driving reinsurers to look for profitable ways to deploy capacity.”

Of course, this environment also encourages innovation and more tailored risk solutions, ultimately benefiting insurers and policyholders alike.

Turning to the catastrophe bond market, which has seen an exceptional year, Doyle said: “The cat bond market is on pace for a record year of issuance, with over 60 new bonds in the first nine months, generating approximately $17.5 billion of limit.”

Artemis’ data shows that the total cat bond and related ILS issuance record was broken in the early stages of Q3 2025, and at $18.6 billion at the time of writing, it remains well on track to hit and exceed the $20 billion mark this year.

Meanwhile, Marsh McLennan recently announced that from January 2026, the organisation will change its brand name to Marsh and its reinsurance broking arm Guy Carpenter will go to market after a transition period as Marsh Re from 2027.

However, it’s still not clear what this means for the firm’s specialist capital markets, investment banking and insurance-linked securities (ILS) broker-dealer arm GC Securities.