MS says reinsurers 'golden era' over; cuts Munich Re, Swiss Re

Arch Capital

23/06/2025 10:55

** Morgan Stanley says the reinsurers' "golden era" of positive pricing, revenue growth and tighter terms and conditions is ending and advises to better differentiate between the companies

** As the cycle has started to turn for the reinsurers, U.S. hurricane season comes amid growing uncertainty about federal government's role in paying for disaster expenses, MS says

** Among the European reinsurers, MS says it continues to favour Hannover Re HNRGn.DE and SCOR SCOR.PA, both "overweight"-rated

** It looks more cautiously on Munich Re MUVGn.DE and Swiss Re SRENH.S, cutting both to "underweight" from "equal-weight" on exposure to weakened backdrop and ongoing FX pressures

** The end of the reinsurance "golden era" should help narrow the valuation gap for the U.S. peers Arch and RenRe vs the larger European ones - MS

COMPANY
RATING
OLD RATING
Munich Re MUVGn.DE
Underweight
Equal-Weight
Swiss Re SRENH.S
Underweight
Equal-Weight
Hannover Re HNRGn.DE
Overweight
Overweight
SCOR SCOR.PA
Overweight
Overweight
Arch Capital ACGL.O
Overweight
Overweight
RenRe RNR.N
Overweight
Overweight

 (Reporting by Cian Muenster)

 ((Cian.muenster@thomsonreuters.com))