For the whole insurance and reinsurance market, no less than 640 mergers and acquisitions operations, worth 122.786 billion USD in total, have been reported for the first eight months of the year 2021.
The total value of these operations for the whole year 2020 amounts to 82.530 billion USD.
Read also | Global reinsurance market [4]
Main mergers and acquisitions operations between insurers, reinsurers and brokers
Buyer | Target company | Date of the transaction | Amount of the transaction | Result of the operation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sompo, Japan | Endurance, United States | 2016 | 6.3 billion USD | Completed |
AIG, United States | Validus, Bermuda | 2018 | 5.6 billion USD | Completed |
AXA, France | XL, Bermuda | 2018 | 12 billion USD | Completed |
Covéa, France | Scor, France | 2018 | 9.65 billion USD | Failure of the operation |
Covéa, France | PartnerRe, Bermuda | 2020 | 9 billion USD | Failure of the operation |
Arthur J. Gallagher, United States | Willis Re, United Kingdom | 2021 | 3.25 billion USD | Ongoing |
Brookfield Asset Management, Canada | American National Group, United States | 2021 | 5 billion USD | Ongoing |
Covéa, France | PartnerRe, Bermuda | 2021 | 9 billion USD | Ongoing |
This interconnection between insurers and reinsurers is often the subject of much criticism because of:
- the unfair competition in the market: reinsurers can be considered as direct competitors of cedants.
- the greater advantage granted to some at the detriment of others since they share and process the same data.
These allegations are often disputed on the grounds that:
- insurance and reinsurance market players are using separate organizational models.
- reinsurers focus only on industrial and major risks where they make use of the necessary capabilities and technical expertise.
Read also | Insurance M&A in 2021 and early 2022 [5]
Over the past 12 years, the value of M&A transactions has grown in an up and down fashion. However, the amount of money involved continues to grow.
With 122.7 billion USD in the first eight months of 2021 alone, the peak of 122 billion USD in 2017 has been surpassed. Due to the health crisis and the global economic downturn, the 22 billion USD reached in 2019 is just a misstep.
Read also | Reinsurance in Sub-Saharan Africa [6]