Record SIRC attendance highlights Asia growth opportunity

This year’s Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) has seen another record attendance, with 3,300 delegates on site for the last major event in the annual international conference season.

The recent run of international catastrophe losses, notably hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US as well as typhoon activity in Asia, has cast a shadow of uncertainty on renewal expectations.

The broad sentiment at SIRC has pointed towards relatively flat renewals, although pricing in Vietnam may face upward pressure given recent losses from Typhoon Yagi.

Demand for reinsurance looks set to continue to rise across the region, with no shortage of capacity as international reinsurers look to diversify their portfolios.

Many of the talking points that have dominated the industry agenda throughout 2024 were prevalent at the event, including the rise of parametrics, how best to harness AI and the need to encourage and engage the next generation of talent.

Challenges remain in developing local expertise, particularly as more complex specialty products are introduced to the region.

Addressing the region’s widening protection gap – particularly for natural catastrophe exposure – also remains a huge challenge.

But Asia looks set to retain its position as the industry’s growth engine. During his keynote speech, Singapore’s deputy prime minister Gan Kim Yong highlighted climate change, the energy transition, a growing digital economy and changing Asian demographics as key growth drivers for Singapore’s reinsurance sector.

International brokers and reinsurers have accelerated growth targets for the region in recent years, fuelled by these drivers. That trend will likely continue.

Another sentiment voiced consistently at the event was the need for the industry to be more vocal about what it brings to society.

As Lloyd’s chief commercial officer Dawn Miller told The Insurer: “We all have to stop joking about falling into insurance. Our industry is the oxygen that fuels many economies around the world.

“We allow those in at-risk areas to get on with their lives – we should be proud of the industry.”

While SIRC’s conclusion today will bring the curtain down on a busy conference season, The Insurer will continue to provide in-depth coverage of how upcoming renewals are expected to play out in the run-up to 1.1.