January 1 renewals highlight evolving conditions in Iberia

The 1 January renewals in the Iberian market underline a broader shift in market dynamics, consistent with themes highlighted in Howden Re’s Re-balancing renewals report. Strong technical performance in Southern European portfolios has supported more constructive renewal outcomes, even as climate volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty remain elevated.

The report highlights Spain’s relative economic resilience within the Eurozone during 2025, alongside increased natural catastrophe activity, including wildfires across Spain and Portugal that contributed to the most severe EU wildfire season on record. Against this backdrop, disciplined underwriting and portfolio profitability have been key differentiators for cedants navigating renewals.

David Santos, Managing Director of Howden Re Iberia, said:

“The January 1 renewals in Iberia confirm that we have entered a period of rebalancing. After years of market hardening, the combination of abundant capital supply and the strong technical profitability of portfolios in Spain, Portugal and Andorra has generally enabled less demanding renewal conditions.

In Spain, despite concerns about the increased frequency of climate events that fall outside CCS coverage, loss accumulation damage programmes with good results have renewed with no change in rates or with slight increases of up to 5%. In the Motor market, and taking into close account the update of the Baremo and the loss experience of each contract, renewals have seen increases ranging between 0% and 5%.

In Portugal, overall, renewals of property programmes have followed a downward trend of between 0% and -5%, while Motor terms have been maintained.

Although the environment remains complex due to macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical risks, increased competition among reinsurers is opening up strategic opportunities for our clients. We are not only seeing price stabilisation, but also a greater willingness from markets to deploy capacity selectively. In this context, data management and advanced analytics are essential for insurers operating in Iberia to optimise their reinsurance structures and take advantage of the opportunities offered by a market that seeks to reward profitability and disciplined underwriting.”