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Bermuda takes larger share of US life insurers' reinsurance
ALIRT said US life insurers had about $2.7 trillion in ceded life and annuity liabilities at end-2025, with $1.1 trillion ceded to Bermuda-based reinsurers.
ALIRT Insurance Research released a report saying Bermuda is expanding its role as the main overseas destination for reinsurance ceded by US life insurers, including coverage for life insurance, annuities, pension risk transfer, structured settlements, and legacy books. The firm said Bermuda’s share of total ceded US life and annuity reserves rose from 30.9% to 40.7% between 2021 and 2025.
According to ALIRT, US life insurers had approximately $2.7 trillion in ceded life and annuity liabilities at the end of 2025. Of that total, around $1.1 trillion had been transferred to Bermuda-based reinsurers, accounting for 40.7% of ceded liabilities, and about 85% of business placed with reinsurers outside the United States.
ALIRT added that reserves ceded to Bermuda more than doubled between 2021 and 2025, with most of the increase occurring after 2017. The research also found that roughly 92% of Bermuda-ceded reserves outstanding at end-2025 originated from transactions completed between 2017 and 2025.
The report points to growth in newly established Bermuda reinsurers and sidecar structures, saying entities created since 2017 have accumulated close to $355 billion in assumed reserves. ALIRT also cited more than $73 billion of new Bermuda reinsurance transactions completed by US life insurers during 2025, noting the ten largest deals accounted for about $60 billion of that volume.