Africa Re's combined ratio holds below 85% as claims spike

Africa Re's first-half combined ratio came in at 84.7%. That is a shade wider than the 84.2% posted a year earlier. Insurance service revenue grew to $664.8 million. The 8.5% increase reflected new business and stronger renewal retention, with property & engineering and life accounts both posting double-digit gains.

The claims line was rougher, with incurred claims rising to $358.9 million. That is a 26.6% increase, driven by several large losses. The retrocession programme absorbed much of the blow, and recoveries climbed to $68.9 million. That is a 152.4% gain. As a result, the net expense from retro contracts came to $20.2 million. The first-half 2025 figure was $62.9 million. Insurance service result improved to $101.7 million. That is a 4.7% gain. A 20% drop in the net reinsurance finance charge helped. The charge fell to $22.7 million.

Net result fell to $96.7 million. That is a 6.1% decline year on year. Group CEO Corneille Karekezi put the decline down to a $19.6 million net foreign-exchange loss, not portfolio deterioration. Investment income rose to $54.6 million. That is an 8.4% gain. The CEO pointed to a $1.44 billion capital base and maintained 2026 targets.

For the capital cycle question we have been tracking, Africa Re lands in the discipline camp. A sub-85% combined ratio alongside a 26.6% claims spike suggests the hard market's pricing has held under large-loss pressure. The retro recoveries show the value of protection that hard-market rates made costly to buy. If new capital crowding into catastrophe bonds and sidecars is going to force a softening, it is not visible yet in Africa Re's core markets.