African Reinsurance

What African Reinsurance does

African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) is a Lagos-headquartered, pan-African reinsurance institution founded in 1976, operating as a multilateral entity with African member-state shareholders and recognized as the foremost regional reinsurer dedicated to the African continent. The company generates revenue primarily through reinsurance premiums, providing capacity and risk protection to insurance companies, government entities, and increasingly to smallholder farmers across Africa and select markets in Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East. It is rated 'A' (stable) by S&P Global and 'Excellent / Stable' by AM Best, with FY25 gross written premium of $1.34 billion and net profit after tax of $199 million.

The company's core product is treaty and facultative reinsurance, supplemented by three wholly-owned subsidiaries — Africa Re South Africa (regional reinsurance), Africa Retakaful (Sharia-compliant Islamic reinsurance), and Africa Re Pools (pooled risk mechanisms). Africa Re has invested in product innovation through parametric solutions, launching Sub-Saharan Africa's first parametric flood insurance policy with the Lagos State Government in May 2026 and an Index-Based Livestock Insurance scheme in Nigeria using satellite vegetation-index triggers. It also operates digital market-intelligence platforms — Country Dashboards and an Insurance Class Explorer — and hosts the annual African Insurance Awards program.

Africa Re distributes its services through a network of six regional offices (Casablanca, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, Lagos), three additional contact/subsidiary offices (Dubai, Ebene, Abidjan), and direct relationships with African cedants, government counterparties, and development finance institutions including IFC. Revenue mechanics are quote-based and negotiated annually based on risk profile, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company's growth in FY25 was driven by 10.18% premium growth and a 50.6% increase in net profit, alongside an S&P rating upgrade to full 'A', a Q1 2026 GWP of $316.3 million (+9.9% YoY), and continental leadership via the AAMFI chairmanship.

Name

African Reinsurance

Legal name

African Reinsurance Corporation

Website

https://africa-re.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

African Reinsurance Corporation is the foremost pan-African reinsurer, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Lagos, providing treaty and facultative reinsurance capacity to African insurers, governments, and farmers through nine offices across Africa and select markets in Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reinsurance Services

NAICS

Reinsurance Carriers (524130)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Lines P&C Reinsurance (FSAOABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Agriculture / Crop / Livestock Reinsurance (FSAOADAN)

Keywords

• Reinsurance underwriting
• Treaty reinsurance
• Retakaful services
• Parametric flood insurance
• Agricultural index insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Reinsurance Premiums: Africa Re generates revenue primarily through reinsurance premiums, providing capacity and assistance through first-class reinsurance protection to its clients across Africa and select markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) provides reinsurance capacity and protection to primary insurance companies across Africa and select markets in Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East. Its offerings include treaty and facultative reinsurance underwriting, claims management services, technical services, financial inclusion products, pooled risk mechanisms, and retakaful (Islamic-compliant reinsurance). The company also develops innovative parametric and index-based insurance solutions for climate and agricultural risks.

Product overview

African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) operates as a single unified reinsurance platform offering capacity and assistance through first-class reinsurance protection to clients across Africa and select markets in Asia, Brazil and the Middle East. The company's core reinsurance services include underwriting philosophy, various types of reinsurance, financial inclusion initiatives, pooled risk mechanisms, technical services, claims services, and retakaful (Islamic insurance). The organization also operates industry platforms including Country Dashboards and an Insurance Class Explorer for market intelligence. Africa Re maintains subsidiaries including Africa Re South Africa, Africa Retakaful, and Africa Re Pools, while also hosting the African Insurance Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Reinsurance Services Core reinsurance offering including underwriting philosophy, various types of reinsurance (treaty and facultative), financial inclusion, pooled risk mechanisms, technical services, claims services, and retakaful solutions. Provides capacity and assistance through first-class reinsurance protection to insurance companies across Africa and select markets in Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East.
• Africa Retakaful Wholly-owned subsidiary offering Sharia-compliant Islamic reinsurance (retakaful) solutions to clients seeking reinsurance protection that adheres to Islamic finance principles.
• Africa Re South Africa Wholly-owned subsidiary providing regional reinsurance services within the Africa Re group for the South African market.
• Africa Re Pools Wholly-owned subsidiary managing pooled risk mechanisms for shared reinsurance coverage across member insurers, enabling risk diversification for participating African insurance companies.
• Lagos Flood Risk Insurance Policy Sub-Saharan Africa's first parametric flood insurance solution, launched in partnership with the Lagos State Government and an insurance consortium in May 2026. Uses a parametric structure that delivers rapid, pre-agreed payouts when flood conditions reach defined trigger thresholds, providing financial protection to approximately four million vulnerable residents across Lagos State.
• Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) Index-based livestock insurance scheme reinsured through a consortium led by Leadway Assurance and including Rex Insurance, NSIA Insurance, AIICO Insurance, the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, IFC, and L-PRESS. Uses satellite-based vegetation index triggers to provide affordable livestock coverage to herders across Adamawa, Bauchi, and Plateau states in Nigeria.
• Country Dashboards Market intelligence platform providing views of African insurance and reinsurance markets at the country level, enabling clients and stakeholders to assess market opportunities.
• Insurance Class Explorer Digital platform enabling exploration of insurance classes and market opportunities across Africa.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lagos State GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partnership to launch Lagos Flood Risk Insurance Policy, Sub-Saharan Africa's first parametric flood insurance solution designed to provide financial protection to approximately four million vulnerable residents across Lagos State.
• Leadway Assurance CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 20 March 2026Lead insurer in consortium providing Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) scheme to herders in Nigeria. The scheme covers Adamawa, Bauchi, and Plateau states with satellite-based vegetation index triggers.
• Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 February 2026Africa Re's Group CEO Dr. Corneille Karekezi appointed as Chairperson of AAMFI. Africa Re plays a leadership role in the alliance of African multilateral financial institutions.
• Rex InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium partner for index-based livestock insurance in Nigeria.
• NSIA InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium partner for index-based livestock insurance in Nigeria.
• AIICO InsurancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConsortium partner for index-based livestock insurance in Nigeria.
• Nigerian Agricultural Insurance CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agricultural insurance corporation partnering in the index-based livestock insurance scheme.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFC provides backing and partnerships for agricultural and climate insurance initiatives in Africa, supporting index-based livestock insurance scheme.
• L-PRESSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in index-based livestock insurance scheme for herders.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica Re and IFC launched a workshop in Nairobi to promote affordable agricultural and climate insurance for African farmers, addressing the insurance gap affecting livelihoods and food security.
• African Peer Review MechanismminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to examine perceptions and non-financial factors influencing sovereign credit risk across Africa.
• UNDPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in examining sovereign credit risk and financing challenges across Africa.
• African Center for Economic TransformationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in economic transformation and credit risk analysis for Africa.
• AfriCatalystminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in examining credit risk and rating agency bias in Africa.
• UN Economic Commission for AfricaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in continental economic analysis and credit risk assessment.
• Development ReimaginedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in development and credit risk analysis for Africa.
• Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew member admitted to AAMFI alliance, expanding regional reach.
• Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew member admitted to AAMFI alliance.
• Africa Infrastructure Financing Facility (AIFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica Re participates in AIFF, an Africa-led coordination mechanism to accelerate project preparation and financing for cross-border infrastructure aligned with Agenda 2063, addressing estimated $221 billion annual infrastructure financing gap.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Swiss Re: Global reinsurance leader with established African operations. Competes with Africa Re on treaty capacity, specialty lines, and increasingly on climate/parametric solutions across African insurance markets, leveraging significantly larger capital and global diversification.
• Munich Re: The world's largest reinsurer with a growing African presence through its Munich Re Africa unit. Competes with Africa Re for large P&C, life, and specialty reinsurance treaties across African cedents, though at materially larger scale and with broader geographic diversification.
• Hannover Re: Major global reinsurer with growing African treaty portfolio. Competes with Africa Re on large treaty placements and specialty lines (including life and health), backed by significant capital and global diversification.

Direct peers

• ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company): East African multilateral reinsurer serving COMESA member states. Most direct multilateral peer to Africa Re, sharing a similar ownership structure (African states) and pan-regional mandate, competing for the same East African cedent pool.
• Continental Reinsurance: Pan-African reinsurer with operations across multiple African markets. Direct competitor offering treaty and facultative reinsurance, increasingly focused on specialty and emerging risks across Africa.
• Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI): Pan-African multilateral political risk and trade credit insurer with African state shareholders. Comparable in mandate, ownership, and pan-African focus, though ATI specializes in political risk and trade credit rather than general reinsurance.
• CICA Reinsurance: Central African multilateral reinsurer serving CEMAC member states. Comparable multilateral structure and regional reinsurance mandate, competing for Central African cedent business and offering similar capacity to regional primary insurers.
• WAICA Reinsurance Corporation: West African multilateral reinsurer serving ECOWAS/CRMC member states. Direct regional competitor with similar multilateral ownership structure, competing head-to-head for West African cedent business and capacity relationships.

Others

• Guy Carpenter: Leading global reinsurance broker and advisory firm. Acts as an intermediary in the same reinsurance placement market Africa Re serves, often representing cedents seeking capacity, making it an ecosystem participant and channel rather than direct underwriter.

Regional players

• Kenya Reinsurance Corporation: East African national reinsurer headquartered in Nairobi. Comparable in product offering (treaty and facultative reinsurance) but with more concentrated East African footprint than Africa Re's pan-African reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCV3etbEySiI02bvErlXNRNQ
• Xx.com/africa_re
• Facebookfacebook.com/AfricanReinsuranceCorporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Reinsurance