Haakon
Haakon A.G. was a Swiss reinsurance broker based in Basel, with an additional office in Kuala Lumpur, serving insurance and reinsurance companies. As of January 1, 2025, it merged with Howden to operate as Howden Re Switzerland.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersBasel, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Haakon does
Haakon A.G. was a Swiss-based reinsurance broker headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, with a secondary office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The firm served insurance and reinsurance companies, providing specialized reinsurance brokerage services and analytical expertise to cedents seeking capacity placement across treaty and facultative lines. Its functional role was intermediary: structuring reinsurance solutions, advising on portfolio risk transfer, and broking placements with reinsurance carriers on behalf of direct insurers and other cedents.
The business operated on a professional services revenue model typical of reinsurance brokers, generating income through commissions and fees on successfully placed reinsurance contracts. The Malaysian office extended the firm's geographic reach into the Asian reinsurance market, complementing the Swiss base in a traditional European reinsurance hub. The firm's value proposition rested on broking expertise, carrier relationships, and analytical capability rather than proprietary technology or capital deployment; it did not underwrite risk or hold balance sheet exposure itself.
As of January 1, 2025, Haakon completed a merger with Howden and transitioned to operating as Howden Re Switzerland, becoming part of the broader Howden Re platform. Howden Re reports approximately $21.6 billion in gross written premiums, more than 40 offices globally, and a workforce exceeding 1,100 employees. Post-merger, the former Haakon entity functions as a node within this international reinsurance broking platform, with the strategic intent of combining Swiss and Asian local presence with Howden Re's global placement capacity, capital relationships, and carrier network.
Haakon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Haakon
- Legal name
- Haakon A.G.
- Website
- https://haakon.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Haakon A.G. was a Swiss reinsurance broker based in Basel, with an additional office in Kuala Lumpur, serving insurance and reinsurance companies. As of January 1, 2025, it merged with Howden to operate as Howden Re Switzerland.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Haakon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Reinsurance Brokerage
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reinsurance Brokerage (FSAEADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Treaty Reinsurance Brokerage (FSAOAHAA), Reinsurance Program Structuring & Portfolio Solutions (Broker-led) (FSAOAHAJ)
Keywords
Where Haakon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Basel
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Haakon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Reinsurance brokerage services: Haakon operates as a reinsurance broker, providing specialized reinsurance brokerage services to clients. Following its merger with Howden on January 1, 2025, the company positions Howden as the reinsurance broker of choice in Switzerland while strengthening Howden's European reinsurance platform.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Haakon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Haakon is a Swiss reinsurance broker that places treaty and facultative reinsurance coverage for insurance companies and reinsurers across property, casualty, cyber, aviation, marine, and specialty lines. The firm combines broking with analytical expertise and operates from Basel, Switzerland and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Following its January 1, 2025 merger with Howden, the business now trades as Howden Re Switzerland within the Howden Re global reinsurance platform.
Product overview
Haakon is a reinsurance broker that completed its merger with Howden on 1 January 2025, becoming Howden Re Switzerland. The company provides specialized reinsurance brokerage services, operating from offices in Basel, Switzerland and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Haakon's service offering is integrated into Howden Re's broader European reinsurance platform, which includes specialized risk teams providing reinsurance brokerage services and analytical expertise across multiple lines of business including property, casualty, cyber, facultative, aviation, marine, and specialty reinsurance. The merger strengthens Howden's growing European reinsurance platform while maintaining service continuity for existing Haakon clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Treaty Reinsurance Brokerage
- Facultative Reinsurance Brokerage
- Specialty Lines Reinsurance Advisory
- Risk and Reinsurance Analytics Advisory Analytical and advisory support accompanying broking placements, helping cedents structure programs, evaluate counterparties, and assess exposure.
Companies that use Haakon
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Haakon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Haakon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Howden RecoreOn January 1, 2025, Haakon completed its merger with Howden. The merger positions Howden as the reinsurance broker of choice in Switzerland while further strengthening Howden's growing European reinsurance platform and client offering. For Haakon clients, service remains the same via usual contacts.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Haakon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Howden Group: The parent group of Howden Re and now Haakon. A large, employee-owned global insurance group whose broader portfolio includes retail insurance brokerage, M&A, and employee benefits in addition to the reinsurance business where Haakon operates.
Direct peers
- BDB (Berkeley Burket Davis Re): Independent specialty reinsurance brokerage focused on property, casualty, and marine lines. Directly comparable in size and service offering to Haakon, providing treaty and facultative reinsurance placement to insurance clients.
- Lockton Re: The reinsurance brokerage arm of Lockton, the world's largest independent insurance broker. Directly comparable as a specialty reinsurance intermediary targeting insurance and reinsurance clients with similar placement and advisory services.
- TigerRisk Partners: Specialty reinsurance and capital markets advisory firm that merged with Howden Group prior to the Haakon transaction. Now part of the same Howden Re platform as Haakon, offering overlapping reinsurance brokerage and advisory capabilities.
- Guy Carpenter: The reinsurance brokerage arm of Marsh McLennan and one of the largest global reinsurance intermediaries. Directly comparable to Haakon/Howden Re in providing treaty and facultative reinsurance placement, advisory, and analytics to insurance and reinsurance clients worldwide.
- BMS Group: Independent global insurance and reinsurance broker with European operations including a Swiss presence. Comparable to Haakon in providing reinsurance placement, advisory, and capital solutions to insurance clients across multiple lines.
- Aon Reinsurance Solutions: Aon's reinsurance brokerage practice, one of the top-tier global reinsurance intermediaries. Directly competes with Haakon/Howden Re for treaty and facultative placements across property, casualty, and specialty lines.
- RPS (Risk Placement Services): Specialty wholesale and reinsurance brokerage division providing treaty and facultative placement solutions to retail brokers and insurers. Comparable to Haakon in serving reinsurance clients with broker-led placement services.
- WTW Re (Willis Re): WTW's reinsurance brokerage division, a direct global competitor in treaty and facultative reinsurance placement and analytics, operating across similar specialty lines as Haakon/Howden Re.
Emerging players
- Acrisure Re: The reinsurance arm of Acrisure, a fast-growing global insurance brokerage built largely through acquisitions. Comparable as an emerging reinsurance brokerage aggregator expanding into treaty and specialty placement capabilities.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Haakon social profiles
Digital presenceHaakon compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Haakon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Haakon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Haakon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Haakon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Haakon
What does Haakon do?
Haakon is a Swiss reinsurance broker that places treaty and facultative reinsurance coverage for insurance companies and reinsurers across property, casualty, cyber, aviation, marine, and specialty lines. The firm combines broking with analytical expertise and operates from Basel, Switzerland and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Following its January 1, 2025 merger with Howden, the business now trades as Howden Re Switzerland within the Howden Re global reinsurance platform.
Is Haakon a public or private company?
Haakon is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Haakon founded?
Haakon was founded in 1980. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Haakon based?
Haakon is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Haakon make money?
One revenue line is on record: reinsurance brokerage services.
Who are Haakon's main competitors?
Howden Group is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are BDB (Berkeley Burket Davis Re), Lockton Re, TigerRisk Partners, Guy Carpenter, BMS Group, Aon Reinsurance Solutions, RPS (Risk Placement Services) and WTW Re (Willis Re). Acrisure Re is listed as an emerging player.
Does Haakon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Haakon.
What industry is Haakon in?
Haakon's product category is Reinsurance Brokerage. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEADAE, Reinsurance Brokerage, with a secondary code of FSAOAHAA, Treaty Reinsurance Brokerage.