How Reinsurers Are Rethinking Their Technology Strategy

As climate change intensifies, cyber threats evolve, and compliance pressures increase, U.S.-based reinsurers are being forced to reimagine how they manage risk. Legacy infrastructures and manual treaty handling are no longer fit for purpose in a landscape that demands agility, transparency, and resilience. Technology isn’t just a back-office upgrade – it’s now a competitive weapon.

Leading reinsurers are rethinking their technology strategies to become more data-driven, API-connected, and automation-ready. Here are 10 key ways U.S. reinsurers are transforming their technology stack in 2025 to stay ahead of the curve.

10 Ways Reinsurers Are Transforming Their Technology Strategy

1. Modernizing Legacy Core Systems

Legacy systems still dominate the reinsurance infrastructure, creating barriers to real-time risk modelling, compliance tracking, and product agility. A recent study shows that nearly 74% of insurance companies continue to use outdated core technology for mission-critical processes like underwriting and policy administration. Worse, 70% of IT budgets are consumed by maintaining these systems, leaving little room for innovation.

Modern platforms are enabling reinsurers to replace monolithic tech with modular, API-enabled architectures. This shift allows for seamless integration across treaty modules, faster onboarding of new cedents, and quicker response to market changes – especially critical as product lifecycles shorten and capital mobility increases.

2. Automating Treaty & Bordereaux Workflows

Manual workflows tied to treaty setup, bordereaux ingestion, and facultative submission reviews continue to drain operational efficiency. Reinsurers processing thousands of documents per quarter are now implementing automation to eliminate repetitive tasks, reduce human error, and enhance cycle time.

By integrating rule-based validation and STP (straight-through processing), reinsurers can auto-classify bordereaux entries, assign claims to the correct treaties, and issue real-time alerts for anomalies. This shift is especially valuable for reinsurers working with high-volume MGA partners where manual oversight simply can’t scale.

3. Enabling Real-Time API Connectivity

Reinsurers are increasingly partnering with digital insurers, Insurtech, and embedded insurance platforms – and these partners expect real-time data flow. Static batch uploads and spreadsheets can no longer meet the speed and transparency requirements of modern distribution.

API-first infrastructures now allow reinsurers to instantly pull exposure data, send facultative quotes, and trigger automated loss notifications. This level of integration shortens placement cycles, reduces underwriting gaps, and ensures all stakeholders stay aligned throughout the treaty lifecycle.

4. Adopting Data-Driven Underwriting & Portfolio Management

U.S. reinsurers are moving away from backward-looking loss ratios toward predictive models that consider litigation trends, economic shifts, and CAT exposure in real time. Data is now the foundation for smarter underwriting and dynamic portfolio balancing.

This trend aligns with broader industry momentum: over 80% of insurers are using intelligent automation tools in live production for underwriting, claims, or policy administration. Predictive analytics in underwriting lets reinsurers spot high-risk segments early, simulate pricing strategies, and maintain a forward-looking stance in volatile markets.

5. Managing CAT & Climate Risk with Granular Intelligence

The cost and frequency of U.S. climate events have surged to historic highs. In 2023 alone, the U.S. experienced 28 climate disasters, causing $92.9 billion in total losses – a record-breaking year that surpassed even the 2020 peak. These figures underscore the urgent need for high-resolution CAT(Catastrophe) modelling and real-time geographic risk tracking.

Modern reinsurers are using satellite data, event-triggered alerts, and climate simulations to proactively assess and rebalance their portfolios. Whether adjusting aggregate limits for hurricane-prone Gulf regions or modelling wildfire exposure in California, reinsurers are embedding Catastrophe risk intelligence into every level of the underwriting process.

6. Complying with U.S. Regulatory Requirements

The U.S. regulatory landscape is becoming more fragmented and demanding, especially around cybersecurity and data privacy. As of early 2025, 26 U.S. jurisdictions have implemented the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law, requiring strict compliance in breach response, risk assessments, and audit reporting.

To stay ahead, reinsurers are implementing automated compliance tracking tools, regulator-ready audit logs, and customizable reporting modules that adapt to each jurisdiction’s mandates. These systems reduce compliance costs while ensuring consistency across 50 states, helping reinsurers avoid penalties and reputational damage.

7. Accelerating Treaty & Product Innovation

In today’s dynamic risk environment, reinsurers need to launch treaty products faster – especially for niche markets like cyber, renewable energy, or parametric structures. Traditional IT-led product development cycles of 6-12 months are incompatible with market demand.

Reinsurers are now turning to no-code platforms that allow business teams to configure treaty logic, pricing thresholds, and rating rules without writing a single line of code. This democratizes innovation, allowing faster prototyping, testing, and deployment – a strategic advantage in a market where timing and flexibility define success.

8. Modeling Cyber Risk & Aggregation Exposure

Cyber is now one of the fastest-growing risk classes in the U.S. In 2023, cyber insurance policies in force rose 11.7% to 4.37 million, according to the NAIC. As demand for coverage grows, reinsurers must assess cross-portfolio aggregation and systemic risk more intelligently.

Forward-thinking reinsurers are implementing scenario-based cyber modelling, mapping digital dependencies between cedents, and analyzing event-based losses like third-party SaaS breaches. This enables them to quantify accumulation limits, refine underwriting thresholds, and structure smarter excess-of-loss covers for cyber portfolios.

9. Enhancing Claims Analytics & Reserving Intelligence

Accurate loss reserving is a pillar of solvency and profitability. Yet, many reinsurers still rely on outdated spreadsheets and static development factors, limiting their ability to predict emerging claims trends or adjust reserves dynamically.

Modern reserving platforms now integrate machine learning to detect outliers, project IBNR, and deliver real-time insights into claim severity and frequency. This not only strengthens actuarial accuracy but also equips finance and risk leaders to manage capital more efficiently across treaty layers and time horizons.

10. Delivering Self-Service Cedent Portals

Cedents are expecting more from their reinsurers, not just capital, but digital service parity. They want instant access to treaty terms, claim statuses, and reporting tools, without relying on email chains or delayed Excel files.

Reinsurers offering secure, self-service portals are differentiating themselves in a relationship-driven industry. These portals improve transparency, automate document exchange, and give cedents the visibility and control they need, making it easier to renew business and deepen partnerships.

Building a Future-Ready Reinsurer

U.S. reinsurers are no longer asking if they need to transform, but how fast they can. With climate risk accelerating, cyber exposures compounding, and compliance pressures intensifying, the path forward lies in intelligent, connected, and scalable technology.

Practo Insura empowers reinsurers to modernize their infrastructure with agility – from predictive analytics and workflow analytics to built-in business intelligence tools. If you’re ready to move faster, smarter, and with full regulatory confidence, we’re ready to help.

Practo Insura Team

We specialize in developing innovative Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance software solutions, leveraging over 8 years of InsurTech expertise to simplify insurance operations and enhance efficiency.