Northern Re has surpassed $1 bn in in-force premium as it approaches the end of its fourth underwriting year. The privately held reinsurer launched on January 1, 2023, with a focus on high-frequency, low-severity property and casualty portfolios.
Since beginning underwriting, Northern Re has participated in more than 100 customized reinsurance contracts. Its business includes treaty, legacy and whole-account structures across several insurance markets.
The company initially concentrated on MGAs and program business. It has since expanded into traditional insurance company transactions and global retrocession opportunities.
Committed capital increased from $25 mn at launch to $325 mn over the same period. Northern Re said the increase has allowed it to participate in larger and more complex transactions.
Founded by Anthony and Peter McKelvy, Northern Re is a specialty reinsurance group headquartered in New York with offices in the Cayman Islands, supporting cedents across NAIC and Solvency II regulatory regimes.
The company focuses on casualty and other low-severity classes of business, providing structured reinsurance solutions and whole account quota share arrangements.
“Our ability to form deeper partnerships with cedents and execute complex transactions has driven additional demand for Northern capacity,” said Vincent Pomo, Chief Underwriting Officer at Northern Re. He said the company has expanded in response to underwriting performance rather than pursuing premium growth as an objective by itself.
MGA business remains a substantial part of Northern Re’s portfolio. The reinsurer also works with insurance and reinsurance companies across multiple product lines.
Structured quota-share agreements now account for most of Northern Re’s assumed premium. The company said cedents use those structures for capital relief and greater earnings stability, while also seeking longer-duration reinsurance relationships.
Northern Re maintains an average line size of approximately $20 mn across its portfolio. On selected transactions, it deploys more than $100 mn when underwriting criteria support a larger commitment.
The company operates with private capital and participates alongside traditional reinsurance and insurance-linked securities markets. Northern Re describes its model as a hybrid between conventional reinsurance capacity and capital-markets structures.
“We’ve taken a hybrid approach to the business which allows us to be genuinely creative in how we solve problems,” said Anthony McKelvy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Northern Re. He said the structure combines faster capital deployment with the longer-term relationship model associated with a dedicated reinsurer.
Northern Re expects additional activity through the end of 2026 and into 2027. The company is targeting structured solutions, retrocession and customized casualty transactions as its investor base expands and cedents seek alternative sources of capital.
