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Markel Å©·òµ¼º½ is running off its global reinsurance business and selling renewal rights to the $1.2 billion book to Nationwide, according to Markel Group and Nationwide in separate announcements on Wednesday.

Neither company disclosed financial terms of the deal.

Markel said its decision to run off the reinsurance book helps to simplify its specialty insurance structure, referring to an effort that’s been in motion since earlier this year. For Nationwide, acquiring the renewal rights creates an opportunity to further diversify and expand a growing presence in the specialty reinsurance market, the insurance and financial services products company said.

Simplifying Markel

Markel Group referred to its decision to place the global reinsurance business into runoff in a media statement announcing second-quarter earnings, without explicitly mentioning the renewal rights sale. Markel did cite the sale as a subsequent event in a second-quarter 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although Markel did not identify the buyer, the filing noted the deal is expected to close in August 2025. At that point, the Global Reinsurance division of Markel Å©·òµ¼º½ will enter into runoff.

“As many of the contracts written within this division are multi-year agreements, the company expects premiums to continue earning over the next two to three years and loss reserves are expected to take several additional years to run off,” Markel’s filing said.

While reporting $1.4 billion in first-half operating income for Markel Group overall, CEO Tom Gayner said placing the reinsurance book into runoff is another step the group is taking to simplify the structure of its insurance business, which contributed $273.4 million to operating earnings. Two other reporting segments—investments (encompassing the group’s returns from equity and fixed maturity investment of insurance float) and ventures (a division made up of 21 noninsurance businesses)—contributed $903.4 million and $310.2 million to first-half 2025 results.

The runoff decision, Gayner said, “enables the [insurance] team to focus more clearly on the core underwriting activities where we have distinct strengths.”

Internal reflection on Markel Å©·òµ¼º½’s underperformance against its peers and the urging of an activist investor sparked a board-level review of all of Markel Group’s businesses in February, and then a restructuring of the U.S. and Bermuda insurance operations in April.

The simplified structure of Markel Specialty into two core business units—U.S. Wholesale and Specialty—attempts to clearly align the core insurance businesses with the buying behavior of customers and distribution partners, Simon Wilson, CEO of Markel Å©·òµ¼º½, for investors in May.

Growing Nationwide

Nationwide said it plans to delegate the underwriting and management of all renewal policy opportunities included in this transaction to Ryan Re Underwriting Managers, a reinsurance managing general underwriter of Ryan Specialty, expanding a strategic alliance between Nationwide and Ryan Specialty established in 2019.

“By working with two respected names in the industry, this strategic acquisition reinforces Nationwide’s position as a diversified risk partner and creates an opportunity for us to expand our reinsurance footprint,” said Nationwide CEO Kirt Walker in a statement. “Nationwide’s collaboration with Ryan Specialty, and Ryan Re in particular, has positioned us to increase our presence in the specialty reinsurance market. This strategic move accelerates this progress, and we’re excited about the diverse portfolio it unlocks.”

In May 2019, Ryan Specialty Group and Nationwide announced they were forming a Bermuda reinsurance company, Geneva Re Ltd., with Columbus, Ohio-headquartered Nationwide owning 50% of the venture and RSG-related investors holding the remaining 50%.

Offering commentary on the renewal rights purchase, Mark Berven, president of property/casualty at Nationwide, stated: “We are confident in our ability to meet the protection needs of Markel’s clients and deliver long-term value to broker partners.

“Our partnership brings the scale, reach and specialized capabilities to offer these clients a broad suite of products, including specialty lines that enhance their options in meaningful ways.”

Berven also noted that the agreement provides the opportunity to strategically expand the team with specialized reinsurance underwriting talent, ensuring the continuation of exceptional service to renewing clients.

During a 2022 interview with Carrier Management, Berven described the Nationwide-Ryan Specialty reinsurance-focused relationship, noting that it started with outreach from Ryan Specialty to Nationwide, when the wholesale broker expressed an interest in getting into the “risk side” of the business. In addition to sharing the profits on some program business produced by Ryan Specialty, Nationwide operates as a reinsurance provider through Geneva Re. The venture offered a new way for Nationwide to get into markets that we had not been in previously, he said.

Related:

The Runoff Book

Markel Group’s 10Q filing describes the global reinsurance division as being made up of casualty and specialty reinsurance products including general liability, professional liability, marine and energy, workers compensation and credit and surety.

While Markel Å©·òµ¼º½ reported a 2% decline in net written premiums in the second-quarter across all its divisions, net premiums for the reinsurance division fell 26%. The filing attributes the reinsurance decline to “unfavorable timing differences” on the renewal of two large professional liability contracts.

In addition, while the overall combined ratio for Markel Å©·òµ¼º½ landed at 96.9 in the second quarter, significant adverse development and a higher current year attritional loss ratio pushed the global reinsurance division’s combined ratio up to 125.5—26 points above second-quarter 2024.

This article in Å©·òµ¼º½ Journal’s sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics Reinsurance