With pricing weakness in most lines of reinsurance and a glut of capital, reinsurers should not be drawn into a passive mode, waiting for a major event to shake up the market.

That is the view of Alex Moczarski, chief executive officer of global reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Company, who was speaking at a press conference at the Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo, an annual get-together for the global reinsurance industry being held this week.

“The focus for many in the industry continues to be on the deflationary effect of excess capital,” Mr Moczarski told reporters. “This can lead to negative introspection or just waiting for the ‘big one’ to strike. Such passivity won’t do.

“We must take the initiative. For a broker, this means constant innovation, anticipation of clients’ needs and delivering the best solutions.”

Mr Moczarski said over-capacity in most reinsurance lines was occurring as a result of alternative capital flowing into the market, as well as the lack of catastrophes in recent years.

He said: “Almost all lines of business and geographies have been affected directly or indirectly by the surplus capacity and weak market.”

Guy Carpenter believes that weak market conditions are accelerating the evolution of the broker into a capital and risk adviser.

David Priebe, vice-chairman and head of GC Securities, said there was no sign of investor interest waning in the insurance-linked securities sector.

“Guy Carpenter estimates that the global property catastrophe limit exceeds $300 billion, with non-traditional reinsurance in the form of catastrophe bonds, collateralised reinsurance and industry loss warranties increasing from 14 percent last year to an estimated 16 percent this year. This is double the eight percent of 2008.”

He added: “Strong investor demand meant placements were routinely over-subscribed, often by multiples of the targeted size.”