Reinsurance Services
Running an insurance business in South Africa means balancing growth with responsibility. As portfolios expand and risks become more complex, the question is no longer whether reinsurance is needed, but how well it is structured.
At Hallmark Risk & Financial Services, our reinsurance services are designed to protect insurers from both individual risk volatility and large-scale catastrophic exposures. More importantly, they are built to support long-term stability, capital efficiency, and sustainable growth — not short-term fixes.
We approach reinsurance as a strategic tool, not a commodity. Every programme is designed around the realities of your book, your capital position, and the market conditions you operate in.
In practice, reinsurance must do more than tick regulatory boxes. Poorly structured arrangements can restrict growth, distort underwriting results, or leave capital exposed at the wrong moment.
Our role is to help you avoid those outcomes.
We work closely with underwriting, finance, and executive teams to understand how risk actually behaves within your portfolio.
Why Choose Hallmark Risk for Bonds and Guarantees
- South African market expertise: We understand sector-specific requirements across construction, logistics, and import/export.
- Fast turnaround & expert structuring: Compliant documentation that meets regulatory and financial-institution standards.
- Trusted surety partners: Reliable, competitively priced guarantees underwritten by reputable insurers.
- End-to-end support: Guidance from application to issuance and claims handling.
| Reinsurance Solution | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Facultative Reinsurance | Provides cover for individual risks that fall outside treaty limits or represent large, complex exposures. Protects underwriting results from outsized single-risk losses and supports growth without exposing the balance sheet to unnecessary volatility. |
| Treaty Reinsurance | Manages risk at a portfolio level by aligning underwriting strategy with capital strength, solvency requirements, return expectations, and rating agency considerations. Structured to evolve with your business. |
| Quota Share Treaties | A proportional structure where premiums and losses are shared at a fixed percentage. Ideal for capital relief, new portfolios, or periods of rapid expansion. |
| Surplus Treaties | Allows the insurer to retain a defined line on each risk, with surplus amounts ceded above that level. Supports higher sums insured while maintaining control over individual risk retention. |
| Facultative Obligatory (Fac-Oblig) | A hybrid proportional structure offering underwriting discretion while obligating the reinsurer to accept qualifying risks within agreed parameters. |
| Per Risk Excess of Loss | A non-proportional structure protecting against large individual losses by indemnifying amounts above a defined retention, subject to agreed limits. |
| Catastrophe Excess of Loss | Protects against the accumulation of losses arising from catastrophic events, helping manage exposure in volatile or changing risk environments. |
| Aggregate Excess of Loss | Provides protection when total losses over a defined period exceed an agreed threshold, safeguarding the portfolio against adverse claims experience. |
Analytics, Modelling and Capital Insight
Effective reinsurance decisions depend on understanding risk before it materialises.
Our analytics capability supports this through:
Catastrophe modelling
Financial modelling
Capital at risk assessment
Reinsurance optimisation
These tools help quantify exposure, stress-test scenarios, and align reinsurance structures with real capital constraints. The value lies not in the models themselves, but in how the insights are applied to practical decision-making.
Why Reinsurance Structure Matters
In real-world terms, reinsurance affects:
Earnings volatility
Capital adequacy
Regulatory confidence
Market credibility
Long-term underwriting discipline
Well-structured reinsurance allows insurers to absorb shocks, plan growth with clarity, and maintain confidence during periods of uncertainty. Poorly structured programmes do the opposite.
Our focus is to help clients avoid complexity for its own sake and instead build reinsurance arrangements that are transparent, defensible, and fit for purpose.
Our Commitment
We operate on clear principles that guide every reinsurance engagement:
Transparency in structure, pricing, and rationale
Open communication throughout placement and renewal cycles
Consistent quality standards across all programmes
Long-term trust built through measured advice and follow-through
Reinsurance works best when it is understood by the people relying on it. We take the time to ensure that is the case.
Speak to Our Reinsurance Team
If you are reviewing an existing programme, planning growth, or reassessing capital exposure, a structured conversation can bring clarity.
Our reinsurance specialists are available to discuss your objectives, pressures, and options — without obligation and without overcomplication.
When you are ready, we are here to help you build reinsurance solutions that support confidence, stability, and sustainable performance.