Five Alternative Risk Transfer trends to watch

As the pace of change and the challenges facing risk management teams increase, it is a good time for businesses to step back and define a longer-term strategic approach to risk transfer and retention. This enables a shift from a reactive response to external (market) developments towards an approach that is actively steered by risk management and tailored to companies’ long-term objectives and their individual risk portfolios.

As the world evolves more rapidly than ever before, new risks are emerging faster than in the past. As a result, more companies are seeking solutions that enable them to retain these risks and balance them alongside traditional lines of insurance until a market develops over time. When this happens, companies will already have valuable risk and claims data to share with insurance underwriters. One area in which Allianz Commercial expects to see increased momentum during 2026 is companies focusing on their sustainability and resilience objectives.

Companies often turn to Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) solutions, either as a strategic tool or because traditional insurance markets are unable to provide the required cover. For example, US liability has been a particularly challenging insurance market in recent years, and Allianz Commercial has seen a growing number of companies turning to ART solutions to help manage volatility and stabilize profit and loss, while still retaining risk. Allianz Commercial expects this trend to increase significantly during 2026, with both the number and size of programmes continuing to grow.

Interest in ART has moved from a niche offering to a more mainstream solution for companies, with new markets and brokers entering the space. ART has recently placed some of the first structured deals in a few countries. With one of the largest underwriting set-ups globally and over 120 FTE dedicated solely to this area, Allianz Commercial is well positioned to offer companies stability and a more holistic approach to risk management alongside our traditional product lines.

A number of new jurisdictions are establishing, or considering establishing, favorable captive regimes, including France and the UK. Companies who are attracted by the benefits of operating a captive have found value in first negotiating multi-year, rolling insurance contracts with a specialized ART insurer, which provides them with similar benefits, without the long-term commitment required when establishing a full captive. Often, such a “virtual captive” contract serves as an intermediate step to gain internal buy-in and to accumulate capital for a more comprehensive risk-retention solution. This then makes the transition to a traditional captive a lot easier.