Helix Underwriting Partners Bermuda has launched Helix International, a London-based property insurance offering that has been operational since January, the company announced Monday. The program, developed in partnership with PartnerRe Insurance Programs, provides direct and facultative property capacity within the London Market.
The London program offers up to $5 million in capacity for all-risk property coverage, serving clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations with total insured values exceeding $100 million. Coverage will be available through select wholesale and retail relationships.
“Our expansion into the London market demonstrates our commitment to delivering a full suite of solutions across multiple access points for our clients,” said Nik Luking, head of worldwide property and a founding partner of Helix. “We are more than a capacity provider – we are addressing frustrations with restrictive underwriting and slow processes.”
Helix Underwriting Partners, established in 2018 as Bermuda’s first multiline independent managing general agent, underwrites property, casualty, and professional lines from hubs in Bermuda, the United States, and the United Kingdom on behalf of highly rated carrier partners and reinsurers.
James Robertson, head of property London, emphasized the significance of the partnership.
“Being part of an established managing agent with Helix’s respected leadership, and pairing that with world-class capacity from PartnerRe is highly exciting,” Robertson said.
Joel Livingston, head of insurance programs at PartnerRe, described the expansion as aligned with the company’s strategic objectives.
“This expansion underscores PartnerRe’s strategy of forging long-term alliances with partners that share our culture, values, and areas of expertise,” Livingston said.
As of June 30, 2025, global reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. held total assets of $35 billion, total capital of $11.6 billion, and total shareholders’ equity of $9.6 billion.
The launch comes amid broader shifts in global risk and reinsurance markets. Reinsurance pricing at the January renewals has softened substantially, with property catastrophe and other reinsurance rates declining. Fitch Ratings recently maintained a “deteriorating” outlook for global reinsurers, noting that record supply and competition shifted pricing power toward buyers while terms and conditions eased in some segments.
Lower reinsurance costs have contributed to softer global commercial insurance market conditions, with composite rate indices showing consecutive quarterly declines entering 2026, driven by heightened competition and favorable reinsurance pricing, according to a recent report by Marsh Risk.
