London remains the pre‑eminent global hub for specialty re/insurance, maintaining leading market shares in key classes and expanding into new risk areas, according to the London Market Group’s (LMG) London Matters 2026 report.
However, the trade body warned that the market's ability to keep writing complex global risks at scale will increasingly depend on solving emerging talent and capital constraints.
London's role in the insurance market
According to the report, the London market continues to be the world's leading centre for marine and aviation, with around 45% of global premium, and writes just under 20% of global property business. It has also consolidated its position as Europe's largest cyber insurance market, supported by more than 800 firms providing cyber products and services, which translates to roughly 30% since 2022.
Looking ahead, the report highlighted several growth runways for the market's carriers, syndicates and brokers. In energy, renewables are expected to reach about 20% of total energy use by 2030, which could drive up to US$800 million in additional London Market renewables premium between 2024 and 2030. The report also flagged opportunities in insuring AI-related exposures, new energy infrastructure and intangible assets, alongside continued expansion in cyber.
“London remains the global leader in risk transfer, demonstrated by its growth in absolute size and market share," said Chris Lay, chair of the LMG. "Yet we cannot be complacent as, whilst much smaller than London, some other jurisdictions have grown faster in recent years.” He pointed to three priorities for sustaining London’s insurance lead -- making the market attractive for new capital, targeting emerging risk classes, and tackling a mounting talent shortfall.
Workforce ageing and graduate intake slide
The London Market currently employs around 61,000 people, up from 59,000 in 2022, with roughly two‑thirds of roles based in London. But the LMG projected that the market will require approximately 82,200 full‑time equivalents by the end of 2034.
The average age of the workforce is expected to rise to 46 by 2034. Most strikingly, the share of under‑30s in the London Market is forecast to drop from 24% today to just 7% over the next decade. At the same time, graduate job postings in insurance fell 18% year‑on‑year in September 2025, suggesting the industry is not yet hiring at the scale needed to replace retiring expertise.
“The age profile of the London Market is estimated to shift significantly over the next ten years. This is most dramatic in the under 30s, whose share of the total workforce is predicted to fall from 24% to 7% in that period,” said Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of the LMG.
Alternative capital: London plays catch‑up
On the capital side, the LMG data flagged a need for more diverse sources of capacity to underwrite growing and emerging risks and to narrow protection gaps. Prior to 2022, London had little presence in the global alternative capital space, even as insurance‑linked securities (ILS) and other structures expanded rapidly in Bermuda, the US and elsewhere.
Since its launch in 2022, however, the London Bridge 2 structure has grown at roughly 150% per annum, reaching around US$1.9 billion of deployed capital.
“The London Market was not present in the alternative capital space prior to 2022. While the UK ILS regime has stalled, the success of London Bridge 2 has demonstrated that London can efficiently connect investors to diversified risks,” Lay said.
“It is clear that the London Market needs to build on this success and do more to attract alternative capital through structures such as captives and ILS. There is a real opportunity here, and the government and regulators are crucial to the process of simplifying access, streamlining processes and promoting our market as a great home for external capital," Lay added.
For London‑based brokers and carriers, that means the next phase of the market’s evolution is likely to hinge as much on talent and capital markets innovation as on traditional underwriting performance, with competition from other hubs sharpening the need to move quickly on both fronts.
