Aon plc and KNIAZHA VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP (KNIAZHA VIG) have entered into a $25 million reinsurance facility agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in a move aimed at expanding access to war‑risk cover for businesses and individuals in Ukraine.
Effective Feb. 1, 2026, the facility provides DFC reinsurance support on a portfolio of war‑risk insurance policies with limits of up to $100 million. It is intended to allow KNIAZHA VIG to offer broader and more stable war‑risk solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and private individuals at a time when many commercial markets remain cautious about conflict‑related exposures.
“Since the onset of the war, our commitment to Ukraine has compelled our firm to build a global public and private coalition to support and invest in the country,” said Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon. “We are proud to collaborate with KNIAZHA VIG to build on work with the US International Development Finance Corporation and others as we put our expertise, analytics and relationships to urgent work to unlock innovative solutions to this complex challenge.”
Although detailed terms have not been disclosed, the facility is structured as a portfolio reinsurance arrangement under which DFC provides war‑risk capacity to KNIAZHA VIG on a defined book of policies up to a $100 million aggregate limit. KNIAZHA retains part of the risk and is responsible for local underwriting, distribution and claims handling, while DFC assumes a significant share of the tail exposure through the $25 million reinsurance line.
The structure is designed to enable KNIAZHA to offer higher limits and more stable terms than it could on its own balance sheet in an active conflict zone, with pricing, coverage and accumulation managed under agreed underwriting and portfolio controls. The policies supported by the facility focus on war‑related perils affecting Ukrainian SMEs and private individuals and can sit alongside broader property or liability placements.
By spreading risk across a portfolio and backing it with DFC’s balance sheet, the arrangement is intended to provide a more sustainable and scalable alternative to ad‑hoc, one‑off placements.
The DFC‑backed facility forms part of wider efforts to stabilize insurance capacity in Ukraine and support investment during the war and into post‑war reconstruction.
“Our partnership with DFC marks an important step in strengthening KNIAZHA's role in Ukraine's rebuilding process and reflects VIG's long-term commitment to the country,” said Harald Riener, member of the managing board of VIG and chairman of the supervisory board of KNIAZHA VIG. “By expanding SME and private insurance solutions and supporting regional initiatives, we are creating a resilient platform that empowers communities and unlocks new market opportunities.”
For local brokers, the involvement of a development finance institution on the reinsurance panel is expected to provide added comfort on claims‑paying capacity and contract certainty, particularly for higher limits and multi‑year commitments. For lenders and investors, the facility is intended to help meet risk‑transfer requirements tied to project finance, trade and supply‑chain funding, supporting capital flows into assets and operations that might otherwise be considered uninsurable.
The move comes as the global war‑risk and political violence market continues to grapple with heightened geopolitical tensions and live conflicts, in areas where traditional terrorism backstop schemes, such as Pool Re in the UK and TRIA in the US, are not designed to address large‑scale conventional warfare.
Aon said the facility builds on its broader efforts to support Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction. The firm has coordinated more than $490 million in public and private capital aimed at bolstering the country’s economic resilience, organized a €110 million ($115 million) insurance facility with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and launched a Ukraine Early Careers Program to hire displaced Ukrainians into Aon offices.
