Facultative Reinsurance for High-Value and Complex Risks
Tailored, individually assessed reinsurance for high-value, unusual, or non-standard risks that fall outside treaty parameters, placed through Lloyd’s and international markets.
What Facultative Reinsurance Is
Facultative reinsurance covers a single risk, assessed on its own merits. Rather than falling under a pre-agreed treaty, each risk is underwritten individually, which makes facultative the right mechanism for exposures that are too large, too unusual, or too specialised to sit comfortably within an automatic arrangement.
Berkley RE structures and places facultative reinsurance for insurers, underwriting managers, and cell captives across South Africa and the wider continent. We present each risk to the markets best suited to it, securing capacity and terms that reflect the specific characteristics of the exposure.
Because cover is negotiated case by case, facultative reinsurance gives the ceding insurer precise control over how much risk is transferred, to which markets, and on what terms.
Key Benefits of Facultative Reinsurance
Facultative cover is the precision instrument of reinsurance applied where a portfolio approach cannot reach.
Risk-Specific Cover
Each exposure is evaluated and structured on its own merits, not forced into standard parameters.
High-Value Capacity
Secure cover for large single risks that exceed treaty limits or appetite.
Non-Standard Risks
Place unusual, complex, or specialised exposures that automatic arrangements will not absorb.
Control Over Terms
Decide how much risk to cede, to which markets, and on what conditions.
Specialist Market Access
Direct presentation to Lloyd's syndicates and international reinsurers through our market relationships.
Protects Your Treaty
Remove volatile or oversized risks from the treaty, preserving its performance and pricing.
When Facultative Reinsurance Is the Right Choice
Facultative cover earns its place wherever a single risk needs more than the treaty can give.
High-Value Single Risks
Exposures that exceed your treaty limits or sit outside its appetite.
Unusual or Complex Risks
Risks that fall outside standard underwriting parameters and need bespoke structuring.
Capacity Top-Up
Additional cover above the treaty for a specific high-exposure account.
Risks Excluded From Treaty
Exposures your automatic arrangement does not respond to.
Risks We Place Facultatively
If a risk is large, complex, or unusual, it is a candidate for facultative placement. Common classes include:
Property & Construction
Large commercial, industrial, and infrastructure assets.
Engineering & Machinery
Plant, equipment, and machinery breakdown exposures.
Mining & Extractive
High-value operations and assets in demanding environments.
Energy & Power
Conventional, renewable, and power-generation risks.
Marine & Transit
Cargo, hull, and goods-in-transit exposures.
Specialty Lines
Political violence, contingency, and other non-standard risks.
How Berkley RE Places Facultative Cover
Berkley RE places facultative reinsurance through Lloyd’s and international specialty markets. The process is direct, hands-on, and led by people who know the markets.
Risk Submission & Assessment
We review the individual risk, its data, and the cover required, identifying what the markets will need to see.
Market Selection
We identify the Lloyd’s syndicates and international reinsurers best suited to the specific exposure.
Placement & Negotiation
We present the risk and negotiate capacity, terms, and pricing on your behalf.
Ongoing Servicing
We manage documentation, endorsements, and claims support through the life of the cover.
Discuss a Facultative Risk With Our Team
Bring us a single risk that needs tailored cover. Berkley RE will assess the exposure and place it with the markets best suited to it.
