Like insurers, reinsurers are increasingly looking at ways to bolster their investment income, a Standard & Poor's report has said.
These approaches include increasing credit or liquidity risk, lengthening asset durations and making higher allocations to risk assets, such as equities.
"Over the past 12-18 months, we've seen an increase in exposure to equities within reinsurers' portfolios," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Anvar Gabidullin, in a report entitled, Asset risk for reinsurers nudges higher as low yields continue to bite.
But he added that the increase is moderate and the overall exposure generally still within reinsurers' risk tolerances.
Exposure to credit risk has remained stable year-on-year in aggregate, but some sub-groups have added a bit more credit risk, S&P said.
The average rating of reinsurers' bond portfolios has stayed at AA-.
S&P added that reinsurers can meet additional capital requirements arising from greater exposure to risk assets, thanks to the continued strength of their capital.