At a Glance
What We Do
Reinsurance allows an insurer — the cedant — to transfer a portion of its risk and premium to one or more reinsurers, protecting its balance sheet against large individual losses, accumulations, and catastrophic events. Organising that transfer efficiently, on competitive terms, and with watertight wording requires specialist knowledge of both the cedant's risk profile and the reinsurance market.
Neolife acts as an independent reinsurance broker between Turkish cedants and the international reinsurance community. Licensed under SEDDK (Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency of Türkiye) for reinsurance brokerage and a member of SBD (Turkish Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Association), we have no ownership or financial interest in any insurer or reinsurer. Our role is to represent the cedant's interest exclusively — securing the right capacity, at the right price, on terms that perform when they need to.
Our team brings over 25 years of combined experience in insurance and reinsurance, with direct working knowledge of Lloyd's syndicate underwriting, Continental European market practices, and the Turkish regulatory environment. That combination — local intelligence and international reach — is what we offer to every client.
Facultative Reinsurance
Facultative reinsurance covers individual risks on a case-by-case basis. Rather than ceding an entire class of business under a standing arrangement, the cedant submits each risk separately, and each reinsurer makes an independent underwriting decision on whether to participate and on what terms.
When is facultative reinsurance used?
Facultative placement is typically required when:
- The risk is too large or unusual to fit within existing treaty limits
- The cedant needs additional capacity beyond what the treaty provides for a specific risk
- A risk has characteristics that require individual underwriting assessment — for example, a major industrial facility, a complex engineering project, or a high-value energy installation
- The cedant wishes to keep treaty capacity unencumbered for its core book of business
How Neolife structures a facultative placement
We prepare a detailed risk presentation — the slip — setting out the risk description, values, occupancy, loss history, construction, and any special features. This is presented to a selection of reinsurers best suited to the risk in question. We then gather competing indications, negotiate terms and conditions, and assemble the final reinsurance panel. Once placement is confirmed, we manage the policy documentation, premiums, and any subsequent claims recovery.
For large or complex risks we routinely approach multiple markets simultaneously to build the required capacity across a subscription panel.
Treaty Reinsurance
Treaty reinsurance is a standing arrangement between a cedant and one or more reinsurers covering an agreed portfolio of risks over a defined period, typically one year. Within the treaty parameters, the cedant cedes and the reinsurer accepts automatically — removing the need for individual risk submissions on every policy.
Proportional treaties
In proportional structures, premium and losses are shared between cedant and reinsurer in agreed ratios:
- Quota share: The cedant cedes a fixed percentage of every risk and premium in the portfolio. In return, the reinsurer pays the same percentage of every loss.
- Surplus treaty: The cedant retains a fixed monetary amount (the retention) and cedes the surplus above that retention, up to an agreed multiple of lines. Provides more selective capacity than quota share.
Proportional treaties are often combined with non-proportional protection — the reinsurer's commission income helps offset the cedant's acquisition costs, while the non-proportional layer caps aggregate exposure.
Non-proportional treaties
Non-proportional structures respond only when losses exceed a defined threshold:
- Excess of loss (XL) — per risk: The reinsurer pays the amount by which any single loss exceeds the cedant's retention, up to the policy limit. Protects against individual large losses.
- Excess of loss — per event (Cat XL): Aggregates all losses arising from a single catastrophic event — earthquake, windstorm, flood — and responds once cumulative losses exceed the retention. Essential in Türkiye's seismic risk environment.
- Stop loss: Responds when the cedant's aggregate net loss ratio for the period exceeds an agreed percentage, protecting overall underwriting profitability.
Treaty wording and cedant service
Treaty wording defines exactly what is and is not covered, sets bordereaux requirements, establishes claims co-operation clauses, and determines the conditions under which reinsurers can inspect records. Poor wording creates disputes and delayed recoveries at the worst possible time. Neolife dedicates considerable attention to wording review and negotiation on behalf of cedants, benchmarking clauses against current market practice and flagging any language that could restrict recovery.
Market Access
The reinsurance market is not monolithic. Different reinsurers have different risk appetites, pricing strategies, and capacity constraints by line of business. Effective placement requires access to a broad range of markets and the underwriting relationships to use that access constructively.
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's is a subscription market in which individual syndicates, each backed by their own capital, underwrite shares of risks presented to them. It has particular depth in complex, large, and unusual risks — energy, aviation, marine, construction, specialty liability — where the subscription model allows capacity to be assembled from multiple syndicates onto a single slip. Neolife maintains active working relationships with Lloyd's syndicates relevant to Turkish and regional risks, enabling direct market access without additional intermediary layers.
Continental European reinsurers
The major professional reinsurers — including Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, SCOR, and Gen Re — provide substantial capacity across all lines of business and are significant participants in Turkish reinsurance placements. Their global diversification, financial strength, and long-term appetite for well-underwritten business make them core counterparties for treaty and large facultative placements alike. Neolife works with these markets both directly and through their local or regional offices.
Turkish reinsurance market
For certain risks and structures, the domestic Turkish reinsurance market also plays a role — particularly where regulatory requirements, premium currency considerations, or cedant preferences favour local market participation. Neolife is active in the domestic reinsurance market as well as the international one.
Our Process
Risk Analysis
We start by understanding the cedant's portfolio, retention philosophy, and reinsurance objectives. For facultative placements, we conduct a detailed review of the individual risk. For treaty work, we analyse the cedant's underwriting book, loss history, and accumulation profile.
Slip / Submission Preparation
We prepare the market presentation document — the slip or submission — to a standard that international reinsurance underwriters expect. A well-prepared slip with complete information accelerates underwriting and demonstrates credibility in the market.
Market Approach
We approach a shortlisted group of reinsurers whose appetite, capacity, and pricing are most relevant to the risk. For subscription placements, we identify a suitable leading underwriter whose stamp anchors the panel.
Terms Negotiation
We negotiate pricing, conditions, sublimits, exclusions, and wording language on behalf of the cedant. Where multiple reinsurers are competing for the placement, we use that dynamic to optimise the final terms.
Placement & Line Allocation
Once terms are agreed, we confirm participation with each reinsurer, finalise the panel, allocate lines, and ensure 100% subscription (or manage any shortfall transparently with the cedant).
Policy Documentation
We prepare and issue the reinsurance contract or cover note, ensuring wording reflects the agreed terms. For treaty business, we manage the bordereaux reporting schedule and any endorsements during the policy period.
Claims Support & Recovery
When a loss arises, we notify reinsurers, compile and submit documentation, and coordinate the recovery process across all participants. Our involvement continues until settlement is complete.
Who We Work With
Neolife's reinsurance brokerage clients typically fall into one of the following categories:
Turkish Insurance Companies
Domestic insurers seeking facultative capacity for risks that exceed their treaty limits, or looking to structure or renegotiate their treaty reinsurance programmes on more competitive terms.
International Insurers with Turkish Exposure
Non-Turkish insurers that have underwritten risk in Türkiye — through fronting arrangements, branches, or cross-border policies — and require reinsurance protection placed through a broker with Turkish market knowledge.
Managing General Agents (MGAs)
MGAs writing Turkish business on behalf of capacity providers, who need independent reinsurance brokerage to support their own underwriting operations or capital efficiency objectives.
Corporate Risk Managers
Large corporate groups with Turkish operations that wish to place major insurable risks — energy plants, infrastructure assets, complex construction projects — directly into the international reinsurance market via a captive or fronting structure.
Key Terms
Reinsurance terminology can vary by market. The following are the terms used in this context: