Reinsurers rates for January renewals softened, buoyed by improved financial markets and fewer catastrophes in 2009, according to BestWeek.

The three largest global reinsurance brokers — Aon Benfield, Guy Carpenter & Co., and Willis Re — said they all saw a drop in overall January renewal rates, according to the report.

Aon Benfield found that rate decreases (adjusted for changes in exposure) for peak zones of U.S. hurricane and U.S. earthquake risk ranged from a minus-5% to a -15%, according to the magazine’s reinsurance market outlook.