Swiss Re News

Swiss Re Appoints Bewersdorf as CEO of iptiQ, Its Digital Insurance Platform

Swiss Re announced it has appointed Carlo Bewersdorf as CEO of iptiQ, its digital platform. Bewersdorf will start in this newly created role on Oct. 1, 2020, reporting to group CEO Christian Mumenthaler. Bewersdorf’s appointment follows the announcement in June …

Swiss Insurers Oppose Tighter Immigration Rules, Says Swiss Re CEO in News Report

Switzerland’s insurance industry is against tightening the country’s immigration rules, a move that will be put to voters this year, Swiss Re Chief Executive Christian Mumenthaler told Handelszeitung newspaper. Mumenthaler is the latest business figure to lobby against the proposals, …

Swiss Re’s Chief Underwriting Officer Schmid Is Stepping Down, Succeeded by Léger

Swiss Re announced the appointment of Thierry Léger as the group chief underwriting officer, effective Sept. 1, 2020. At the same time, the reinsurer announced it is restructuring its life businesses. Léger succeeds Edouard (Edi) Schmid, who has decided to …

Emerging Mkt Infrastructure Projects to Bring Premiums of $50B in Next Decade: Sigma

Investment in infrastructure development is set to be one of the main drivers of growth in emerging markets after the COVID-19 crisis subsides, according to Swiss Re’s latest sigma report. Emerging markets will invest US$2.2 trillion in infrastructure annually over …

Swiss Re-Backed Nigerian Life Insurer Sees Sales Surge as Pandemic Starts Taking Hold

Nigeria’s biggest insurer is seeing more demand from the government and employers of health workers for life cover as the coronavirus pandemic starts taking hold in Africa’s most populous country. “Health workers are demanding it, other state governments and municipalities …

Edge Computing, Supply Chains, Deepfakes Among 2020’s Top Emerging Risks: Swiss Re

Pandemic threats were once on the list of potential emerging risks facing the insurance industry and society. Now that this risk has materialized with the COVID-19 crisis, it is perhaps a good time to take a look at the latest …

Pandemic-Hit Re/insurers Expect a Costly Hurricane Season – and Rates Are Rising

The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season on Monday could signal more steep losses for insurers and reinsurers, already battered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their underwriting and investment positions. However, recent years of hefty damage …

Brazil Reinsurer IRB Eyes Purchase of Foreign Competitors’ Portfolios: Sources

Brazilian reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SA is in advanced negotiations to buy rivals’ portfolios in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America as foreign competitors scale back in the region, two sources close to the company told Reuters. Any such acquisition …

Insurtech Zego Expands Partnership with RSA to Provide Cover for UK Van Fleets

London-based insurtech Zego has expanded its partnership with RSA Insurance to provide flexible cover for van fleets. Zego is offering usage-based policies to delivery, courier or trade van fleets of 20-200 vehicles in the UK – reducing upfront costs for …

Swiss Re Reports Q1 Loss of $225M as Impact of COVID-19 Crisis Begins to Hit

Reinsurer Swiss Re swung into a net loss in the first quarter of 2020 as the impact of the coronavirus outbreak began to bite, it said on Thursday. The Zurich-based company booked a hit of $476 million for anticipated and …