Swiss Re Ltd
Swiss Re
TypeAktiengesellschaft
ISINCH0126881561 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryInsurance services
PredecessorSchweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft
Founded19 December 1863 (1863-12-19)
HeadquartersZurich, Switzerland
Key people
ProductsReinsurance, insurance, asset management
RevenueUS$47.889 billion (2022)[1]
US$472 million (2022)[1]
Total assetsUS$170.676 billion (end 2022)[1]
Total equityUS$12.809 billion (end 2022)[1]
Number of employees
14,408 (end 2022)[2]
Websitewww.swissre.com

Swiss Re Ltd is a Swiss reinsurance company founded in 1863 and headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the world's largest reinsurers, as measured by gross premiums written.[3] Swiss Re operates through around 80 offices in 29 countries and employs over 14,000 people. It was ranked 519th on the Forbes Global 2000 list[4] and ranked 316th on the Fortune Global 500 in 2023.[5] Swiss Re is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

History

On 10–11 May 1861, more than 500 houses went up in flames in the town of Glarus, Switzerland. Two-thirds of the town was reduced to rubble and ashes and around 3,000 inhabitants were made homeless. The damage to Glarus exceeded the reserves of the cantonal fire insurance, which had underinsured many cantonal buildings: the resulting loss was covered by donations, as well as a bond issues by the cantonal government. Similar to the fire of Hamburg in 1842, which led to the foundation of the first professional reinsurers in Germany, the fire of Glarus made Swiss insurers demand more reinsurance coverage against catastrophic loss. As a result, Swiss Re was founded in Zurich as the first Swiss reinsurance company in 1863.[6][7][8]

Swiss Re was a lead insurer of the World Trade Center at the time of the September 11 attacks, which led to an insurance dispute with the owner, Silverstein Properties. In October 2006, the New York appeals court ruled in favor of Swiss Re, stating that the destruction of the twin towers was a single event rather than two, limiting coverage to $3.5 billion.[9]

It acquired the GE Insurance Solutions property/casualty business in 2006, which made Swiss Reinsurance Co. the world's largest reinsurer.[10]

In 2009 Warren Buffett invested $2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Re's equity capital raise after Swiss Re lost 6 billion francs in its financial market operations in the Global Financial Crisis.[11] Berkshire Hathaway already owns a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%.[12]

In May 2016, the Fort McMurray Canadian wildfires caused estimated damages of up to CAD10 billion, with Swiss Re having the most exposure among reinsurers.[13]

Swiss Re's Admin Re subsidiary began with the acquisition on 1 July 2004 of Life Assurance Holding Corporation in the UK.[14] On 31 October 2008, Swiss Re completed a £762 million acquisition of Barclays PLC's subsidiary Barclays Life Assurance Company Ltd.[15] In June 2014, the company, through Admin Re, acquired the UK pensions business of HSBC Life (UK) Limited worth £4.2 billion.[16] The Admin Re business, which was renamed ReAssure, was eventually sold to Phoenix Group Holdings for £3.2bn in July 2020.[17]

In February 2022, it was announced Swiss Re had acquired Champlain Reinsurance Company (Champlain Re), a Swiss-based run-off reinsurance captive of Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG, a member of Rio Tinto Alcan, in a legacy transaction.[18] Later that month, Swiss Re declared a net profit of US$1.6 billion, in a bounce back from previous losses in 2020. Still, the exposure to COVID-19 in America was excessive; together with increased damages from natural catastrophes, profits were well below the US$1.8 billion estimate. Swiss Re was able to make up for some of its losses due to its increased property business. At the same time, the board of directors assured investors that the company is only minimally exposed to losses during the Ukraine crisis.[19]

Business structure

Swiss Re Group operates through four business units:[20][21]

  • Property & Casualty Reinsurance
  • Life & Health Reinsurance
  • Global Clients & Solutions
  • Corporate Solutions

Leadership

Swiss Re's leadership consists of the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Committee.[22]

Offices

Zurich headquarters

Swiss Re is headquartered in Mythenquai, Zurich. Six buildings form Campus Mythenquai, with its historic headquarters being in the Altbau which was built in 1913. The majority of Swiss Re's headquarters staff are located in the adjacent Swiss Re Next building.

London office

Swiss Re office in London, UK

Its London office is located in the 30 St Mary Axe tower, which opened on 25 May 2004. The landmark London skyscraper, designed by architect Norman Foster and popularly known as "the gherkin", was sold in February 2007 for over £600 million to IVG Immobilien AG of Germany and the Evans Randall property investment firm.[23]

New York offices

Swiss Re has two offices in New York, its Manhattan office is located in 1301 Avenue of the Americas. The larger of the two offices is located in Armonk and overlooks the Kensico reservoir.

Canadian offices

Swiss Re has two Canadian offices, in Toronto and Vancouver; Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada was named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada, Inc., in October 2008, as announced by the Toronto Star.[24]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Financial Report 2022" (PDF). www.swissre.com.
  2. ↑ "Annual Report 2022". www.swissre.com.
  3. ↑ "Top 50 World's Largest Reinsurance Groups – 2021 Edition". news.ambest.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Swiss Re | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Swiss Re | 2023 Fortune Global 500". Fortune. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Swiss Re - Your expert in capital and risk management". www.swissre.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008.
  7. ↑ "Glarus: losses and insurance issues". Kaleidoscope of Insurance History. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "Swiss Re sees the light of day". Kaleidoscope of Insurance History. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Swiss Re wins World Trade Center case". SWI swissinfo.ch. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Ligi, Antonio (12 June 2006). "Swiss Re Completes $7.4 Billion GE Insurance Purchase (Update2)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 June 2006.
  11. ↑ Jolly, David (5 February 2009). "Swiss Re Gets $2.6 Billion From Berkshire Hathaway". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Haig Simonian, Francesco Guerrera (5 February 2009). "Swiss Re turns to Buffett for new funding". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  13. ↑ W. Duggan (2016). "Bernstein's Fort McMurray Insurance Assessment". Benzinga Ratings. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ "Swiss Re completes GBP 762 million acquisition of Barclays Life Assurance Company Ltd". Swiss Re. 31 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009.
  16. ↑ "Swiss Re unit acquiring UK pension business of HSBC Life". London Mercury. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Swiss Re completes sale of ReAssure to Phoenix Group - Reinsurance News". ReinsuranceNe.ws. 23 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Swiss Re acquires Champlain Re in legacy deal - Reinsurance News". ReinsuranceNe.ws. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Swiss Re takes $4 billion hit from Covid and natural disasters" swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Swiss Re announces plans to streamline organisational structure". Swiss Re.
  21. ↑ "Our business - Swiss Re". www.swissre.com.
  22. ↑ "Our leadership | Swiss Re". www.swissre.com.
  23. ↑ "Swiss Re confirms £600m Gherkin sale". Financial Times. 5 February 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2007. Swiss Re confirmed on Monday that it had sold the distinctive Gherkin building in the City of London for £600m to a joint venture between German property group IVG Immobilien AG and Evans Randall, the Mayfair based private investment group.
  24. ↑ "All jobs at Swiss Reinsurance Company - Reasons for Selection, 2009 Greater Toronto's Top Employers Competition". www.eluta.ca.
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