Company News & Results / Swiss Re

Global economic growth is solid but slowing, and emerging Asia will continue to power the insurance market, sigma says

Swiss Re estimates its third quarter claims burden from large natural catastrophes at USD 1.1 billion; large man-made losses to be an additional USD 300 million

Swiss Re estimates its preliminary claims burden from recent natural catastrophes amount to approximately USD 1.1 billion in the third quarter of 2018, net of retrocession and before tax.

Insurance industry needs to respond proactively to changing market dynamics in order to benefit from promising opportunities

• Market environment remains challenging, but short- and long-term opportunities for growth exist • With an estimated 2 billion people globally having no access to insurance, addressing the protection gap is the most promising long-term opportunity along with the growth of risk pools • Swiss Re expects the pricing environment to be broadly stable; largest P&C insurance markets need to improve underwriting margins to achieve sustainable return on equity

Improved economic momentum alone will not close current profitability gaps in major non-life insurance markets, sigma says

• Non-life underwriting margins in major western markets and Japan need to improve by around 5 to 9 percentage points in order to deliver sustainable returns • Supportive macroeconomic developments alone are unlikely to close this existing profitability gap • Premium rate increases are needed to restore profitability to sustainable levels • Insurance stocks have delivered profitability on par with other sectors over the long run, and offer diversification benefits • Investments in technology will lead to efficiency gains in the longer run