Swiss Re
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Swiss Re | |
Native name | Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG[1] |
Type | Aktiengesellschaft |
ISIN | CH0126881561 |
Industry | Financial services |
Predecessor | Prudentia, AG für Rück- und Mitversicherungen ![]() |
Founded | 19 December 1863 |
Headquarters | Zurich, Switzerland |
Key people | Christian Mumenthaler (Group CEO) Sergio Ermotti (Chairman) |
Products | Reinsurance, insurance, asset management |
Revenue | US $49.314 billion (2019)[2] |
US$727 million (2019)[2] | |
Total assets | US$238.567 billion (end 2019)[2] |
Total equity | US$29.251 billion (end 2019)[2] |
Number of employees | 15,401 (end 2019)[2] |
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,[3] commonly known as Swiss Re, is a reinsurance company based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the world's largest reinsurer, as measured by net premiums written.[4] Swiss Re operates through offices in more than 25 countries and was ranked 118th in Forbes Global 2000 leading companies list in 2016.[5] It was also ranked 313th in Fortune Global 500 in 2015.[6]
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. Like the fire of Hamburg in 1842, which led to the foundation of the first professional reinsurers in Germany,[7] the great fire of Glarus in 1861 showed that insurance coverage was inadequate in Switzerland in the event of such a catastrophe.
The Swiss Reinsurance Company of Zurich was founded on 19 December 1863 by the Helvetia General Insurance Company (now known as Helvetia Versicherungen) in St. Gallen, the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (Credit Suisse) in Zurich and the Basler Handelsbank (predecessor of UBS AG) in Basel. The company's articles of association were approved by the government of the Canton of Zurich on the same day. Its initial capital amounted to 6 million Swiss francs. The official foundation document bore the signature of the poet Gottfried Keller, who at the time was first secretary of the Canton of Zurich.
Swiss Re was the 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.[8]
It acquired the GE Insurance Solutions property/casualty business in 2006, which made Swiss Reinsurance Co. the world's largest reinsurer.[9]
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. [10] Berkshire Hathaway already owns a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%.[11]
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.[12]
Swiss Re's Admin Re subsidiary began with the acquisition on 1 July 2004 of Life Assurance Holding Corporation in the UK. [13] On 31 October 2008, Swiss Re completed a £762 million acquisition of Barclays PLC's subsidiary Barclays Life Assurance Company Ltd.[14] In June 2014, the company, through Admin Re, acquired the UK pensions business of HSBC Life (UK) Limited worth £4.2 billion.[15] The Admin Re business, which was renamed ReAssure, was eventually sold to Phoenix Group Holdings for £3.2bn in July 2020. [16]
Products[]
The Group consists of the following three business units:[17]
- Reinsurance: Reinsurance is Swiss Re's largest business in income terms, providing about 80 % of gross premiums in two segments: Property & Casualty and Life & Health.
- Corporate Solutions: Markets insurance to mid-sized and multinational corporations around the world, with over 40 offices worldwide. Offerings range from standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programmes to highly customised arrangements.
- Life Capital: Accepts closed books of in-force life and health insurance business, entire lines of business, or the entire capital stock of life insurance companies, enabling clients to divest non-core blocks of business, thus reducing administrative costs and freeing up capital.
Leadership[]
Swiss Re's leadership consists of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the Group Management Board.[18] Members of the Executive Committee include Christian Mumenthaler, Chief Executive Officer; Guido Fürer, Chief Investment Officer; John R. Dacey, Chief Financial Officer; Patrick Raaflaub, Chief Risk Officer; Thierry Léger, Chief Underwriting Officer; Moses Ojeisekhoba, Chief Executive Officer Reinsurance; Andreas Berger, CEO Corporate Solutions; Russell Higginbotham, CEO Reinsurance Asia; Jonathan Isherwood, CEO Swiss Re Americas; and Anette Bronder, Chief Operating Officer.
Office locations[]
The group has offices in over 25 countries. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Swiss Re has offices in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. In Asia and Australasia, the group has offices in the following countries: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea. There are also offices in the Americas: in Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Corporate headquarters[]
Swiss Re is headquartered in Zurich where the parent company's main premises have stood on the shores of Lake Zurich since 1864.
London headquarters[]
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 (US$1.18 billion) to IVG Immobilien AG of Germany and the Evans Randall property investment firm.[19] 30 St Mary Axe is claimed to be London's first environmentally sustainable tall building. Among the building's most distinctive features are its windows, which open to allow natural ventilation to supplement the mechanical systems for a good part of the year.
American headquarters[]
The American headquarters of Swiss Re is located in Armonk, New York, on a 127-acre (52 hectares) site overlooking Westchester County's Kensico Reservoir. The facility, which houses more than 1,000 employees, was completed in 1999 and expanded in 2004.
Swiss Re also has offices in Alpharetta, Boston, Calabasas, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Wayne, Houston, Kansas City, Manchester, Marlton, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Miami, Schaumburg, Illinois, Westlake Village, CA, Washington DC and Windsor. 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 newspaper.[20]
See also[]
- Geneva Association
- European Financial Services Roundtable
- Institute of International Finance
- World Economic Forum
References[]
- ^ "Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce". www.shab.ch.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Financial Report 2019" (PDF).
- ^ "Privacy Policy." Swiss Re. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd ("Swiss Re")[...]" and "Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Mythenquai 50/60, 8022 Zurich, Switzerland ("Swiss Re") Disclosure notification in accordance with Article 20 of the Swiss Stock Exchange Act." Swiss Re. 2 August 2007. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Die Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft (Swiss Re) teilt mit,[...]"
- ^ Department, P., & 5, N. (2020, November 05). Largest reinsurers worldwide by net premiums 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/273158/largest-reinsurers-worldwide-by-net-premiums/
- ^ "Swiss Re on the Forbes Global 2000 List". Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Global 500". 21 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ [1] Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Swiss Re wins World Trade Center case". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ Ligi, Antonio (12 June 2006). "Swiss Re Completes $7.4 Billion GE Insurance Purchase (Update2)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 27 June 2006.
- ^ DAVID JOLLY (5 February 2009). "Swiss Re Gets $2.6 Billion From Berkshire Hathaway". The New York Times.
- ^ Haig Simonian, Francesco Guerrera (5 February 2009). "Swiss Re turns to Buffett for new funding". The Financial Times.
- ^ W. Duggan (2016). "Bernstein's Fort McMurray Insurance Assessment". Benzinga Ratings. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ https://www.swissre.com/dam/jcr:aa18088b-f9b9-49f2-b0b8-8bcb0901c514/pr_20040701_en.pdf
- ^ http://www.swissre.com/pws/media%20centre/news/news%20releases%202008/pr_barclays_20081031.html
- ^ "Swiss Re unit acquiring UK pension business of HSBC Life". London Mercury. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ "Swiss Re completes sale of ReAssure to Phoenix Group - Reinsurance News". ReinsuranceNe.ws. 23 July 2020.
- ^ "Our business - Swiss Re". www.swissre.com.
- ^ "Our leadership | Swiss Re". www.swissre.com.
- ^ "Swiss Re confirms £600m Gherkin sale". Financial Times. 5 February 2007. 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.
- ^ "All jobs at Swiss Reinsurance Company - Reasons for Selection, 2009 Greater Toronto's Top Employers Competition". www.eluta.ca.
- Insurance companies of Switzerland
- Reinsurance companies
- Financial services companies established in 1863
- Swiss brands
- Companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange