Swiss Re

Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG
Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as
Industry Financial services
Founded 19 December 1863 (1863-12-19)
Headquarters Zurich, Switzerland
Key people
 Christian Mumenthaler (Group CEO), Walter Kielholz (Chairman),
Products Reinsurance, insurance, asset management
Revenue US $33.705 billion (2017)[1]
US $0.331 billion (2017)[1]
Total assets US $222.526 billion (end 2017)[2]
Total equity US $34.294 billion (end 2017)[2]
Number of employees
 14,485 (end 2017)[1]
Website www.swissre.com

Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd,[3] generally known as Swiss Re, is a reinsurance company based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer.[4] It acquired GE Insurance Solutions in 2006.[5] Founded in 1863, Swiss Re operates through offices in more than 25 countries. Swiss Re was ranked 118th in Forbes 2000 Global leading companies 2016.[6] It was also ranked 313th in Fortune Global 500 in 2015.[7]

History

The Swiss Reinsurance Company of Zurich was founded on 19 December 1863 by the Helvetia General Insurance Company (now using the trade name of Helvetia insurance) in St. Gallen, the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (Credit Suisse) in Zurich and the Basler Handelsbank (predecessor of UBS AG) bank in Basel.

On 10/11 May 1861, more than 500 houses went up in flames in the town of Glarus. Two thirds of the town sank into rubble and ashes; around 3000 inhabitants were made homeless. Like the fire of Hamburg in 1842 (which led to the foundation of the first professional reinsurers in Germany,[8]), the great fire of Glarus in 1861 showed that insurance coverage was totally inadequate in Switzerland in the event of such a catastrophe. Hence the need to provide more effective means of coping with the risks posed by such devastation.

The company’s articles of association were approved by the government of the Canton of Zurich on 19 December 1863. The foundation capital, which was 15% paid up, 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.

Group structure and operating model

The Group consists of the following three Business Units:[9]

  • Reinsurance: Reinsurance is Swiss Re’s largest business in income terms, providing about 80% of gross premiums through two segments — Property & Casualty and Life & Health.
  • Corporate Solutions: Corporate Solutions offers insurance to mid-sized and multinational corporations across the globe. Offerings range from standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programmes to highly customised solutions. Corporate Solutions has over 40 offices worldwide.
  • Life Capital: ReAssure provides risk and capital management solutions by which Swiss Re assumes closed books of in-force life and health insurance business, entire lines of business, or the entire capital stock of life insurance companies. ReAssure solutions aims to help 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.[10] Members of the Executive Committee include Christian Mumenthaler, Chief Executive Officer; Guido Fürer, Chief Investment Officer; David Cole, Chief Financial Officer; Patrick Raaflaub, Chief Risk Officer; Edi Schmid, Chief Underwriting Officer; Christian Mumenthaler, Chief Executive Officer Reinsurance; Moses Ojeisekhoba, CEO Corporate Solutions; Jean-Jacques Henchoz, CEO Reinsurance Asia; J. Eric Smith, CEO Swiss Re Americas; John R. Dacey, Group Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman Admin Re®; and Thomas Wellauer, 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 located in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. In Asia, 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: Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Corporate headquarters

Swiss Re is headquartered in Zurich where the parent company’s main premises has stood on the shores of Lake Zurich since 1864.

London headquarters

Its London office is located in the award-winning 30 St Mary Axe tower, which opened on 25 May 2004. 30 St Mary Axe is 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.

The landmark London skyscraper, designed by architect Norman Foster and popularly known as 'the gherkin’, was confirmed sold on 5 February 2007 for over £600 million (US$1.18 billion) to a group formed of IVG Immobilien AG of Germany and Evans Randall of Mayfair.[11]

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, 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, which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.[12]

Greenhouse neutrality

Swiss Re supports its employees by refunding them up to 5000 Swiss Francs if they invest into technologies reducing CO2 emissions. Payments depend on the technology, its efficiency and the price of the investment. Examples of such technologies include hybrid cars, heat pumps, energy-saving refrigerators, or better insulated windows.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Financial Report 2017". Swiss Re. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Financial Report 2017". Swiss Re. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "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,[...]"
  4. ↑ "SNL's Top 15 Reinsurers: M&A Fails to Push Europeans Out of Leader Spots". 2015-07-13. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  5. ↑ Ligi, Antonio (June 12, 2006). "Swiss Re Completes $7.4 Billion GE Insurance Purchase (Update2)". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
  6. ↑ "Swiss Re on the Forbes Global 2000 List". Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  7. ↑ "Global 500". 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  8. ↑ Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "Our structure and operating model".
  10. ↑ Swiss Re leadership
  11. ↑ "Swiss Re confirms £600m Gherkin sale". Financial Times. February 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-07. 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.
  12. ↑ "Reasons for Selection, 2009 Greater Toronto's Top Employers Competition".
  13. ↑ "Swiss Re offers CHF 5 000 rebate to each employee committing to reduce her or his personal carbon footprint" (Press release). Swiss Re. January 4, 2007.
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