Swiss Re has announced a significant increase in its US liability reserves within its Property & Casualty Reinsurance (P&C Re) sector for the third quarter of 2024. The company has added USD 2.4 billion to P&C Re's prior year US liability reserves, making the total reserve additions USD 3.1 billion for the first nine months of the year.
The decision to bolster reserves comes after a thorough review, aiming to position Swiss Re's overall reserves at the higher end of its best-estimate range. Despite these adjustments, Swiss Re expects a net income of approximately USD 0.1 billion for the third quarter and about USD 2.2 billion for the first nine months of 2024.
Andreas Berger, Swiss Re's Group Chief Executive Officer, stated: "Enhancing the overall resilience of the Group has been a key priority for the management team. We conducted a comprehensive review of our P&C reserves, considering the latest industry data and legal trends. With the decisive actions in the third quarter, we have reached our goal of positioning reserves at the higher end of the best-estimate range."
While Life & Health Reinsurance (L&H Re) and Corporate Solutions are on track to meet their targets for 2024, P&C Re is projected to miss its combined ratio target due to these reserving actions.
Swiss Re anticipates reporting strong underlying underwriting and investment results across all business units outside these reserving actions. Assuming normal loss activity continues, Swiss Re expects a group net income exceeding USD 3 billion by year-end.
The full results for Swiss Re's first nine months will be released on November 14, 2024.