Swiss Re has reported a net income of USD 2.2 billion for the first nine months of 2024, with a return on equity of 13.4%. The company attributes these results to steady underwriting and investment performance across all business units, despite the need to strengthen reserves related to its US liability business in the third quarter.
Group Chief Executive Officer Andreas Berger stated: "Enhancing the overall resilience of the Group has been a key priority for the management team. With the decisive actions in the third quarter, which follow a comprehensive review, we have reached our goal of positioning overall property and casualty reserves at the higher end of the best-estimate range."
Group Chief Financial Officer John Dacey commented: "All our Business Units continue to deliver attractive underlying performance thanks to disciplined underwriting and capital allocation. This is further supported by a significant positive contribution from investment income."
For the third quarter alone, Swiss Re posted a net income of USD 102 million. The group faced increased natural catastrophe activity during this period but benefited from recurring investment income and continued disciplined underwriting.
The group's insurance revenue reached USD 33.7 billion, while its insurance service result was USD 2.9 billion for the period. Return on investments stood at 3.9%, with a recurring income yield of 4.0% and a reinvestment yield in the third quarter of 4.6%.
Swiss Re's capital position remains robust, as indicated by its Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio of 284% as of July 1, 2024. The updated methodology for calculating SST reduces sensitivity to future interest rate changes.
In its Property & Casualty Reinsurance (P&C Re) segment, Swiss Re reported net income of USD 603 million for the first nine months, supported by strong current-year underwriting performance that offset reserve strengthening in prior-year US liability lines during Q3. Insurance revenue in this segment was USD 15 billion.
P&C Re added USD 2.4 billion to prior-year US liability reserves in Q3, totaling USD 3.1 billion in reserve additions over nine months; releases elsewhere resulted in a net reserve strengthening of USD 2 billion for Q3 alone. Large natural catastrophe claims totaled USD 813 million through September, mostly from events such as a hailstorm in Calgary, Storm Boris in Europe, and hurricanes Debby and Helene.
The P&C Re combined ratio was reported at 92.8%. Due to reserve strengthening impacts—accounting for over thirteen percentage points—the unit is now expected to miss its target combined ratio below 87% for full-year 2024.
Life & Health Reinsurance (L&H Re) delivered net income of USD 1.2 billion over nine months, driven by strong investment returns and healthy margins on existing policies. While US mortality experience was slightly better than expected, unfavorable developments were noted mainly in EMEA markets.
L&H Re's insurance revenue reached USD 12.6 billion with an insurance service result also at USD 1.2 billion; it continues to target approximately USD 1.5 billion net income for full-year results.
Corporate Solutions posted net income of USD 642 million for January–September, reflecting solid underlying business performance and investment returns amid low man-made losses but some large natural catastrophe claims—mainly from Tropical Cyclone Megan (Australia), Hurricane Helene (US), and Calgary's hailstorm.
This segment’s insurance revenue was nearly USD 5.8 billion with an insurance service result of USD 739 million; it achieved a combined ratio of 89.4% and expects to keep this metric below its annual target threshold.
Swiss Re’s withdrawal from iptiQ is progressing as planned after reporting a net loss of USD 241 million—including one-off impairments tied to exit costs—for January–September following May’s announcement about leaving this business line.
On November 5th it was announced that Allianz Direct will acquire iptiQ’s European P&C operations—including more than one hundred employees across Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Italy—with closing anticipated in 2025 pending regulatory approvals.
Looking ahead, Swiss Re expects group net income above USD 3 billion for full-year 2024 if loss activity remains within normal bounds through year-end; estimated losses from Hurricane Milton are projected at less than USD 300 million impacting fourth-quarter results.
Andreas Berger concluded: "The significant strengthening of reserves in the third quarter creates a resilient base for success in the coming years. The Group's capital position remains strong, putting us in a favourable position for the upcoming renewals. We expect to update the market with new targets for 2025 next month."
Key financial figures include shareholders’ equity at USD 21.6 billion as of September 30th and book value per share at just under $74.