Countries that were affected by the floods in July include Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.

Last month, it was reported that Swiss Re is partnering with insurtech firm Claim Genius, which provides artificial intelligence (AI) insurance claims solutions and enhances motor claims efficiencies with real-time damage assessment and estimation.

In this regard, Swiss Re’s Global P&C Head Pranav Pasricha told the media, “Swiss Re Solutions aims to deliver world-leading claims management capabilities to its cedent clients, helping them lower settlement time and costs, while making the post-accident process fast, fair and frictionless for consumers.”

It was also reported that Swiss Re will invest $200 million in a new parent company Definity, media reports said. It will be incorporated under the Insurance Companies Act.

Definity will serve as a parent company to Economical Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, Petline Insurance Company and Sonnet Insurance Company. According to the prospectus, Definity shares would be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Swiss Re is also set to create a central cyber underwriting team that will primarily focus on product development and underwriting activities in the space. The team will be led by AXA XL’s John Coletti. He is expected to join Swiss Re in October.

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Definity will serve as a parent company to Economical Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, Petline Insurance Company and Sonnet Insurance Company. According to the prospectus, Definity shares would be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Recently, it was also reported that Swiss Re is set to create a central cyber underwriting team that will primarily focus on product development and underwriting activities in the space. The team will be led by AXA XL’s John Coletti. He is expected to join Swiss Re in October.

Gregory Schiffer, Head of Global Specialty told the media, “With John Coletti, we have been able to attract another experienced leader in the cyber insurance market. At the same time, I would like to thank Maya Bundt for her leadership, and the innovation and successes that have already been achieved in our cyber business.”

In July, it was reported that Swiss Re along with some of the world’s leading and top insurance giants have formed an alliance to fast track the transition to a net-zero emissions economy. The alliance consists of European Insurance giants such as Allianz, AXA and Generali among others. It also includes Aviva, Munich Re, SCOR and Zurich Insurance Group.

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Nigeria also recorded the biggest drop in premiums in 2020 year-on-year. It also ranks last in terms of insurance premiums for 2020.

Swiss Re in its report forecasted that global insurance premiums will be reach the $7 trillion mark by the end of 2022.

Irina Fan, head insurance market analysis, Swiss Re Institute said that whether it is private medical insurance or supply chain interruption for businesses, the pandemic experience has made people much more aware of the need for insurance protection.

Last month, it was reported that AXA Mansard has partnered with telco Airtel Nigeria to improve access to health insurance for Nigerians.

Head of Emerging Customer and Digital Partnership Group, AXA Mansard, Mr Alphred Egbai told the media, “Our research has shown the value and importance of having a health insurance plan to the public especially for the emerging customers in the country, but for many reasons, the uptake of insurance products has been low.

“In order to mitigate these challenges and satisfy the health needs of the retail consumer whilst also encouraging the uptake of health insurance in the country, we have partnered with Airtel Nigeria to provide a solution that gives users a convenient way to purchase and manage their AXA Mansard micro-insurance plans.”

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The alliance consists of European Insurance giants such as Allianz, AXA and Generali among others. It also includes Aviva, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group.

The United Nations (UN) climate envoy Mark Carney said, “By committing to join the gold standard alliance for net-zero, the (NZIA) will ultimately make underwriting contingent on underlying companies having credible net-zero transition strategies.”

Last month, France-based insurance giant AXA sold its unit in Malaysia to Italian insurance giant Generali in a deal worth €262 million. The deal will see Generali become the second-biggest player in Malaysia’s property and casualty insurance market. It will also pave the way for the Italian insurer to enter the life insurance sector in Malaysia.

According to the deal, AXA will sell its stake of 49.99 percent in AXA Affin General Insurance and its 49 percent stake in AXA Affin Life Insurance. AXA earlier revealed that the deal will be closed in the second quarter of 2022.

Generali also completed the acquisition of AXA’s property and casualty insurance and life and savings businesses in Greece for €167 million.

Rob Leonardi, regional officer, Generali Asia told the media, “We have ambitions to further transform and strengthen our business in this important market and look forward to working with our customers, employees, agents, partners and distributors on this journey.”

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Pranav Pasricha, global head of P&C solutions for Swiss Re told the media, “We’re very pleased to announce the strategic partnership with ICEYE. By combining Swiss Re’s risk knowledge with ICEYE’s data, we will be able to further expand our capabilities in geo and remote sensing. The partnership will enable us to develop solutions, advance our services to the benefit of our clients, and enable faster claims payouts. We see this as an important commitment for a serious natural catastrophe threat and think it could become a real game-changer.”

According to Swiss Re, the partnership will allow the reinsurer to upgrade its flood risk management capabilities, better assist disaster response and expedite claims payments globally. Also, it is reported that even though the strategic partnership will initially focus on floods, it is expand to other natural disasters, such as wildfires, wind and earthquake damages in the future.

Last month, the Zurich-headquartered reinsurer appointed Andrew Dougall to the role of global head casualty. Andrew Dougall will be responsible for driving the success and profitability of the company’s bespoke casualty portfolio globally.

During the same time, it was also reported that for 2020, Swiss Re posted a net loss of $878 million compared to a profit of $727 million for year-end 2019.

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The report, titled ‘Rebuilding better: global economic and insurance market outlook 2021/22’ also points out that the global premium volume is set to decline by 1.4 percent this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, they are expected to grow by 3.4 percent in 2021 and by 3.3 percent in 2022.”

Swiss Re expects China to be the world’s fastest-growing insurance market. This is mostly attributed to the growth of its health insurance business which received a boost this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Andreas Berger, chief executive at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions told the media, “Market conditions from both the demand and supply sides point to continued pricing strength. The low-interest rate environment and the ongoing social inflation in the US will be key drivers of market hardening.”

According to UK-based data and analytics company GlobalData’s report published in September, China’s general insurance industry is forecasted to grow at a rate of 3.8 percent in 2020.

The market recorded a growth rate of 5.7 percent in 2019. The report revealed that China’s general insurance industry is predicted to grow at CAGR rate of 5.2 percent during the period between 2019 and 2023. However, prior to the pandemic, the industry was expected to grow at a rate of 8.6 percent.

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Other investors such as IDG Capital and Wisdom Choice Global Fund also participated in the funding round for Waterdrop, which is known as Shuidihuzhu in China.

The funding round is reportedly the world’s largest financing round in the online insurtech industry in 2020 to date, Tech Asia reported.

Reportedly, Waterdrop will the funds to help the firm grow as well as incorporate partnerships with others in the healthcare ecosystem, from pharmaceutical companies and insurance businesses.

Peng Shen, founder and CEO of Waterdrop, in a statement, “We are excited about the huge growth potential that lies ahead of us. Our long-term goal is to become a leading online healthcare platform in China with an ecosystem that includes insurers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and drug stores, as well as nursing institutions and rehabilitation institutions. We are committed to not only helping users with financing issues but also providing them with integrated healthcare services along the way.”

The company has not revealed its valuation as of yet, however, according to media speculations, Waterdrop is valued at $2 billion.

Prior to this, Waterdrop raised around $252 million, including a $145 million Series C in June 2019.

In a report, Swiss Re said that insurance growth in China will be the strongest worldwide in 2020.

An analysis from a Swiss Re Institute report revealed that China’s insurance industry is performing robustly, with premium growth returning quickly to its pre-pandemic trend rate.

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UBS will reportedly make investments between $10 million and $20 million in around 12 companies initially.

The UBS venture capital fund will exclusively back fintech projects in three broad categories – client engagement, investing and financing platforms, and startups improving underlying operations of the bank.

While the screening process for the fintech startups has already begun, the Switzerland-based financing company is also in the process of hiring a dedicated team to manage the fund.

Recently, UBS also announced that it is creating a global financing team, to be headed by Remi Mennesson, who is joining USB in November 2020. Currently, Remi Mennesson is a managing director at Credit Suisse.

Interestingly, UBS Group’s chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti is also set to become the new chairman of Swiss Re, according to media reports.

Sergio Ermotti is due to step down from his position of CEO at UBS Group in November this year. He is expected to join Swiss Re next year.

According to reports in the media, the global financing team will focus on corporate derivatives and structured solutions — which are developed through the UBS Structured Equity Solutions Group and Special Situations Group.

UBS co-president Rob Karofsky told the media, “It is creating efficiency, so any type of lending, corporate derivatives or structured financing will now go through this one team. It is a global team that is able to really, in an organised way, meet all of our clients’ needs on a local and global level.”

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Sergio Ermotti is due to step down from his position of CEO at UBS Group in November this year. He is expected to join Swiss Re next year.

Reportedly, Swiss Re has nominated Sergio Ermotti for a board seat which will be discussed during the next month’s annual meeting. He is expected to take over the role of chairman of Swiss Re from Walter Kielholz from November 2021, when the latter steps down.

Walter Kielholz told the media that the outgoing UBS Group CEO might lack experience in the field of insurance, however, his understanding of asset management, regulators and complex global financial institutions could prove to be pivotal for Swiss Re.

Sergio Ermotti is a former investment banker and stock trader and has been leading UBS Groups since 2011. His role in rebuilding UBS Group after the financial crisis is applauded throughout the industry. However, his recent management has come under scrutiny as the group missed its profits and cost targets for 2019 and its shares slumped heavily on the share market.

Last month, UBS Group, which is a Swiss investment bank and financial services company, announced that its outgoing CEO Sergio Ermotti, who will join Swiss Re, will be replaced by ING Group NV CEO Ralph Hamers. HE will take over UBS Group from November 1st.

The selection process, however, is questioned by people from both inside and outside the organistation, many calling it rushed.

UBS Group chairman Axel Weber told Bloomberg TV, “I hear from many clients, they have questions around the process, but I have not received any feedback that was outright negative.”

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The acquisition will be particularly beneficial to Phoenix’s business model. It will firm up its position as the largest insurance provider in Europe expanding its portfolio into in-force policies and other services. Also, the acquisition will give Phoenix £7 billion of incremental cash generation. 

The sale of ReAssure is expected to close in 2020. Swiss Re can also expect several benefits from the sale. It will re-acquire 25 percent stake in ReAssure from Japanese firm MS&AD Insurance. According to a statement, MS&AD Insurance made an £800 million investment in the firm. It will also receive shares in Phoenix between 11 percent to 15 percent stake. 

The use of proceeds from the sale will be assessed by the Swiss Re’s board of directors. 

Christian Mumenthaler, Swiss Re’s Group CEO, said in a statement, “We believe this transaction maximises long-term value for Swiss Re shareholders. Swiss Re’s goal has been to deconsolidate ReAssure, and we are pleased to have found a strong buyer for the business. The strategic rationale for the combination of the businesses is compelling, and we look forward to working together with Phoenix and to sharing the financial benefits of the combination.”

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