Industry relevance focus at Baden-Baden for Guy Carpenter, Swiss Re

Guy Carpenter’s annual event for the Baden-Baden reinsurance meeting took an existential theme of relevance, with the reinsurance broker asking that the industry focus on entities carving out their roles to stay relevant, partnering and continuing to innovate.

Each stakeholder within the re/insurance ecosystem should have a clearly defined role “if the industry is to remain resilient”, Guy Carpenter suggested, in response to what the reinsurance broker called “growing systemic risk potential”.

This year’s Symposium in the German spa town had the theme of “Partnering through crises, shocks and cycles”.

Central Europe, including parts of Germany, were hit by floods again 2024, repeating previous summers’ extreme weather behaviour.

“Crises, shocks and cycles are an integral part of the reinsurance industry,” said Laurent Rousseau, CEO, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and for global capital solutions, Guy Carpenter.

“Insurers and reinsurers have always found balance through establishing synergetic relationships. While these relationships have evolved over time, innovation and the market’s drive for efficiency have ensured a strong and resilient industry,” Rousseau said.

Andreas Berger, group CEO, Swiss Re, called for more industry alignment to strengthen the market’s role in encouraging natural catastrophe resilience.

“In a world of rising uncertainties—from climate shocks to economic and geopolitical upheavals—true resilience comes from uniting expertise, sharing risks, and building trust,” Berger said.

“We face cycles of volatility, but by aligning our strengths, we can protect communities, provide financial support to rebuild and recover faster, and make the world more resilient. Together, we partner for progress.

“Partnership through crises is not just about enduring the storm but about shaping the recovery together,” he added.

“As the systemic nature of risks such as cyber and climate change becomes more evident, however, we must clearly distinguish the role of each stakeholder—insureds, re/insurers, capital markets and governments—to maintain balance,” he added.

Maria Rapin, CEO, Nephila Climate, highlighted the increasing role of alternative capital in the market’s ability to absorb the financial impacts of expanding crises.

“The reinsurance industry has demonstrated its resilience time and again throughout crises, shocks and cycles. Nearly 25 years ago, alternative capital was introduced as a capacity provider for the industry to manage through such periods of volatility,” Rapin said.

“Its role as a diversified source of capacity has been tested throughout numerous catastrophe events, the pandemic, and the introduction of new lines of business like cyber or net-zero risks. Alternative capital has solidified its position as a material capacity source and critical tool for resiliency.”

Roland Oppermann, board member, SV Sparkassen Versicherung, a speaker at the symposium, said: “Taking into account the significant and diverse challenges of the future related to climate change, cyber risks, and geopolitical tensions trustworthy partnerships between primary insurers, reinsurers, and retrocessionaires are becoming increasingly important.

“However, true partnership requires developing a strategy that enables all parties to plan for the long term. I firmly believe there is a need for an innovative and collaborative approach to ensure this across the entire risk transfer supply chain,” he said.