Results reveal impact from the war in Ukraine, nat cat losses and financial market volatility 

Swiss Re has reported a net loss of $248m for the first quarter of 2022, impacted by the war in Ukraine, heightened financial market volatility and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Swiss Re’s group chief executive Christian Mumenthaler said: “The first quarter turned out to be a challenging one. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine came as a shock, and our thoughts are with everyone impacted.

“While the situation remains highly uncertain and we do not believe we have an outsized exposure, we decided to take a proactive and cautious approach to establishing reserves for potential impacts from the war.

Impact from Ukraine and Australia floods

P&C Re reported a net income of $85m for the first quarter, compared with $481m in the same period in 2021. The result reflects lower investment results and reserves in relation to the Ukraine war of $154m.

In addition, P&C Re absorbed large natural catastrophe claims of $449m, compared with $316m in the same period a year ago, mainly relating to February storms in Europe and flooding in Australia.

The combined ratio was 99.3% for the first quarter. On a normalised basis, the combined ratio was 96.9%, and P&C Re remains focused on achieving the target of less than 94% for the full year.

Renewal volumes rise at 1 April

P&C Re renewed contracts with $2.4 billion in treaty premium volume on 1 April 2022. This represents a 15% volume increase compared with the business that was up for renewal.

Since the start of the year, P&C Re has achieved treaty premium volume growth of 8% and a price increase of 3%, which covers more conservative loss assumptions.

Commenting on the group’s outlook for the rest of the year, Mumenthaler added: “While the first quarter of 2022 presented significant headwinds for the re/insurance industry and Swiss Re, we are confident in the Group’s ability to navigate the challenges.

”Thanks to the actions we have taken over the past years, our businesses have all the necessary levers in place to drive profitability and deliver against our financial targets for 2022.”

Topics