The reinsurer made its “ad hoc announcement”, saying it would miss its combined ratio target for the year as a result, with third quarter net income of $0.1bn.

Swiss Re has announced it has strengthened its US liability reserves by $2.4bn.

The third quarter announcement for its property and casualty reinsurance (P&C Re) book means these reserves are “positioned at the higher end of the best-estimate range”, the reinsurer said.

Swiss Re expects group net income for Q3 of approximately $0.1bn, and approximately $2.2bn for the first nine months of 2024.

The reinsurer said it was on track to meet its 2024 targets in life and health reinsurance and its Corporate Solutions business, but expects to miss its P&C Re combined ratio target due to the reserve strengthening.

The $2.4bn boost to its P&C Re reserving brings its total reserve additions to $3.1bn for the first nine months of the year.

The additions were partly offset by releases in other lines of business, the reinsurer said, resulting in a net prior year reserve strengthening in P&C Re of $2.0bn in the third quarter of 2024.

Following its actions, Swiss Re estimated overall reserves across P&C Re businesses to be positioned “at the higher end of the best-estimate range”, adding that a recent introduction of an uncertainty allowance on new business would continue to support the strength of overall reserves.

“Enhancing the overall resilience of the Group has been a key priority for the management team,” said Swiss Re’s group CEO, Andreas Berger.

“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. Importantly, we have addressed reserve developments in our entire US liability portfolio, including all prior underwriting years,” Berger added.

 

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