Swiss Re lets P&C reinsurance revenue shrink by 1.2 billion dollars

Group net income for the third quarter was 1.3 billion dollars and the nine-month return on equity 22.5%; both figures beat analyst expectations. Net income at P&C reinsurance (P&C Re) fell 6% to 2.2 billion dollars. The unit's combined ratio improved from 77.6% a year earlier to 77.3%, against analyst expectations of 78.5%.

Large losses totalled 941 million dollars over nine months, 624 million of them in the third quarter. The natural catastrophe share of 640 million dollars came from the Colombian earthquake in August and storm Kristin; the man-made share was 301 million dollars. According to Artemis, the 640 million dollars of catastrophe losses came in below the annual budget.

The real signal lies in new business written in 2026. The new business contractual service margin (CSM), the amount that new business will release as profit over time, fell from 2.5 billion to 1.8 billion dollars, about 28%. Chief financial officer Anders Malmström said on 5 November that price pressure had intensified in markets with few losses, most of all in property catastrophe.

Investments are cushioning earnings. The nine-month return on investments was 4.0%, and recurring investment income 3.1 billion dollars. The recurring yield rose from 4.1% to 4.2%, and the Swiss Solvency Test ratio stood at 259% on 1 October, above the 200–250% target range. The company kept its annual profit target of 4.5 billion dollars and is nearing the end of its 1.5-billion-dollar buyback programme.