Swiss Re’s Business Unit CEOs Share Views on Key Risk Themes of 2025

Social inflation will continue to be a top concern for insurers and reinsurers in 2025 with US liability claims increasing by 57% during the past decade and nuclear verdicts rising in frequency, said Swiss Re, pointing to jury awards above US$10 million.

Other key themes that will shape the re/insurance industry in the year ahead were identified by Swiss Re Institute:

The industry is faced with geopolitical instability, social tensions and economic uncertainty with far-reaching impact and the potential to drive up claims.
Losses from natural catastrophes continue to increase: 2024 marked the fifth consecutive year with insured losses exceeding US$100 billion, and there is no sign of this trend abating.
Life insurance drives global premium growth as interest rates remain higher for longer. Insurance premium growth in 2025 and 2026 is primarily driven by life insurance, which is forecast to grow globally by 3% per year.

Swiss Re’s three business unit CEOs shared their views on the key themes as follows:

Urs Baertschi, CEO P&C Reinsurance. “The role of the insurance industry in society is to protect more people when they really need help the most, and that purpose is as true today as ever before. Amid geopolitical uncertainties and territorial tensions, risks are becoming more severe. Protectionist trade policies are likely to slow global growth, leading to higher inflation and potential supply chain disruptions. At the same time, we expect increasing losses from natural catastrophes and elevated litigation to continue. As uncertainty rises, so does the need for protection. In this environment, insurers need support from reinsurers beyond traditional risk transfer: providing insights, knowledge and tools that improve risk awareness and inform effective risk management.”

Ivan Gonzalez, CEO Corporate Solutions. “In the commercial insurance space, three key themes are set to shape the coming year: Firstly, corporations around the world will continue to adapt their risk management to heightened loss trends driven by factors such as climate change and social inflation. Secondly, as pricing is plateauing at attractive levels, insurers need to find innovative ways to support their clients. Finally, the balance between primary insurance, reinsurance, and alternative risk transfer solutions will play a pivotal role in enhancing resilience of both insurers and corporates.”

Paul Murray, CEO L&H Reinsurance. “Life and health insurers will continue to see steady growth in 2025 – perhaps not the decade-high levels of 2024 but exceeding the historical average. With fixed income yields still robust, insurers’ profitability prospects are intact even as inflation has moderated. I also see further opportunities for life insurers to optimise their balance sheets and support new business growth using reinsurance, especially as many are now gauging the impact of shifting to IFRS.”

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