Risk management

Our Risk Management provides independent oversight, continuously monitors changes in our risk landscape and ensures controlled risk-taking.

Embedded throughout the business, our Group Risk Management function ensures an integrated approach to managing current and emerging threats. Risk Management plays a key role in business strategy and planning discussions, where our risk appetite framework facilitates risk-return discussions and sets boundaries to Group-wide risk-taking.

Taking and managing risk is central to Swiss Re’s business. All risk-related activities, regardless of the legal entity in which they are undertaken, are subject to the Group’s risk management framework. Consequently, the framework is applied at Group level and cascaded to all legal entity levels whereby the three entities Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd (SRZ), Swiss Re Corporate Solutions Ltd (SRCS) and Swiss Re Life Capital Ltd (SRLC) represent the top-level legal entities for the Business Units Reinsurance, Corporate Solutions and Life Capital.

The risk management framework sets out how Swiss Re organises and applies its risk management practices to ensure that all activities are conducted in line with the principles and limits mandated by the Group Risk Policy.

The framework comprises the following major elements:

  • Risk governance documentation, incl. Group Risk Policy
  • Key risk management principles
  • Fundamental roles for delegated risk-taking
  • Risk culture
  • Organisation of risk management, including responsibilities at Board and executive level
  • Risk control framework
  • Risk appetite framework, including limits

Swiss Re applies a differentiated governance approach at legal entity level, depending on the materiality of individual entities. SRZ, SRCS and SRLC, as well as major legal entities within the Group that are designated as so-called “Level I entities”, are subject to enhanced governance, which includes the following requirements:

  • Develop and maintain corporate and risk governance documentation that governs the responsibilities of the legal entity Board, committees and management
  • Establish an Audit Committee as well as a Finance and Risk Committee to support the legal entity Board in performing its oversight responsibility for risk and capital steering
  • Designate a Chief Risk Officer and Chief Financial Officer