Building a sustainable energy future: risks and opportunities

With an expanding population and world economy powered by oil, coal and gas, fossil fuels have become a large part of our daily lives. But this has come at a price: greenhouse gas emissions, which adversely affect our climate. How much higher will this price rise before we achieve a more sustainable energy system?

Mind the risk: A global ranking of cities under threat from natural disasters

This publication provides a comprehensive analysis of natural disaster risk in locations around the world.

A History of Insurance

Since the time of our foundation in 1863, the world has changed a lot. And insurance has been an instrumental part of this change. We all know that without risk protection, no skyscraper could be built, no products marketed, no goods shipped.

A mature market: Building a capital market for longevity risk

A capital market for longevity risk could help address the challenges of funding longer lives. Such a market would form part of an overall solution involving the cooperation and innovation of the public and private sectors to ensure that we continue benefiting from our ageing societies.

The future of human longevity: focusing on you (Conference report)

This stakeholder conference was the latest in a series about our growing life expectancy and its implications for the future. Focusing on consumer behaviour, health policy and translational medicine, it sought to answer what recent developments mean for the individual.

Understanding the Drivers of Longevity (Risk Dialogue Series)

Over the past 150 years, life expectancy among the world’s population has increased by more than 30 years. How has this happened? Why do we live longer? Can the current trend continue and, if so, to what extent? This publication provides a broad overview of current research on the mechanisms and drivers of longevity.

Flood – an underestimated risk: Inspect, inform, insure

Floods affect more people worldwide than any other type of natural disaster. But the risk from flooding is often underestimated. In many countries, flood insurance is not widely available or affordable.

Floods in Switzerland – an underestimated risk

Floods are the most important natural peril in Switzerland. And Swiss Re’s new probabilistic model makes one thing clear: It would not take much for the magnitude of flood damage to exceed that of the August 2005 flood event.

The hidden risks of climate change: An increase in property damage from soil subsidence in Europe

Property damage from drought-induced soil subsidence has risen dramatically across Europe. Climate change will further magnify the risks.

Closing the financial gap: New partnerships between the public and private sectors to finance disaster risks

This publication features some of our most innovative transactions and shows how governments in different regions have used risk transfer products to prepare for the economic consequences of catastrophic events and to make their societies more resilient.

Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) fact sheets

The Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) methodology provides decision-makers with a fact base to identify the most cost-effective investments to make their communities more resilient to the impact of climate change. These fact sheets summarise the findings of ECA studies we have completed.

sigma: the series

For more than three decades, the sigma series has been a trusted source of market information for managers and specialists in direct insurance companies worldwide. To ensure a truly global readership, sigma appears in six languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.