Business activities

Business information

For information on the Group strategy, please see the section Our strategy in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 28 and 29.

For information on the Group structure and shareholders, please see the Group structure and shareholders section in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 104–106.

For information on net premiums earned and fee income from policyholders by geography, see Note 2 to the financial statements included in the 2018 Financial Report on page 220.

For information on the Group’s main subsidiaries and equity investees, see Note 19 to the financial statements included in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 290–292.

For information on the Group’s use of special purpose vehicles, see Note 20 to the financial statements (including all material balances related to variable interest entities) included in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 293–297.

Significant events

In December 2018, Swiss Re reached an agreement with MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc (MS&AD) for a further investment of GBP 315 million into ReAssure. MS&AD increased its 15% minority stake in ReAssure to a total shareholding of 25% as a result of the transaction, which closed on 20 February 2019.

In line with SST recognition principles, the minority interest in ReAssure for the investment of 25% made by MS&AD is reflected in the calculation of the Group’s SST 2018, increasing the Group’s minority share from 13.2% to 25% since last year’s Group SST calculation.

For further information on significant events and acquisitions, please refer to the Information policy section on pages 140 and 141 and Note 10 to the financial statements (Acquisitions) included in the 2018 Financial Report on page 270.

Report of the statutory auditors

PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd is the auditor of Swiss Re Ltd and its subsidiaries. For more information on Swiss Re´s auditors, please see the section Auditors in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 138 and 139. The audit report of the statutory auditor can be found in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 299–303.