Governance and risk management

Board of Directors and Executive Management

For information on the composition of the Board of Directors and Executive Management of Swiss Re Ltd, see sections relating to the Board of Directors and Executive Management in the 2018 Financial Report on pages 110–135.

Governance and risk management

All information on Swiss Re’s risk management and risk governance is publicly disclosed in the 2018 Financial Report, pages 72–97.

Swiss Re’s Risk Management function is embedded throughout the Group and is an integral part of our business model. Risk Management is mandated to ensure that the Group and its legal entities have the necessary expertise, frameworks and infrastructure to support good risk-taking. In addition, Risk Management monitors and ensures adherence to applicable frameworks.

All risk-related activities, regardless of the legal entities in which they are undertaken, are subject to Swiss Re’s risk management framework, which comprises the following major elements:

  • A risk policy and risk governance documentation – the Group risk governance documents are organised hierarchically, across five levels, which are mirrored by equivalent documents at legal entity level; see 2018 Financial Report page 82.
  • Four key risk management principles, which apply consistently across all risk categories at Group and legal entity level; see 2018 Financial Report page 82.
  • Three fundamental roles for delegated risk-taking, including the three lines of control; see 2018 Financial Report page 82.
  • A description of Swiss Re’s risk culture that promotes risk awareness, rigour and discipline across all risk management activities; see 2018 Financial Report page 83.
  • The organisation of risk management, including responsibilities at Board and executive level; see 2018 Financial Report page 84.
  • Swiss Re’s risk control framework, which comprises a body of standards that establish an internal control system for taking and managing risk; see 2018 Financial Report page 85.
  • The Group’s risk appetite framework, including its overall risk appetite statement, risk tolerance and capacity limits. The risk appetite framework establishes the overall approach through which Swiss Re practises controlled risk-taking throughout the Group; see 2018 Financial Report page 86.

Swiss Re’s internal risk model provides a meaningful assessment of the risks to which the Group is exposed and is an important tool for managing our business. It determines the capital requirements for internal purposes and forms the basis for regulatory reporting under the Swiss Solvency Test and under Solvency II for our legal entities in the EEA.

Swiss Re regularly assesses its risk exposure across all risk categories. We identify and evaluate emerging threats and opportunities through a systematic framework that includes the assessment of potential surprise factors that could affect known loss potentials:

  • Swiss Re is exposed to a broad risk landscape, see 2018 Financial Report pages 88–89.
  • Insurance risks are all risks that Swiss Re takes through its underwriting activities, including related risks such as inflation or uncertainty in pricing and reserving. For details on our insurance risk management for property and casualty risks as well as life and health risks, see 2018 Financial Report pages 90–91.
  • With respect to financial risks, Swiss Re distinguishes between financial market risk and credit risk. Financial market risk is the risk that assets or liabilities may be impacted by movements in financial market prices or rates − such as equity prices, interest rates, credit spreads, foreign exchange rates or real estate prices. Credit risk is the risk of incurring a financial loss due to diminished creditworthiness or default of Swiss Re’s counterparties or of third parties (credit spread risk falls under financial market risk). For more information, see 2018 Financial Report pages 92–93.

Swiss Re also assesses other risks such as liquidity risk, operational risk, strategic risk, regulatory risk, political risk, model risk, valuation risk, sustainability risk and emerging risk. These risks are not explicitly part of the Group’s economic capital requirement, but are actively monitored and controlled due to their significance for Swiss Re. For more information, see 2018 Financial Report pages 94–97.