Collaboration with (inter-)governmental and academic institutions

PwC CH

In recent years, we have collaborated with various (inter-)governmental and academic institutions both to promote effective approaches to sustainability challenges and to share our expertise on managing specific risks.

Our work with (inter-)governmental agencies to promote effective sustainability responses

  • In Europe, we continued our engagement with regulators to highlight the important role insurers play in supporting the transition to a low-carbon, more resource-efficient and sustainable economy in line with the European Green Deal. We provided input to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) Opinion on Sustainability within Solvency II. Swiss Re participated in climate change-focused regulatory roundtables hosted by EIOPA and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In addition, Swiss Re staff attended several leading groups on relevant regulatory topics such as the European Commission Technical Expert Group on ESG benchmarks, PRA/FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) Climate Risk Financial Forum and EIOPA’s Technical Expert Group on Cat Risks.
  • In the US, we have maintained regular dialogue with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), principally on climate change and natural catastrophes.
  • In Japan we are a member of the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) Consortium, which was established in May 2019. The inaugural TCFD Summit took place in October 2019. In Singapore we were actively involved in the development of a set of environmental risk management guidelines by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for the insurance sector. The guidelines are to be issued in 2020 after a public consultation exercise.

Our work with (inter-)governmental agencies to share risk management expertise

  • With Public Sector Solutions, we have a team that works strategically with public-sector bodies to improve risk resilience:
    • Directly with sovereigns or sub-sovereigns and their agencies, recently with the Indonesian government to insure its state assets aginst natural disasters; with the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico) to structure an earthquake cat bond; with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create a reinsurance cover programme for its National Flood Insurance Program; with the government and prefectures of two Chinese provinces to establish major natural catastrophe insurance schemes, and with the UK government as part of a programme set up to make flood insurance more affordable for homeowners
    • With development agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the German Development Bank (KfW)
  • We have regularly contributed to platforms such as the World Economic Forum, B20, G20 and G8 to share our insights on key risks, and have supported the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process.

Working with academic institutions

Through Swiss Re Institute (find out more in Engaging in dialogue with our stakeholders), we build and manage partnerships with world-class academic and research institutions, guide Swiss Re’s internal capital allocation and business steering processes, and provide our stakeholders with cutting-edge risk research.

  • We support EPFL on its Center for Digital Trust, which aims to create a technical, legal and ethical framework that delivers strong guarantees and reduces the cost of achieving trust in the digital world.
  • With GEM Foundation, we create global, transparent, uniform hazard and risk models, and open-source software for seismic risk assessment.
  • With the Institute of Insurance Economics at the University of St. Gallen, HSG, we conduct industry-wide studies to better understand market dynamics.
  • We collaborate with the Center for Interacting Urban Networks at NYUAD which aims at promoting fundamental research that can ultimately be translated into pragmatic ideas for increasing the livability of our cities.
  • With the University of Peking in Beijing we carry out an economic analysis on the health status of the middle-aged and elderly in China.
  • We collaborate with NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health to develop knowledge application models which help promoting nutrition to achieve better public health.
  • With UC Berkeley, we explore how sustainability issues impact financial risk through maximum drawdown.

Take a look at our website for further information on our collaborative projects: www.swissre.com/institute/partnerships.html