Our commitments

… to the United Nations

Many of our recent efforts to expand insurance protection cover losses from natural catastrophes and weather volatility (eg drought or excessive rainfall). As climate change is predicted to increase these losses, such transactions also help communities strengthen their climate resilience. Furthermore, we have found that partnering with public-sector clients, especially national and regional governments, is an effective way to develop solutions.

Building on these experiences, we made a significant commitment to the United Nations at its Climate Summit in September 2014. Personally addressing the government leaders present at the summit, our then Group CEO Michel M. Liès made the following pledge: “By the year 2020, Swiss Re commits to having advised 50 sovereigns and sub-sovereigns on climate risk resilience and to have offered them USD 10 billion against this risk”.

We have agreed with the United Nations to report publicly on the progress we make on this commitment. By the end of 2019, we had advised 120 sovereigns and sub-sovereigns on climate risk resilience and offered a total of USD 10.0 billion in re/insurance protection, thus reaching our target one year ahead of schedule.

… with Women’s World Banking

Lack of health insurance is a major protection gap in many parts of the world. In particular, it affects low-income women who work in the informal sector, by running a market stall with fruits or vegetables, offering laundry services or undertaking similar activities. To date, these micro-entrepreneurs usually lack any sort of insurance protection against loss of income due to illness.

In 2018, we started to help expand a pioneering health microinsurance programme that targets this protection gap in Egypt. By the end of 2019, the programme covered around 219 000 customers with health and life insurance; and during the year, cover was extended to additional family members.

Encouraged by the success of the Egypt programme, we have formed a partnership with Women’s World Banking, its initiator, to extend this concept to two million consumers globally by the end of 2020. Women’s World Banking is dedicated to developing market-driven financial solutions for underserved women in emerging markets, thereby promoting economic stability and prosperity.

Our partnership will aim for replicating insurance schemes, similar to that in Egypt, in further countries. In 2019, the focus was on building the necessary foundation to scale and replicate this insurance solution in the future.