Swiss Re Group

The negative outlook reflects that Swiss Re's underwriting performance, and consequently earnings, may not be in line with our expectations outlined below. This may influence our view of the group's competitive position, which we currently see as excellent. We could lower the rating by one notch over the 18 months if: Underwriting performance of the P/C business does not align with our expectation over 2020-2021 mentioned below; or The group's capital drops below the 'AA' level for a sustained period. We could lower the ratings on the subsidiaries of the CorSo business unit if we note signs of reduced commitment from the parent to the business unit, indicating it is less than core to the group's strategy. We could revise

...The Swiss Re group will maintain its top tier position within the global reinsurance sector and develop its primary life and non-life business. As of the end of September 2020, about 50% of Swiss Re's net premiums earned (NPE) emanates from the non-life reinsurance business unit, 33% from life and health reinsurance, 11% from corporate solutions (CorSo; primary non-life business), and 6% from life capital (primary business). The group is also present in many significant markets, and generates about 47% of its NPE in the Americas; 31% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and 22% in Asia-Pacific, based on 2019 NPEs. Underperformed peers in recent years, and we expect weak 2020 operating performance due to COVID-19 affecting both claims and investment returns. We believe that Swiss Re's underwriting performance has deteriorated in recent years owing to the challenging pricing environment in its property/casualty (P/C) business and the underperformance of its primary business, Corporate...

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