Half Year 2025 Swiss Re AG Earnings Press Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Kamran Hossain - JPMorgan Chase & Co - Analyst : Two questions for me. The first one is just I guess looking at the profitability in P&C, I think it's pretty clear that there's a healthy difference between what you're targeting, the better than 85% and where you're running underlying. Just noting like Andreas' comments around resilience increasing the business. What's the potential for maybe the gap between the underlying and what you're targeting to get a little bit smaller just interested in kind of your attitude towards that? Or are you happy with 85% to the right number, keep delivering that and see upside wherever you can? The second question is on the Life & Health book. Just intrigued about the comments about you wanting to become experience variance neutral. What's the journey towards doing that? Is that some negative hits on the way in terms of timing, kind of what that look just interested in kind of how you get to that position.

Question: Andrew Baker - Goldman Sachs International - Analyst : First one, just on the revenue outlook for the second half. Can I just confirm what I think you're saying? So I think you're saying, Life & Health Re broadly in line with the first half. And then you get the $1.5 billion second half benefit from P&C Re in course and the majority of that is P&C Re. And I guess, is that based on where sort of FX levels are today? So just confirmation there would be great. And then secondly, just staying on the insurance revenue on the P&C Re side. What's driving the increased seasonality between the first and second half in property and the general multiline that you called out in the slide?

Question: Will Hardcastle - UBS Limited - Analyst : The first one, just verifying actually, just what you just said there, is that premium move is at constant FX. It won't move. Do you mean year-over-year, it would be the same as last year or it would stay as that spot is broadly today? The second one, probably the more important one. Just really thinking about moving parts in that potential combined ratio number. You said a lot about where net pricing is, et cetera. And I'm just trying to think about that business mix shift and implication onto it. What would be the spread broadly between the casualty and the rest of the book? And then, I guess, with the renewal impacts and when that revenue change, what mix reduction do you anticipate to be for casualty relative to the rest of the portfolio?

Question: Shanti Kang - BofA Global Research (UK) - Analyst : So I just was thinking about the forward growth path from here now that you've done all the pruning work on the casualty book. How should we think about your appetite going forward and what your growth strategy is given that prices have started to come down a bit. Maybe you could talk a little bit about the underlying dynamics which would make certain lines more attractive than others? And then I don't think I heard this or you mentioned it. But on the Life & Health side, it looks like there was some assumption updates on the onerous contracts for this quarter, could you just help us understand those tweaks and the underlying drivers for those?

Question: James Shuck - Citi Investment Research (Europe) - Analyst : I have one observation and then two questions. The observation is just on the insurance revenue in P&C Re. I think there's a little bit of confusion for us here because we're trying to track how you're growing over time, particularly through a soft cycle. But I think the accounting, particularly. Because you're not under PAA approach makes it pretty difficult to do so. So the observation would be, it might be helpful to disclose the gross written premium and the net written premium, so we can actually track that more meaningfully. On my two questions. Firstly, I just wanted to return to the Life & Health Re. You'll just be crystal clear about what you're saying on the experience and other variance because that was obviously a very negative figure in 2024. It's still negative. When you're saying that you're expecting that to go to neutral, a little bit of volatility in the coming quarters perhaps. Is there anything else inherent structurally in that number? Or should essentially that USD832 million that we saw in '24, should that just go to zero? So that's the first question. And then secondly, just a very simple one, really. On P&C Re, the new business CSM, which, as you say, is kind of flat at 1H. Can you just comment on your ability to grow that in absolute terms through the current cycle, please?

Question: Vinit Malhotra - Mediobanca SpA - Analyst : So my two questions, one on P&C Re reserving, please and one on Corporate Solutions profitability. So on the P&C Re reserving, I appreciate the resilience from last year is higher, of course. But when we see the casualty 27% cut, I'm just curious what's driving that? And whatever has driven that, does that mean that the reserves are still fine for casualty? Because obviously, you must have seen something worsening, which has prompted such an aggressive pruning. And then I presume the reserves are still fine for casualty. So just a little bit more assurance on that or positive messaging on that would help. Second question is on Corporate Solutions. So I noticed the risk-adjusted rates is quite a bit worsening in 2Q. I think it was minus 1% in 1Q and it's about minus 7% in Q2 or something like that. And there's also a mention of stringent portfolio steering. So obviously, we'll see Corporate Solutions running below the 91% already. But with this kind of a price cut, any comments on that? And then how are you sure of -- how are you confident about the targets when you see a 7% price cut as well?

Question: Chris Hartwell - Autonomous Research - Analyst : Just a couple of quick questions from me. First of all, on the cat side, I was just wondering how your appetite is potentially changing in terms -- in the sense of the type of cat business you might be writing if there's particular risks that you're, I guess, shying away from within the sort of the broader cat book at the moment? And then secondly, I was just a very sort of simple math. I just wonder if you can help me bridge the SST movement since January 1.

Question: Darius Satkauskas - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Limited - Analyst : Just two, please. One on the Life & Health Re. So I assume you'll be looking at smaller portfolios because the experience has not been fully satisfactory even if these portfolios are on the smaller side. So I assume the way you increase the odds of positive variance is by adjusting the assumptions to be more conservative. Are the CSM levels in those portfolios somewhat below the rest of the group? And if so, do you see a risk of a bit of P&L volatility on the back of this exercise? So that's the first question. The second question is just on the P&C Re combined ratio. So how much benefit do you expect the business mix changes to have? And do you think it's enough to offset the rate change you saw year-to-date? And just on that, are there any lines that you write that are both price adequate and actually seeing positive premium rate increases? Or is the stuff that's seeing positive momentum not price-adequate?

Question: James Shuck - Citi Investment Research (Europe) - Analyst : On the Life & Health Re CSM release, I just kind of noticed that's tracking more like 10%. And I think your previous guidance had been for 8%. Could you just confirm that the kind of new run rate is now closer to 10%? And then secondly, on the SST walk, I just kind of -- just had a question about the debt issuance really because I thought you'd issued $2 billion of debt in the first half of the year, which will be about 11 points on the SST, but you didn't include that in the walk. Could you just clarify that for me because I know that's only temporary.

Question: Michael Huttner - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. - Analyst : Apologies if these have been asked before. I got mixed up. The one is on US mortality and the other one is on aggregate cover. So on aggregates, I just would like kind of confirmation or reassurance that you don't do this stuff because it's the accounting -- I was thinking about the accounting for this. It's also effectively, at the year-end, it's like a cliff edge, will they reach the -- go over the top as it were. And we've seen an increasing number of companies everywhere saying they do have aggregate cover. So I just wanted confirmation that's not business line you do or the risk is low. And the other one is my favorite question is on US mortality. I'm sure it's been asked, and I'm really sorry, I kind of messed up here. What was the experience in Q2 and can you separate the kind of what I would call ordering lives for people like me and the high-risk lives, the things that, for example, Hanover and Munich Re highlighted? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 14, 2025 / 8:30AM, SRENH.S - Half Year 2025 Swiss Re AG Earnings Press Conference

Question: Roland Pfander - Oddo BHF SCA - Analyst : Two questions from my side, please. First of all, new business CSM in Life & Health. This is rather flattish since a while. What would it take to have a more structured growth going forward? Maybe you could provide you an outlook what you expect in terms of growth rate for the next quarters or years? Depends what you want to provide. Secondly, in P&C terms and conditions, where are terms and conditions actually softening in the market? And how do you react to this?

Question: Iain Pearce - BNP Paribas Exane (UK) - Analyst : The first one was just on the sort of second priority that you mentioned in terms of increasing the resiliency of the group. If you could just give some comments on how you think the resiliency has trended in the first half. Clearly, you made some comments around the Life & Health already, but more thinking about the P&C side, particularly in light of the strong reserve release that you took in H1? And also why you decided to take that reserve. Release through the P&L rather than invest that into additional resiliency. That's my first question. And then the second question was just coming back to the seasonality point. Obviously, I understand that the nat cat risk creates the seasonality, but I don't really understand why there's a big difference year-on-year unless that's just the mix changes so significantly, it creates this difference. I wouldn't have expected it to be this big based on the mix changes that you're seeing. If you could just comment on that as well, that would be great.

Question: Will Hardcastle - UBS Limited - Analyst : It's a quick one, hopefully. I'm trying to understand the amount of rigor/completeness perhaps in the assessment of the $300 million cost save that you struck at December CMD last year. I guess you spent longer and you see the businesses. I guess you spent longer in your seats, the business is looking like it's in better shape, perhaps more time to focus on these things. Has the potential of this changed in that time period?

Question: Michael Huttner - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. - Analyst : And it's really shortish, given the US mortality is performing a little bit better, when would you start thinking maybe about reviewing the assumptions you have there?