Global reinsurer Swiss Re’s Group net income increased by 47% to $4.8 billion in 2025 with a strong performance across the business, including a significant rise in property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance net income on the back of a lower-than-expected large natural catastrophe burden.
Group-wide, Swiss Re generated insurance revenue of $43.1 billion in 2025, a 5% decrease from the prior year’s $45.6 billion, as the insurance service result increased by 36% year-on-year to $5.8 billion.
The new business contractual service margin (CSM), which reflects the profitability of new business written in the period, fell to $4.7 billion from $5 billion.
Swiss Re achieved an ROE of 19.6% for 2025, up on the prior year’s 15%, as the firm delivered a strong ROI of 4%, which reflects recurring income of more than $4 billion as well as a positive contribution from equity holdings.
Within P&C reinsurance, net income increased to $2.8 billion in 2025 compared with $1.2 billion in 2024, supported by lower losses from natural catastrophes, a resilient underwriting performance, and a solid investment result.
Large losses from natural catastrophe events totalled $813 million in 2025, driven mostly by the LA wildfires and Hurricane Melissa, while large man-made losses hit $345 million.
The P&C Re insurance service result was $3.6 billion for 2025, compared with $1.8 billion for 2024, a year that was impacted by significant reserving actions.
The segment delivered a combined ratio of 79.5% for 2025, an improvement on the prior year’s 89.9%, and within the target of less than 85% for the year.
P&C Re insurance revenue fell from $19.8 billion in 2024 to $18.7 billion in 2025, with the larger driver of the decrease being the repositioning of the US casualty portfolio, which was completed in 2025. The segment generated a new business CSM of $2.7 billion in 2025, a slight decrease on 2024’s $2.9 billion.
Through the January 1st, 2026, reinsurance renewals, when around 55% of the firm’s treaty business is renewed, Swiss Re states that it maintained disciplined underwriting throughout, renewing P&C Re contracts resulting in $12.4 billion in premium volume, which is in line with the business up for renewal.
“The outcome reflects continued discipline and active cycle management amid a more challenging pricing environment,” says the firm.
Swiss Re says that it achieved a price increase of 0.3% at the 1.1 2026 renewals, and managed to maintain stable terms and conditions. However, loss assumptions increased by 4.6%, resulting in a net price decrease of 4.3%. The reinsurance giant also opted to reduce its external retrocession at the January renewals, leading to an increase in net nat cat exposure. For 2026, the budget for expected large nat cat losses is $2.1 billion for P&C Re.
The reinsurer’s life and health (L&H) reinsurance business has now completed its portfolio review, and recorded net income of $1.3 billion in 2025, compared with $1.5 billion in 2024. While solid, the portfolio review meant that Swiss Re missed its L&H Re net income target of approximately $1.6 billion for the year.
The L&H Re insurance service result decreased to $1.2 billion in 2025 from $1.5 billion a year earlier, which primarily reflects a $650 million negative impact from assumption updates focused on addressing underperforming portfolios in Australia, Israel, and South Korea.
Insurance revenue in the segment was $16.5 billion in 2025, compared with $17.1 billion in 2024, mainly driven by the termination of an external retrocession transaction. The new business CSM hit $1.1 billion in 2025, in line with 2024’s total, with a CSM balance at the end of 2025 of $17 billion, compared with $17.4 billion a year earlier.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, the company’s primary insurance arm, witnessed an increase in net income to $988 million, compared with $829 million in 2024, as the segment also benefited from lower-than-expected large natural catastrophe claims. Large natural catastrophe losses of $148 million were mainly driven by the LA wildfires, as large man-made losses hit $351 million.
Corporate Solutions delivered a combined ratio of 86.5% in 2025, an improvement on 89.7% in 2024, realising its target of below 91% for the full year.
The insurance service result increased from $1 billion to $1.2 billion, as insurance revenue fell to $7.7 billion from $8.1 billion for 2025. Corporate Solutions achieved a new business CSM of $834 million in 2025, lower than $959 million in 2024.
Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Andreas Berger, said: “In 2025 we delivered on two key priorities: achieving our Group financial target and strengthening the resilience of the company. Group net income reached the highest level in our history, reflecting disciplined underwriting, strong investment returns and low large loss activity outside of the first quarter.
“Today’s result also reflects our continued commitment to increasing the resilience of Swiss Re’s business. Having completed the comprehensive review of underperforming portfolios in L&H Re, all three of our Business Units are positioned to deliver consistent results. We have also made substantial progress on our decision to withdraw from iptiQ, with all parts of this business either sold or planned to be placed into run-off.”
Anders Malmström, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Financial Officer, added: “Having achieved our key objectives in 2025, we are well positioned to increase the payout to shareholders through an increased dividend and the launch of a substantial share buyback programme, which consists of a sustainable annual component linked to our target achievement and an additional extraordinary amount. The latter reflects our strong capital generation and position, our focus on managing the property and casualty pricing cycle, and the increased resilience of the Group.”
Today, Swiss Re has also confirmed its previously announced financial targets for 2026, targeting net income of $4.5 billion across the Group. P&C Re is expected to produce a combined ratio of below 85% and Corporate Solutions a combined ratio of less than 91% for the year. L&H Re targets an increased net income of $1.7 billion in 2026, reflecting its strengthened portfolio.
“Swiss Re’s 2026 targets reflect our confidence in the resilience of our Business Units, disciplined underwriting and active cycle management alongside rising demand for re/insurance. We are on track to meet our cost efficiency goals and remain focused on executing with discipline, delivering distinctive value to our clients and reinforcing a leading position in key markets. With strengthened foundations across our diversified businesses, we are well positioned to deliver on our ambitions in 2026 and beyond,” said Berger.
