Swiss Re CEO Berger confirms CorSo aviation exit with focus now on developing P&C Re portfolio

By Henry Gale

Feb 27 - (The Insurer) - Swiss Re's exit from direct aviation business will concentrate the group's aviation underwriting efforts in reinsurance, CEO Andreas Berger told a media call on Thursday.

The Insurer reported on Wednesday that Swiss Re is set to exit its primary lines aviation business written through Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (CorSo).

"What we found was that in CorSo after 2019, we have basically discontinued the general aviation business that was 50% of the overall aviation portfolio," Berger said.

"We were left behind with a subscale portfolio and here we felt that it's better to concentrate all efforts in the centre of excellence approach on the reinsurance side. They have done more scale and that's also an opportunity to also leverage talent much better."

He added: "I think it's very difficult in a subscale portfolio to be consistently and continuously profitable due to the cost that comes with the business."

Berger compared Swiss Re's recent aviation move to its sale of CorSo's marine hull underwriting team to Dual Europe last year, first reported by The Insurer. Swiss Re continues to provide capacity for the marine hull book through Dual.

"You will see more businesses in the specialty field where we as a group will decide where is the best home, is it on the reinsurance side or on the CorSo side? We have done a few exercises already in the past where, agriculture is an example, we decided it's better positioned in the reinsurance business."

Following several high-profile aviation loss events in recent months, Swiss Re CFO John Dacey commented on the group's exposure.

He said Swiss Re will see losses associated with December's Jeju Air crash in South Korea and January's American Airlines collision in Washington D.C., adding that its loss from the latter will not be "a very dramatic number".

The recent Delta Airlines crash in Toronto is unlikely to be a reinsurance event, Dacey said, with losses expected to be limited to the hull and medical care for passengers.

Analysis by The Insurer prior to the Delta Airlines event noted that the series of aviation incidents since the end of 2024 has placed significant pressure on the airline segment, with market loss estimates approaching annual net premium levels.