Swiss earnings call, October 2026: Swiss Re says it is on track for USD 4.5 billion goal

Swiss Re said its business units are also on track for their fiscal year 2026 targets

• An executive said Life and Health Reinsurance is well on track to achieve its fiscal year 2026 net income target of USD 1.7 billion.
• The chief financial officer said the combined ratio of property and casualty reinsurance (P&C Re) was 77.3% in the first nine months of fiscal year 2026. The combined ratio measures claims and expenses against premiums, and a lower figure means a more profitable result. The chief financial officer described this as comfortably within the full-year target of below 85%.

Swiss Re raised its cost-saving goal and plans to set new targets in December

• An executive said the company is on track to reduce operating costs by USD 500 million by 2028. The earlier target was USD 300 million by 2027.
• An executive said the company expects to announce its fiscal year 2027 financial targets and give a capital-management update on 4 December.

Analysts asked about reserve releases and investment returns, and management gave limited answers

• The chief financial officer said the fiscal year 2026 targets assumed mid-triple-digit reserve releases from prior-year development (PYD), which are changes in the estimated cost of claims from earlier years. The chief financial officer said these releases were expected to be mid triple digit for fiscal year 2026 under normal circumstances.
• Analysts asked for a sustainable medium-term rate of reserve releases and whether this year's releases included unusually favorable one-off items. Management declined to answer.
• Analysts asked how long a 5.6% reinvestment rate would take to flow through compared with 4.3%. Management gave a partial answer.
• The chief financial officer said the company targets life and health new-business contractual service margin (CSM) sustainability above 100% over the next couple of years. The CSM is the profit an insurer expects to earn on its contracts over time. The chief financial officer said the company does not expect to reach that level this year.
• The chief financial officer said average discounting is expected to be in the 9% range, in line with guidance.