Swiss Re

On 10–11 May 1861, more than 500 houses went up in flames in the town of Glarus, Switzerland. Two-thirds of the town was reduced to rubble and ash and around 3,000 inhabitants were made homeless. The damage to Glarus exceeded the reserves of the cantonal fire insurance, which had underinsured many cantonal buildings; the resulting loss was covered by donations, as well as a bond issue by the cantonal government. Similar to the fire of Hamburg in 1842, which led to the foundation of the first professional reinsurers in Germany, the fire of Glarus made Swiss insurers demand more reinsurance coverage against catastrophic loss. As a result, Swiss Re was founded in Zürich as the first Swiss reinsurance company in 1863.

Swiss Re was a lead insurer of the World Trade Center at the time of the September 11 attacks, which led to an insurance dispute with the owner, Silverstein Properties. In October 2006, the New York appeals court ruled in favor of Swiss Re, stating that the destruction of the twin towers was a single event rather than two, limiting coverage to US$3.5 billion.

Swiss Re acquired the GE Insurance Solutions property/casualty business in 2006, which made it the world's largest reinsurer.

In 2009 Warren Buffett invested $2.6 billion when Swiss Re raised more equity capital after it lost 6 billion francs in its financial market operations in the 2008 financial crisis. Berkshire Hathaway already owned a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%.

In May 2016, the Fort McMurray Canadian wildfires caused estimated damages of up to CAD10 billion, with Swiss Re having the most exposure among reinsurers.

On 1 July 2004, Swiss Re subsidiary Admin Re began the acquisition of Life Assurance Holding Corporation in the UK. On 31 October 2008, Swiss Re completed a £762 million acquisition of Barclays PLC's subsidiary Barclays Life Assurance Company Ltd. In June 2014, the company, through Admin Re, acquired the UK pensions business of HSBC Life (UK) Limited worth £4.2 billion. The Admin Re business, which was renamed ReAssure, was eventually sold to Phoenix Group Holdings for £3.2bn in July 2020.

By February 2022, Swiss Re had acquired Champlain Reinsurance Company (Champlain Re), a Swiss-based run-off reinsurance captive of Alcan Holdings Switzerland AG, a member of Rio Tinto Alcan, in a legacy transaction. Later that month, Swiss Re declared a net profit of US$1.6 billion, a bounce-back from previous losses in 2020. Still, the exposure to COVID-19 in America was excessive; together with increased damages from natural catastrophes, profits were well below the US$1.8 billion estimate. Swiss Re was able to make up for some of its losses due to its increased property business. At the same time, the board of directors assured investors that the company is only minimally exposed to losses during the Ukraine crisis.

In December 2023, Swiss Re announced it had acquired research-led flood risk intelligence firm Fathom, which would retain its brand while working closely with the Reinsurance Solutions division to further develop and distribute its flood maps and models.

Swiss Re Group operates through three business units:

Property & Casualty Reinsurance

Life & Health Reinsurance

Corporate Solutions

Public controversies / #MeToo Allegations

Sexual harassment and discrimination allegations

Swiss Re has faced at least two public allegations and legal proceedings related to sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Julia Sommer employment tribunal (2022–2024)

In 2022, a London employment tribunal ruled that Julia Sommer, a political risk underwriter employed at Swiss Re's London office from 2017 until her redundancy in 2021, had been the victim of sex discrimination, harassment, maternity-related discrimination, and unfair dismissal. The tribunal accepted that Robert Llewellyn, then global head of Swiss Re's political risk and trade credit team, had made sexually explicit remarks to Sommer, and found that on a further occasion—where she was told to "shut up" and to take a "more submissive role"—she would not have been treated the same way had she been male.

Sommer alleged she had been the victim of a "calculated campaign" to dismiss her, and described the remarks as having "undermined my professional credibility in a public professional setting." She claimed that during her maternity leave she was overlooked for two senior positions, and that upon returning to work she was excluded and subsequently made redundant in 2021 through what she described as a sham process.

In 2023, Sommer was awarded approximately £1.2 million by the tribunal. She subsequently brought a further claim of £5.1 million, telling the court that the damage to her mental health and professional reputation left her unable to continue working in insurance or financial services. Llewellyn, who had by that point left Swiss Re, denied the claims.

Swiss Re said it "noted the tribunal's conclusions" and was giving them "full and careful consideration," adding that it "does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and is committed to providing an equal and inclusive workplace for all employees."

Russell Higginbotham investigation (2025–2026)

In January 2026, Inside Paradeplatz, an independent Swiss financial news platform founded by Zurich-based investigative journalist Lukas Hässig, and recognised in 2013 by the European Press Prize for investigative journalism, reported that Russell Higginbotham, a 30-year Swiss Re veteran who had been appointed CEO of Reinsurance Solutions in 2022, had unexpectedly relinquished the role at the end of 2024, with Jonathan Rake taking over from early 2025. According to the report, Higginbotham continued to be listed on the Swiss Re website as divisional head of Swiss Re for an extended period after his departure, with sources indicating he had remained on the payroll while the company conducted an internal investigation on harassment claims relating to "sexual misconduct" before being formally separated under an exit agreement. Inside Paradeplatz noted that sources who were familiar with the investigation quoted that the Board and senior management were aware of the allegations for months when the story broke on its platform.