Established 1863

2011

The devastating floods in Queensland state on 9 January that forced evacuation in Brisbane cause insured losses of USD 2.3 billion.

A new holding company, Swiss Re Ltd., is established in place of the current Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd. It compromises three legally separated Businesss Units: Reinsurance, Corporate Solutions and Admin Re®. Effective 20 May 2011, Swiss Re Ltd will be the holding company of Swiss Re group of companies.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake which strikes Christchurch region of South Island of New Zealand on 22 February 2011 causes economic losses of USD 12 billion.

On 11 March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Honshu, Japan. It was the largest known - in terms of magnitude - to have ever hit the country, costing the insurance industry an estimated USD 35 billion. The event causes strong ground motions in the northeastern prefectures of Japan. The earthquake also triggered a tsunami which causes a substantial loss of life and extensive damage in coastal areas. Failures in cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear power plant led to explosions, severe damage to nuclear reactors and the release of radioactivity into the environment.

In April and May two massive tornado events in the United States cause nearly USD 14 billion in claims and the losses of more than 400 lives. In August Hurricane Irene cost the Industry nearly USD 5 billion in property damage.

In the period from May to October 2011, Northern and Central Thailand are hit by heavy monsoon rainfalls which are intensified by the remnants of five typhoons in the second half of the period. Insured losses amount to USD 8 to 11 billion.

2010

2010 saw some of the most devastating earthquakes in the last couple of years. The costliest event in 2010 is the earthquake in Chile (8.8 on Richter scale, 521 victims) on 25 February with insured losses in amount of USD 8 billion. The earthquake in New Zealand on 3 September measures 7.0 on Richter scale and cost insurers around USD 2.7 billion.

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April is followed by an environmental catastrophe and cost insurers USD 1 billion.

Swiss Re establishes a new leadership structure to strengthen the company's core capabilities and market presence with focus on three key areas: Reinsurance, Corporate Solutions - the new name for all Swiss Re's insurance-related offerings - and AdminRe(R).

Swiss Re wins the "Asia Life Reinsurer of the year" for the third year in a row in October.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) upgrades Swiss Re's outlook from "stable" to "positive".

In December, Swiss Re participates for the second time in a row in the UN's annual Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico as an official member of Switzerland's country delegation.