Swiss Re in Europe - optimisation of our legal entity structure

Swiss Re decided to optimise the legal entity structure in Europe by establishing two legal entities in Luxembourg which serve as risk carriers for most of the European reinsurance and insurance businesses: Swiss Re Europe S.A. (SRE) as a reinsurance carrier and Swiss Re International SE (SRI) as a primary insurance non-life carrier.

Swiss Re Europe S.A. (SRE) is to become Swiss Re’s carrier for most of its European business. To achieve this goal the reinsurance business written by Swiss Re on various entities across Europe will be transferred to SRE in the course of 2008 and 2009.

On 1 January 2008 SRE received the reinsurance business underwritten by Swiss Re’s entities in the United Kingdom, Ireland (only P&C), The Netherlands and the former L&H Branch in the Federal Republic of Germany.

In the United Kingdom the non-life reinsurance business was written by Swiss Reinsurance Company UK Limited (SRUK). The life reinsurance business was written by Swiss Re Life & Health Limited (SRLH). In Ireland the non-life reinsurance business was written by Swiss Reinsurance Ireland Limited. In the Netherlands the life reinsurance business was written by Swiss Re Life & Health Nederland N.V. The life business in Germany was written by “Swiss Re Life & Health Germany - Niederlassung der Schweizerische Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft”, a branch of Swiss Reinsurance Company.

The Dutch company Reassassurantie Maatschappij Nederland was merged into SR International Business Insurance Company Plc forming an UK based Societas Europea (SE). On 1 January 2008 SR International Business Insurance SE sucessfully moved its registered office from the UK to Luxembourg and renamed to Swiss Re International SE (SRI). A new SRI branch was established in Germany.

The integration of further markets into SRE will follow. The reinsurance company in Denmark, Swiss Re Denmark Reinsurance A/S will be merged into SRE in the middle of 2008, with retroactive effect on 1 January 2008. The reinsurance business from Swiss Reinsurance Company in France, Italy and Spain will be transferred into SRE in October 2008. The two German entities Swiss Re Germany AG and Swiss Re Frankona Rückversicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft will be merged into SRE in January 2009.

Swiss Re in Europe - Key Facts

 

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