PSI disclosure of progress
Developed by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) in collaboration with leading re/insurance companies, the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) provide a framework for the global insurance industry to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities.
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2025
Zurich, 12 March 2026
Swiss Re and the PSI
As a signatory, Swiss Re supports the PSI’s call for transparency. It also has a representative on the PSI Board. Details of Swiss Re’s progress on implementing the PSI’s principles in 2025 are set out in the sections below.
This is a summary overview. For further information, refer to the Annual Report 2025, which includes Swiss Re’s Sustainability Report.
PSI Principle 1: We will embed in our decision-making environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues relevant to our insurance business
Swiss Re continued to deliver on its Group Sustainability Strategy (GSS) 2023–2025, which focuses on two sustainability ambitions: building societal resilience and advancing the net-zero transition1. Swiss Re implemented the strategy with a focus on the following activities:
- Narrowing the natural catastrophe protection gap by offering respective re/insurance products and services, including those that advance climate adaptation.
- Fostering financial inclusion, with a focus on household financial protection and healthcare protection.
- Committing to a decarbonisation pathway and setting GHG emissions reduction targets for assets, liabilities and operations.
- Providing risk transfer solutions and investments to advance the net-zero transition across different sectors.
- Engaging with clients and stakeholders, building on Swiss Re’s risk knowledge.
In addition, sustainability governance forms part of Swiss Re’s overall corporate governance. The Board of Directors (Board) and each of the Board committees as well as the Group Executive Committee (Group EC) and all Group EC members have responsibilities related to sustainability, see Annual Report (AR), pages 46–47. Sustainability criteria are also considered when determining the Group Annual Performance Incentive pool, see AR, page 47. A key tool for managing sustainability risks at Swiss Re is the ESG Risk Framework, which is integrated into underwriting workflows, see AR, pages 42–45.
Key actions taken in 2025:
- In 2025, Swiss Re continued to implement the Group Sustainability Strategy (GSS) 2023–2025, focusing on its two sustainability ambitions: building societal resilience and advancing the net-zero transition, see AR, pages 39–40.
- Swiss Re’s ambition to build societal resilience continued to be implemented by providing risk transfer products and solutions that offer protection against natural catastrophes and provide access to life and health protection, see AR, pages 72–77.
- Swiss Re executed actions outlined in its Climate Transition Plan, see AR, pages 49–54.
- Swiss Re met all externally communicated sustainability targets for 2025. For details on climate targets and related progress, see AR, pages 61–71.
PSI Principle 2: We will work together with our clients and business partners to raise awareness of ESG issues, manage risk and develop solutions
Through its Group Sustainability Strategy, Swiss Re aims to address sustainability challenges and seize sustainability-related opportunities, thereby helping to achieve Swiss Re’s purpose to make the world more resilient. In addition, Swiss Re considers stakeholder collaboration and dialogue prerequisites for building a more sustainable and resilient world. Engagement with clients and other stakeholders was therefore part of the two ambitions of the GSS 2023–2025.
Swiss Re pursues this through the following activities:
- Offering risk transfer products and solutions as well as providing risk insights and services to clients and partners.
- Maintaining a dialogue with clients and other stakeholders on sustainability topics, also as part of Swiss Re’s ESG Risk Framework and Swiss Re’s Climate Transition Plan.
- Sharing, co-creating and advancing risk knowledge.
- Implementing Swiss Re’s Responsible Investing strategy.
- Conducting ESG assessments of vendors and engaging them on the topic of decarbonisation.
Key actions taken in 2025:
- Swiss Re continued to implement its Climate Transition Plan. In particular, it aims to transition alongside clients, investees and vendors by encouraging and supporting their transition to net zero. The primary action under this decarbonisation lever is engagement on transition status and efforts. Swiss Re has set related targets for engaging with investees and external managers, see AR, pages 49–54 and pages 61–71.
- Swiss Re offered a range of re/insurance products that help clients manage the risks associated with renewable energy projects, see AR, page 52.
- Swiss Re enhanced disaster resilience by offering re/insurance products and services. In 2025, Swiss Re’s premiums for natural catastrophe covers amounted to USD 5.9 billion, accounting for a significant share of Swiss Re’s property and casualty re/insurance business. Additionally, Swiss Re continued to provide risk transfer solutions and services for healthcare and household financial protection through its cedents and partners. Swiss Re reinsured 200 million L&H policies (in force), see AR, pages 72–78.
- As part of its engagement on the ESG Risk Framework, Swiss Re engaged with re/insurance clients on identified sustainability risks to discuss mitigation and remediation plans with them in cases where such a need was identified.
- Swiss Re shared and co-created knowledge through many channels, including publications, events, partnerships and collaborations with, for example, academic institutions, governments and NGOs. This supported Swiss Re’s efforts to jointly transition to net zero with clients, investees and suppliers, see AR, page 42.
- Swiss Re continued to implement its Responsible Investing strategy, see AR, page 45.
- Swiss Re encouraged sustainable procurement practices among its key direct suppliers. New vendors that meet a combination of spend and risk criteria are required to complete an ESG assessment of their approach to managing sustainability in operations, including in relation to human rights and labour rights, which is carried out by an independent external provider, see AR, page 78.
PSI Principle 3: We will work together with governments, regulators and other key stakeholders to promote widespread action across society on ESG issues
As a risk-taker in society, Swiss Re has an intrinsic interest in pursuing productive dialogues with its stakeholders. Drawing on its broad expertise, the company strives to identify and understand key impacts, risks and opportunities, engages in discussions about them and shares its risk knowledge.
Swiss Re implements this through the following activities:
- Developing risk transfer solutions and services that support clients and partners, including government entities, international organisations and re/insurers, in building societal resilience and addressing sustainability-related topics such as climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation and the energy transition, natural catastrophe protection and life and health protection.
- Sharing and co-creating knowledge through many channels, including publications, events, partnerships and collaborations with, for example, academic institutions, governments and NGOs.
- As part of the Climate Transition Plan, Swiss Re pursues a number of activities to address transition-related critical dependencies and uncertainties, including 1) contributing to the development of robust methodologies and reliable data by participating in working groups and consultation processes led by standard setters and data providers; 2) engaging with relevant stakeholders on public policies that support the transition of the real economy – and, ultimately, Swiss Re’s own transition to net zero – primarily through memberships and working groups in key transition-related industry-led and global initiatives; and 3) publishing transition-related insights and research from a re/insurance industry perspective to support the broader global transition, see AR, page 51.
Key actions taken in 2025:
- Swiss Re continued to provide risk transfer products and solutions that contribute to disaster resilience and provide access to life and health protection. Examples include public-private partnerships with public sector entities and insurers to develop solutions, such as parametric insurance, to alleviate financial impacts of natural catastrophe exposures for unprotected populations and the underinsured, and public-private partnerships to develop and reinsure products that enable public sector entities to provide insurance covers for their populations, providing them access to life and health protection. For more information and examples of risk transfer solutions and services, see AR, pages 73–75.
- Swiss Re engaged with industry initiatives and standard setters to advance methodologies for emissions accounting, including contributing to the development of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodology for treaty reinsurance portfolios, see AR, page 62.
- For a selection of Swiss Re’s sustainability-related memberships in global as well as Swiss organisations, partnerships and initiatives, see Swiss Re’s website.
PSI Principle 4: We will demonstrate accountability and transparency in regularly disclosing publicly our progress in implementing the Principles
Since 2012, Swiss Re has disclosed its progress on implementing the PSI Principles annually as part of its sustainability reporting. Swiss Re’s Sustainability Report 2025, published for the first time as an integral part of the Annual Report, is the Group’s primary means of reporting its progress on the implementation of the Group Sustainability Strategy.
The Sustainability Report has received independent limited assurance from KPMG AG.
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Footnote:
1 In 2025, Swiss Re updated its Group Sustainability Strategy for the 2026–2028 cycle. Read about the Group Sustainability Strategy 2026–2028 in the Annual Report 2025, page 40.