From emerging risk to core business: infrastructure

We first drew attention to "critical infrastructure" as an emerging risk by including a case study in our 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report.

Our original assessment

This is an excerpt from the original case study (the full text is available below under "Download"):

"The term critical infrastructure is used to denote various types of infrastructure whose damage or disruption would seriously undermine public health and safety, the environment and social well-being. In many parts of the world, critical infrastructure is aging, mainly due to insufficient maintenance, underinvestment in renewal and complex ownership structures. … Insurance could be a powerful tool in stimulating sufficient risk transfer solutions and investment in critical infrastructure."

"Critical infrastructure" has since become an important topic for our asset management, risk dialogue and underwriting. As long-term investors, re/insurers can make a tangible contribution to bridging the emerging infrastructure financing gap. For this, the right pre-conditions need to be set, though.

Recent activities and initiatives:

• Infrastructure – the foundation of societal resilience
• Infographic on infrastructure
• Closing the infrastructure gap
• Closing the infrastructure investment and protection gap
• PUMA: professional underwriting of project insurance
• 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report: Infrastructure investments
• Underwriting the US infrastructure gap
• Responsible investments – The next steps in our journey (pages 5–6)
• sigma 2/2018: Constructing the future – recent developments in engineering insurance
• Responsible investments – Shaping the future of investing (pages 24–26)
• Swiss Re publication:
  Financial repression: The unintended consequences
• Partner publication with the Institute of International Finance:
  Infrastructure Investing. It Matters
• Special section in the 2013 Financial Report:
  Insurance companies as long-term investors: opportunity for the real economy