Best Reinsurer for Innovation (GWP of more than $2bn) winner: Swiss Re

Swiss Re received praise for its innovation and was commended on its ability to always find a solution. One respondent commended Swiss Re on “its approach to problems that clients have, its ability to come up with the right solutions and the fact that it very rarely turns down an opportunity to see if it can come up with a solution”.

Many respondents praised Swiss Re for its readiness to discuss new approaches and its creativity in applying unique solutions. It was commended on its willingness to structure deals to meet clients’ needs and its ability to tailor products.

Swiss Re was also praised on its history of innovation with its developments over the past few years being received well by the market.

“...very rarely turns down an opportunity to see if it can come up with a solution.”

Led by Michel Liès, Swiss Re’s group CEO, the reinsurer reported very positive results for 2013. It saw a 6 percent increase in net income to $4.4 billion in 2013 compared with $4.2 billion in 2012 due to solid underwriting, particularly in the P&C businesses, low levels of natural catastrophes and reserve releases totalling $1 billion.

Hannover Re followed closely with a score of 7.11 out of 10. It was commended on its readiness to offer support and present solutions, while also being happy to provide alternatives.

One respondent said: “Their advanced solutions business has come up with a number of new products over the last 12 to 24 months and they are very proactive in marketing those products.”

The reinsurer was also praised on its strong presence in the life sector and tailor-made solutions.

France-based reinsurer SCOR came third, with 6.93 out of 10. It was praised as a good multiline operator, with an ability to find solutions. One respondent spoke from personal experience and added that SCOR had worked with them to create new health insurance products.

Munich Re took fourth place with 6.91, while PartnerRe was fifth with 6.73. Munich Re was praised on its wide spectrum of services and product development. It was also commended for its innovation in the emerging markets and its proactive approach.

PartnerRe was commended for the time it takes to understand each business along with its responsiveness. One respondent added that they were excited about developments in PartnerRe’s life segment.

The companies in the shortlists seen here were selected based on the first stage of the research, conducted via phone interviews and open online polls. Respondents were asked to name three companies they regard highly in this category. They were then asked to give details of why they had chosen these firms.

The shortlist for this category reflects the companies mentioned the most frequently.

The researchers then approached the market a second time and, using this shortlist presented in a random order, asked respondents to score each company out of ten based on how they perceive the firm based on the criteria of this category. It is the results of this part of the survey that are shown here.

More than 500 respondents took part in each part of the survey respectively.

The score shows the average score out of ten that each company received in stage two of the survey.

The shortlist was presented to respondents in a random order.