“ The days of having a product that would work for 10 years are over now. If you can establish a solution for two years, you are probably doing well. So I have introduced a raft of measures to try to improve our innovation and our ability to be flexible and adapt.”
of the financial crisis when most businesses were looking at making cost savings. We also made a conscious effort not simply to look back at the data on this, but to include people with an understanding of medical advances and what they would mean for this sector. It was an investment in innovation that certainly paid off.”
EMPOWERMENT EVERYWHERE The word innovation, however, can mean many things in the context
of business and especially reinsurance. While its meaning clearly revolves around the development of new products, it can equally apply to the way in which employee and client relationships are managed. At its core, Lippe wants it to mean the empowerment of its people.
The principles underpinning both the phrases empowerment and
innovation can certainly be found in areas of the business where growth is strongest. Swiss Re is seeing very fast growth of up to 20 percent in some of the bigger markets in Asia and in its emerging market portfolio as a whole.
Lippe is precise about his approach in these markets. “Our strategy is
to hire and develop very smart people familiar with those markets and local cultures, and to let them run those businesses and make decisions,” he says. “We will support them in every way—with people, technical expertise and capital. But we must empower the people on the ground who have an intimate understanding of those cultures.”
This approach has paid dividends in some areas of the business. In
its second quarter results, Swiss Re reported a 20 percent growth in its property & casualty treaty portfolio this year, largely due to contributions from China in particular. It has completed a number of large solvency relief (quota share) deals in the country—something Lippe notes that few reinsurers have a balance sheet (or stomach) big enough to take on.
But the growth is not only in China. The business also reported strong growth in mature insurance markets such as Australia and Japan, and also
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72