Swiss Re has made artificial intelligence a core pillar of its Group strategy, as the global reinsurer looks to use technology to improve underwriting, accelerate processes and capture rising demand for insurance, reinsurance and risk expertise.
Swiss Re Chief Executive Officer Andreas Berger said the insurance industry is operating in an environment where risks are becoming increasingly interconnected and complex. Recurring supply shocks, geopolitical fragmentation, major infrastructure investment and other structural changes are increasing the importance of insurers and reinsurers in helping businesses and societies manage risk and build resilience.
His comments followed Swiss Re’s results for the first half of 2026, when the Group reported net income of $2.8 billion, up 9%.
AI to Strengthen Risk Analysis
Swiss Re is using AI to enhance the capabilities of its insurance and reinsurance professionals rather than treating the technology merely as an automation tool.
According to Berger, AI allows the Group to analyse larger and more complex datasets, detect patterns earlier and generate deeper insights that can support better risk solutions for clients.
The strategy is particularly relevant to underwriting, where insurers and reinsurers increasingly have to process large volumes of structured and unstructured information while making timely decisions on complex risks.
Local Policy Issuance Cut From 45 Days to Under Five
One example cited by Swiss Re involves the international programme business of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
Issuing local insurance policies under multinational programmes can traditionally be a time-consuming process. Berger said the industry average for issuing such policies is around 45 days. Through data-driven rules, automation and AI-enabled workflows, Swiss Re has reduced its issuance time to less than five days.
This represents a reduction of more than 88% compared with the cited 45-day industry average, while Swiss Re also reports achieving greater process consistency and fewer operational handovers.
The example demonstrates how AI can affect not only analytical functions but also insurance administration and operational efficiency.
AI to Help Process Over 100,000 Reinsurance Submissions
Swiss Re is also applying AI to facultative reinsurance underwriting, where the company receives more than 100,000 submissions annually from clients and brokers in multiple formats.
The volume is too large for every submission to be manually evaluated in detail. As a result, potentially attractive opportunities may sometimes not receive full consideration because of capacity constraints.
Swiss Re plans to use AI to improve the initial triage of these submissions. The technology can analyse incoming information, identify potentially attractive risks, highlight issues requiring underwriter attention and reduce the possibility of important factors being overlooked.
The approach is intended to allow underwriters to concentrate their expertise on submissions where human judgement can create the greatest value, supporting faster decisions without compromising underwriting discipline.
Human Accountability Remains Central
Despite the increased use of AI, Swiss Re is retaining human accountability and expert oversight as key elements of its approach.
Berger emphasised that AI deployment is supported by clear accountability, professional supervision and consistent standards designed to maintain reliability for clients, regulators and shareholders.
This governance dimension is particularly important for insurers because AI is increasingly being applied to areas that can directly affect underwriting decisions, risk selection and client servicing.
More Than 80% of Employees Confident Using AI
Swiss Re has also invested substantially in developing AI capabilities across its workforce.
The Group made tools including Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT available to its employees in 2024 to strengthen AI familiarity and usage. More than 80% of employees now report being confident in using these tools.
Around 14,000 of Swiss Re’s approximately 15,000 employees — about 93% — are also working on a globally integrated data and technology platform that brings together structured and unstructured information.
According to Swiss Re, this common technology foundation is designed to enable AI applications to be deployed consistently and at scale across business units and Group functions.
The combination of AI, integrated data and specialist insurance expertise is therefore becoming an important part of Swiss Re’s strategy as demand grows not only for financial risk transfer but also for sophisticated risk knowledge and advisory capabilities.
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