Inside the strategy keeping reinsurers resilient against climate volatility

As nat-cat losses rise, Jane Koliševski from Sava Re explains how agility, discipline and data can define the path to resilience.

Key points:
Agility helps navigate market volatility
Nat-cat exposure remains core focus
Collaboration strengthens client resilience

In an era of frequent and severe natural catastrophes, Sava Re is charting a course that balances opportunity with caution. Jane Koliševski, head of non-group reinsurance operations at Sava Re, says the company’s position as a smaller, more agile reinsurer is an asset in today’s unpredictable market.

“Although Sava Re has a strong presence across multiple markets worldwide, we are still a relatively small fish in the global reinsurance ocean,” he told SIRC Today. “This enables us to act differently than our competition: we can react quicker and be more selective.”

That agility is underpinned by discipline. Koliševski explained that Sava Re’s strategy centres on a well-diversified portfolio, strong capitalisation and disciplined exposure management, supported by prudent retrocession and balanced growth across regions. These elements help maintain resilience while aligning underwriting with the company’s long-term sustainability goals.

Even as catastrophe exposures increase, Sava Re is holding its nerve. “We are not afraid of cat losses,” Koliševski stated. “Nat-cat exposure is an important part of our book.” That conviction does not mean complacency, however, and he pointed out that the reinsurer had reinforced underwriting discipline, set clearer exposure limits and placed stronger emphasis on data quality and transparency from cedants. The result is a portfolio built for consistency, not opportunism. 

Technology and analytics play a growing role in that pursuit. Sava Re, Koliševski explained, “continues to refine its catastrophe modelling framework, combining established vendor models with in-house expertise, scientific datasets and bespoke analyses.” This blend enables the company to strengthen accumulation control and refine its own view of risk. 

Where cat models fall short, underwriters are expected to dig deeper. “We mandate our underwriters to push in some additional effort in order to gather better granulation of data,” he says, ensuring decisions are grounded in evidence rather than assumption.

“Addressing climate risk must be at the centre of our client relationships.”

The influence of climate change is increasingly shaping Sava Re’s long-term thinking and climate considerations are becoming more and more embedded in Sava Re’s strategic and underwriting processes. This includes climate stress testing, monitoring exposure shifts in climate-sensitive regions and adjusting risk appetite accordingly. 

Beyond risk management, Sava Re is also supporting projects that advance adaptation and resilience, reflecting its broader commitment to sustainable value creation. 

“Addressing climate risk must be at the centre of our client relationships. It’s a challenge we can only tackle together,” Koliševski emphasised. Collaboration, in his view, is what keeps the industry moving forward. 

“Collaboration is one of the biggest essentials. We see ourselves as a partner that contributes both capacity and technical expertise.” By working closely with cedants, brokers and modelling partners, Sava Re seeks to enhance data quality and deepen understanding of catastrophe dynamics across the value chain.

As SIRC 2025 gets under way, there’s one focal point for the company. “Asia-Pacific remains an important and attractive region which we will continue to focus on,” Koliševski said, adding how the region’s diversity demanded both caution and insight. 

“We see opportunities in markets where our technical expertise and disciplined approach can add value, but we recognise the need for selective participation and deep local understanding.”

Looking ahead to renewals, Koliševski expects conversations to centre on portfolio quality, data transparency and structure optimisation. “Our focus is maintaining portfolio quality, ensuring that pricing reflects true risk, and deepening partnerships with key clients,” he said. The task, as always, is balance: “We aim to strike a balance between supporting clients and safeguarding long-term profitability.”

As the market faces renewed capital inflows and possible softening, Koliševski insists Sava Re will remain grounded in technical rigour. “When global markets are facing an abundance of capital, one of the most important tasks is to maintain a quality reinsurance portfolio,” he observed. “We do not intend to follow any of the future opportunities without proper technical underwriting.”

In an environment defined by volatility and complexity, that discipline may be Sava Re’s greatest differentiator. “We aim to remain a stable, reliable and forward-looking partner across the globe,” Koliševski concluded. “Our foundation in disciplined underwriting, strong capital and a culture of collaboration should enable us to navigate through market volatility with confidence.”

Jane Koliševski is head of non-group reinsurance operations at Sava Re . He can be contacted at: Jane.Kolisevski@sava-re.si .

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