Swiss Re backs China’s new phase of growth

SIRC Today talks with Beat Strebel, Swiss Re’s China reinsurance head, about what’s driving growth in China.

Key Points:
Shift to high-quality reinsurance
Protection gap remains an issue
Global expertise meets local innovation

When Beat Strebel took the helm as chief executive of Reinsurance China and country president China at Swiss Re, he entered a market moving at exceptional speed. “It has been, obviously, very fast-paced, as the Chinese environment is in general,” Strebel told SIRC Today. 

Over the past year, China’s insurance industry has undergone a meaningful transformation –  one that aligns with the government’s vision for “high-quality development”.

In the past, the sector focused heavily on premium volume growth. That is changing. “We have seen now much more focus on underwriting quality, claims management and controlling the cost base,” Strebel noted. The shift is already bearing fruit, with several insurers reporting underwriting profits for the first time in years.

Fast-moving markets

China’s insurance market is vast – the world’s second largest – and its companies are evolving quickly. Strebel, who has worked in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, observes that Chinese insurers are uniquely swift to integrate national strategies, from digitalisation to rural revitalisation. “The financial services industry in China has a very clear mandate to support the real economy,” he explained. “The Chinese insurance companies have embraced that as well.”

Swiss Re’s roots in China run deep. “We have been there for a very long time,” Strebel said. “China is currently our third-largest single market, just behind the US and the UK.” 

As the company approaches the 30th anniversary of its local presence – and nearly a century of business relationships with Chinese clients – Strebel’s focus is on partnership, innovation and risk insight.

On the property and casualty (P&C) side, natural catastrophe (nat cat) risk remains a central concern. While earthquakes were once the main peril, floods, typhoons and droughts now dominate discussions. “As these risks are becoming more interconnected, data insights and risk modelling are becoming increasingly important,” he said.

 “You can only insure and reinsure if you have relatively granular data.”

China faces a significant insurance protection gap, particularly for natural catastrophes. Strebel pointed out that while globally, around 46% of natural catastrophe losses are insured, in Asia that figure drops to 16%. “In China, the insured loss is only about 10% of the economic loss,” he reveals. In 2024, Typhoon Yagi caused economic losses of roughly $56 billion – yet 95% of those losses were uninsured. 

Swiss Re is working closely with government bodies, insurers and local authorities to improve risk prevention, mitigation and protection. “Sometimes risks are not insured because of lack of affordability, but sometimes as well because of lack of data,” Strebel explained. Data, he said, is the starting point: “You can only insure and reinsure if you have relatively granular data which allows you to assess the risk.”

“We are bringing information and learnings from China to other overseas markets.”

Partnerships are key

China’s 14th five-year plan has supported these goals with initiatives such as a nationwide disaster prevention database containing 1.7 billion risk data points. Public-private partnerships are also emerging as vital tools, with Swiss Re collaborating in “triangle partnerships” involving provinces, insurers and the reinsurer itself. 

Swiss Re’s global reach is one of its greatest strengths. “We are organised as a truly global company,” Strebel says. “Knowledge and expertise travel very easily.” That means solutions proven in Mexico or Australia can be swiftly adapted to Chinese conditions – and vice-versa. “While 30 years ago the flow of information was one-directional, bringing it to China, now we are bringing information and learnings from China to other overseas markets.”

Perhaps nowhere is China’s ambition more visible than in its green transition. “I’ve not seen any other country where the government is so serious about really getting there,” Strebel remarks, citing the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. The pace of infrastructure build-out – solar, wind, hydroelectric and battery storage – is “amazing compared with the rest of the world.”

These developments create both opportunity and uncertainty. “You don’t want to convert what could be an early-adopter benefit into a disadvantage by going naively into these risks,” he cautions. The same applies to China’s booming electric vehicle market, which now accounts for nearly half of new car sales.

Loss ratios were initially high, driven by battery-related claims, but insurers have adapted. Strebel sees the next opportunity in supporting Chinese automakers’ overseas expansion. 

As China continues its transformation, Strebel’s outlook is one of partnership and shared progress. “We have been part of the market’s development for decades,” he concludes. “And as it continues to evolve, our role is to help our clients and partners navigate that change –  together.”

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