Swiss Re

A recent research report from Swiss Re suggests that life expectancy increases over the past several decades have been consistently underestimated. The report, titled “ A window into the future: Understanding and predicting longevity ,” examines the traditional methods of forecasting life expectancy—both of which are largely based on historical trends. For example, the “blending approach” combines historical data with assumptions about the future. A second approach...

A 2008 sigma study from Swiss Re suggests that U.S. variable annuity sales could reach $400 - $500 billion per year by 2018. These are gross sales projections that include exchanges of existing products. Annuity exchanges are typically a significant portion of overall or gross sales. This 2008 projection was based on compound annual growth projections of 7-9 percent. Also mentioned was the fact that variable annuity assets in Japan grew at an astounding rate between 2003 and 2008--increasing at...

Swiss Re is preparing to issue the first catastrophe bond linked to longevity risk . Catastrophe bonds ("cat bonds") are insurance linked securities that pass along risks to capital markets participants rather than an insurance company balance sheet. Cat bonds are more commonly structured for natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes. The Swiss Re security is an eight year bond that will be based on the difference between the annualized mortality improvement in a UK-based age group...

The reinsurance company Swiss Re recently published a comprehensive report that highlights the risks many societies face as a result of ageing populations and increased life expectancies.