Swiss Re CEO: Alternative Capital, AI, and Cycle Discipline Will Set the Pace in 2026
Swiss Re CEO Andreas Berger set a clear agenda: amplify the core business, reimagine the value chain, and keep a hard line on cycle discipline. The focus is practical - use alternative capital, apply AI where it improves outcomes, and protect rate adequacy and structures line by line.
For management teams, the message is simple: build optionality, scale expertise with technology, and lead your client relationships with conviction.
Alternative Capital as a Strategic Lever
Berger pointed to the group's transversal capabilities - including Alternative Capital Partners and the Public Sector Solutions team - to create "real leverage across the portfolio" and deepen relevance with clients and brokers. The intent: match risk with the most efficient capital while keeping the traditional balance sheet agile.
He noted rising participation from ILS and other third-party capital, often in bespoke transactions. That's normal cycle management: higher rates draw in investors, competition increases, and pricing pressure follows. The guardrails - structures, terms and attachment points - "stayed broadly intact," and holding that line matters now.
Reimagining the Value Chain
"Amplifying our core is not enough on its own. We also need to reimagine the value-chain overall," Berger said. That means reshaping how risk and capital flow, simplifying processes, and scaling expertise where it counts.
Practically, this points to tighter integration between origination, underwriting, capital markets, and portfolio steering - with shared data products and faster decision loops across each step.
AI for Sharper Decisions - Not Theater
"We will use AI to enhance and support decisions, simplify processes and scale expertise." Swiss Re plans to convert proprietary data and research into insights and targeted solutions - for clients, brokers, and its own teams. The company has been building a market-facing AI platform with Palantir; for context on the tooling approach, see Palantir Foundry's platform overview here.
Swiss Re's Institute has also highlighted that the AI boom could expand new insurable asset classes and reallocate insurance demand rather than purely add to it. Their research hub is a useful signal on where risk is moving - explore the Institute's work here.
For leaders building capability: start with use cases that tie directly to underwriting quality, portfolio mix, claims outcomes, and capital efficiency. If you need a primer on where AI delivers impact in this sector, see AI for Insurance and, for board-level strategy choices, AI for Executives & Strategy.
Talent and Culture as Force Multipliers
"None of this happens without the right people and the right culture," Berger said. The aim is to attract and develop "future-ready talent" with the intellect, execution, and vision to deliver on technical and AI ambitions - while driving commercial results responsibly.
Translation for management: upskill underwriters and portfolio managers on data and AI, hire product-minded analysts who can translate models into decisions, and hardwire incentives to technical profitability and capital stewardship.
Cycle Management: There Is No Single Market
"There is not one cycle," Berger emphasized. Each line sits in a different phase, with some correlations but no universal trend.
Renewals brought solid demand but more competition, with abundant capital pushing on price. Some large, sophisticated buyers retained more risk, keeping premium out of the market - yet they still need lead partners, and Swiss Re's share of wallet "didn't reduce."
The non-negotiables remain: rate adequacy, portfolio composition, and balance sheet protection. Technical underwriting and pricing discipline decide who keeps margin as the cycle loosens.
Management Playbook: What to Do Now
- Build flexible access to third-party capital. Structure ILS and bespoke partnerships with clear risk/return sharing and governance to keep capacity nimble.
- Protect structures over sticker price. Don't trade away attachment points, exclusions, or T&Cs for short-term volume.
- Make AI a decision engine, not a demo. Prioritize underwriting selection, portfolio steering, event response, and claims triage where impact is measurable.
- Turn proprietary data into products. Standardize data, create reusable features, and feed pricing, accumulation, and capital models with the same source of truth.
- Double down on lead positions. Stay close to sophisticated buyers taking more net; win with insight, speed, and solutions that blend balance sheet and alternative capital.
- Manage by line, monthly. Reassess rate adequacy, reallocate capacity, and stress-test attachments and aggregates as new capital enters.
- Invest in talent that ships outcomes. Upskill underwriters on model literacy, hire data product managers, and align incentives to technical ROE and volatility limits.
- Guard the balance sheet. Maintain headroom, track accumulation drift, and keep retro and capital solutions ready for adverse development.
The throughline in Berger's message is optionality: pair efficient capital with decision-grade data and AI, keep structures intact, and let technical excellence do the compounding. That's how you stay relevant with clients and brokers - and keep returns resilient as the cycle turns.
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