Asia-Pacific protection gap must be a priority but risk-return mix must balance

Emerging Asia will outgrow advanced Asia and drive the market conditions industry needs, says top Swiss Re leader.

Asia-Pacific offers reinsurers a unique opportunity to grow and help solve societal challenges such as the protection gap. But it must remain level-headed about the balance of risks and potential returns, Victor Kuk, Swiss Re’s head of P&C reinsurance for SID (Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea) told SIRC Today.

“Asia is a big growth market for Swiss Re. A number of countries are growing fast economically, and exposures are increasing. We expect emerging Asia will outgrow advanced Asia and that will drive the market conditions that we will see in the next few years,” Kuk said.

He argued this could set the stage for a perfect storm of economic growth, rising exposures, a widening protection gap and the ever-present threat of natural catastrophes.

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The pendulum has swung too far: CEOs debate 2023 rebalancing

A panel of leading reinsurance executives assembled at SIRC to talk about the road ahead—and opportunities in Asia.

The global reinsurance industry must seek sustainable market conditions suitable for everyone in the risk transfer ecosystem. The pendulum has again swung too far, and the focus needs to return to the nature of underlying risks, especially in fast-growing markets in Asia.

Those were some of the findings of a roundtable of leading global reinsurance executives at the Singapore International Reinsurance Conference.