Swiss Re’s da Victoria Lobo: Bringing stability in a volatile and uncertain world
In a world marked by uncertainty and volatility, there will be demand and value prescribed to reinsurance, according to Swiss Re’s Nikhil da Victoria Lobo.
Da Victoria Lobo, who serves as head of P&C reinsurance for Western and Southern Europe and Middle East and Africa, said the key challenges for the industry in 2025 remain consistent with this year: elevated natural catastrophe risks, economic uncertainty and geopolitical instability.
For his region, da Victoria Lobo said upcoming renewal discussions will continue to focus on secondary perils and strikes, riots and civil commotion (SRCC).
Speaking to The Insurer TV, da Victoria Lobo said the volume of SRCC claims had jumped 3,000 percent in the last two decades.
“Political unrest and geopolitical volatility is something we’ve unfortunately got very used to,” he said, adding that there is a need for the industry to better understand the influence of factors such as increasing urbanisation and social media.
From the reinsurer perspective, da Victoria Lobo said Swiss Re was focusing on dialogue with clients to make sure they understand the risk in their portfolios and are pricing for it correctly.
In addition, he said accumulation controls need to be in place as well as contract clarity.
“For the victims of these events, what they want to know is that the insurance industry will stand by them based on the contract they bought. That’s the value we provide,” he said.
Secondary perils
Da Victoria Lobo also highlighted the shift in the catastrophe loss landscape in recent years, with secondary perils such as floods and severe convective storms increasingly driving industry losses.
“Secondary perils are creating havoc across the world, but the biggest uptick has been in EMEA, where we now regularly see $5bn-plus events,” he said.
He highlighted this year's $2bn-plus flood event in Dubai as well as last July’s Italian hailstorms, where market estimates have crept up to $6bn from initial projections of $2bn.
From a more optimistic perspective, da Victoria Lobo said recent flood events in Eastern Europe had highlighted that mitigation efforts are having an impact.
“Look at the kind of measures we saw put in place in Eastern Europe after the 2002 floods – things like mobile dams. Our industry is not just about paying for losses, but also about educating people on how to reduce them.”
Increasing demand for reinsurance
Amid this challenging risk landscape, da Victoria Lobo expects demand for reinsurance to increase, particularly in areas such as property, renewables, credit and cyber.
“Our role in property reinsurance remains fundamental, and we’re seeing even more demand for it,” he said.
“The renewable energy transformation is a fundamental goal for society, and our industry is doing its part. As the technologies evolve, we need to ensure we understand replacement costs, manage accumulation and capture exposures properly.
“Coming out of the challenges we saw in the Covid era, economies are recovering and trade is growing. Infrastructure demands are increasing, and trade credit and surety opportunities are there,” he said.
“Our industry has a role in supporting the global economy, in being more interconnected. And in a very interconnected world, there will be more demand for cyber-type products. It’s an area where reinsurance can add real value through capital, know-how and innovative solutions,” da Victoria Lobo added.
Consistency and stability
Amid this backdrop, da Victoria Lobo highlighted the importance of being a consistent, stable partner for clients.
“Clients are looking for consistency and stability, insights into evolving risks, and structured reinsurance solutions to manage their balance sheets,” he said. “Sometimes they're looking for special structured reinsurance or new innovative ideas to help them manage their volatility or balance sheet.
“For my team and I at Swiss Re, we are focused on consistency, stability for our clients and maintaining a transparent and open dialogue.”