Swiss Re General news release - Swiss Re reports net income of USD 1.1 billion for third quarter 2013; return on equity of 14.3%

• Group net income of USD 1.1 billion; return on equity of 14.3%
• Property & Casualty Reinsurance leads result with net income of USD 807 million and combined ratio of 80.9%
• Life & Health Reinsurance result impacted by further reserve strengthening for Australian group disability business
• Corporate Solutions reports strong premium growth of 34.5% and net income of USD 71 million
• Group capital position remains strong with shareholders' equity of USD 31.9 billion; Group SST ratio  of 229%
• Asset rebalancing largely completed, deleveraging moving ahead as planned

Zurich, 7 November 2013 — Swiss Re reports a net income of USD 1.1 billion for the third quarter of 2013, driven by continued strong performance from P&C Re. This compares to Group net income of USD 2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2012, when the Group reported a one-off gain from the sale of the US business of Admin Re®. Group return on equity in the third quarter was a very strong 14.3%. Now past the halfway mark, Swiss Re remains on track to achieve its 2011–2015 financial targets.  Michel M. Liès, Swiss Re's Group Chief Executive Officer, says: "This strong result demonstrates our excellent underlying earning power. P&C Re was clearly in the lead this quarter. Corporate Solutions is making progress against its own growth plans even in a quarter with sizeable large losses. We are following through on our plans to make adjustments in L&H Re while Admin Re® continues to generate significant cash for the Group."  Strong operating performance Group premiums earned and fee income increased by 14% to USD 7.5 billion (vs. USD 6.6 billion in the prior-year period). Swiss Re's Group combined ratio was 83.4% (vs. 72.0%). The investment result was also strong, with investment income of USD 1.0 billion and a Group return on investments of 3.5%. Shareholders’ equity increased to USD 31.9 billion (vs. USD 30.1 billion) and book value per common share rose to USD 90.06 or CHF 81.43, compared to USD 84.03 or CHF 79.50 at the end of the second quarter 2013. Earnings per share for the third quarter 2013 were USD 3.12 (vs. USD 6.33 in the third quarter of 2012).  Continued strong performance of P&C Re; net income of USD 807 million  Net income in P&C Re was a strong USD 807 million, down from USD 1.0 billion in the third quarter of 2012. Premiums earned increased by 19.9% to USD 4.0 billion (vs. USD 3.3 billion a year earlier), driven by the expiry of a major quota share agreement. The combined ratio was a robust 80.9% (vs. an exceptionally low 69.3%) despite a number of large losses, notably German hailstorms in July. The combined ratio also benefited from reserve releases from prior year business.  L&H Re income impacted by reserve strengthening  Net income in L&H Re was USD 12 million in the third quarter of 2013 (vs. USD 187 million a year earlier). The decrease is mainly attributable to lower realised gains and a further strengthening of reserves in Australia for group disability business of USD 121 million in the third quarter of 2013. Premiums earned and fee income increased 8.3% to USD 2.5 billion (vs. USD 2.3 billion), mainly due to the recapture of business previously ceded. The benefit ratio increased to 84.8% (vs. 79.0%). As announced at the Investors' Day in June of this year, management is committed to undertaking decisive action to strengthen the profitability of this core segment of Swiss Re's business. New business generation was strong.  Corporate Solutions advances on growth  Corporate Solutions posted a quarterly profit of USD 71 million (vs. USD 110 million in the prior-year period). Premiums earned rose by 34.5% to USD 791 million (vs. USD 588 million) while the combined ratio was 95.8%, compared to 87.4% a year earlier. The increase reflects the impact of hurricanes in Mexico compared to benign nat cat experience in the prior-year. Solid growth was seen across most regions and lines of business. The Singapore direct insurance license obtained in October will further strengthen the growth plan of the local Corporate Solutions operation by expanding its distribution channels.  Admin Re® delivers solid net income, gross cash generation of USD 85 million  Admin Re® reported net income of USD 151 million in the third quarter, generating USD 85 million of gross cash for the Group. This compares to net income of USD 823 million in the same period of the prior year, when the Business Unit reported a one-off gain of USD 626 million relating to the sale of the Admin Re® US business.  Successful execution against mid-term plan and 2011-2015 financial targets  Swiss Re made further progress in optimising its capital structure in the quarter by reducing debt, for instance by the repurchase of USD 713 million of senior notes and the maturing of USD 750 million of senior debt. These are significant steps towards Swiss Re's overall target of reducing leverage by more than USD 4 billion by 2016. Swiss Re also continued to rebalance its asset portfolio by increasing the share of high-quality corporate bonds and equities in its overall portfolio, reaching 28 percent and 7 percent respectively, at the end of the quarter. The efforts towards rebalancing the asset mix and implementing the strategic short duration position are by now largely completed, resulting in a positive impact on the running yield of the portfolio. The rebalancing has resulted in the deployment of approximately USD 3 billion in economic capital. George Quinn, Group Chief Financial Officer, says: "Our priority is to achieve our financial targets while providing a sustainable, growing dividend. This growth is ultimately dependent on our ability to deploy capital profitably. We continue to see attractive opportunities. Further capital management measures such as a special dividend are possible but no decision will be made until we have finalised our year end results."  Over the first nine months of 2013, Swiss Re remained on track to meet its three financial targets: the target return on equity of 700 basis points above the average risk-free rate, plus 10 percent average annual growth in both earnings per share and economic net worth per share plus dividends.  Media conference call  Swiss Re will hold a media conference call at 08.30 am (CET). You are kindly requested to dial in 10 minutes prior to the start using the following numbers:

Investor and analyst conference call  Swiss Re will hold an analysts' conference call this afternoon at 1.30 pm (CET). You are kindly requested to dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the start using the following numbers (listen-only mode):

Contact:  Rolf Tanner  Head of Media Relations media_relations@swissre.com Telephone +41 43 285 7171  Eric Schuh  Head of Investor Relations investor_relations@swissre.com Telephone +41 43 285 4444 Please use the following link to access our financial information page including the financial report for Q3 2013 and the analyst and investor presentation http://www.swissre.com/investors/financial_information/  For more information about Swiss Re please visit our website www.swissre.com.