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Risk REconsidered

Swiss Re

Welcome to Swiss Re's Risk REconsidered, a podcast where we explore the complex world of risk - and the work being done by re/insurers like Swiss Re to help our stakeholders build resilience.

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  • 7 episodes
  • Avg 26 min
  • English

Episodes 7

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  • #6
    Thursday · 31 min

    Episode 6: Building sovereign disaster resilience

    In the latest Risk REconsidered podcast, Swiss Re Public Sector Solutions' Gerry Lemcke and Marina Oberholzer explore how innovative risk-transfer solutions can strengthen countries' financial resilience to natural disasters. Lemcke and Oberholzer trace the evolution of Public Sector Solutions back to 2011, when Swiss Re became the first reinsurer to establish a dedicated unit to work with governments on their risk-mitigation and risk-transfer needs. Now, the toolbox to address these needs is expanding: Lemcke and Oberholzer discuss insurance-linked loans, which embed disaster protection into sovereign financing. When a qualifying disaster strikes, an insurer takes over the loan payments, providing real debt relief and freeing up public funds to be used for recovery instead. While many "moving parts" must be addressed when developing risk-transfer solutions for nations with loan obligations, Lemcke says the objective is clear: "We need more effective instruments in dealing with the debt burden following a natural disaster."

  • S1 · E5
    July 10 · 25 min

    Episode 5: Accumulation alert: remembering the 2011 Thai floods

    In our latest episode of Risk REconsidered, we shift to a video format as we mark the 15th anniversary of massive flooding in Thailand that began as a regional disaster but grew to into a global supply-chain crisis. Balz Grollimund, who heads Swiss Re's Catastrophe Perils team, says these historic floods endure as reminder of why insurers and reinsurers must work diligently to manage risks and exposures that can accumulate quickly across their portfolios, producing losses well beyond expectations. Like Grollimund says, the Thai floods – still the costliest floods ever for the insurance industry – continue to provide relevant takeaways that we can apply to strengthen society's ability to prepare for and recover from natural disasters.

  • #4
    Dec 15, 2025 · 34 min

    Episode 4: Above the waters: preparing for flood risk

    In the fourth episode of Risk REconsidered, we explore why flood losses are rising across India, Australia and Asia with insights from Vineet Kumar, Swiss Re's Head of Cat Perils APAC, and Andrew Hall of the Insurance Council of Australia. We examine how smarter modelling, richer data and forward-looking planning can help communities build long-term resilience. Commissioner Tony Grindberg joins us to discuss the Fargo–Moorhead Diversion, a leading US flood-protection project that highlights climate adaptation on a large scale.

  • S1 · E3
    May 27, 2025 · 28 min

    Episode 3: Large loss events: designing for disaster

    In the third episode of Risk REconsidered we take a closer look at the January Los Angeles wildfires from a large loss perspective and discuss what research is being carried out by The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety to help home owners better prepare for natural catastrophes. We also speak to Professor Nancy Wallace about her first-hand experience with wildfires and what work she is doing to help the future insurability of wildfires in California.

  • S1 · E2
    Nov 21, 2024 · 29 min

    Episode 2: Eying hurricane damage

    In the second episode of Risk REconsidered, we take a closer look at the 2024 hurricane season, discuss the role of hurricane forecasts for insurers and examine drivers of storm losses. We also speak to an innovative US real estate developer whose community in Florida came through Hurricanes Ian and Milton virtually unscathed, and discuss the a topic on risk managers' minds: how weather-related perils are impacting insurability in disaster prone areas.

  • S1 · E1
    Sep 20, 2024 · 33 min

    Episode 1: Weathering the storm

    In this first episode, we discuss complex hazards that accompany severe convective storms, in particular hail that has emerged as a main culprit behind the bulk of insured losses from natural catastrophes. We also speak with a US professor who helps develop university-level storm chasing courses and who has been an advisor for Hollywood crews seeking to capture fierce weather for their productions.

Showing 1–7 of 7 episodes