Corporate History 1981 - 1990
| previous 1971 - 1980 |
| 1983 |
A significant milestone in the history of Swiss Re is reached. On 2 May 1983 the number of staff at the head office in Zurich passes the 1000 mark for the first time. Many of these employees perform highly specialised activities. As a result, Swiss Re is referred to as the 'House of a hundred specialists'. |
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| 1984 |
Over the years, Swiss Re has developed a whole range of services which go beyond the scope of reinsurance in the narrow sense, but which play a vital role in maintaining customer relations. In view of the growing importance of such services, Swiss Re decides to expand its capacity in this sector even further, the main emphasis being on risk assessment and handling, claims handling and insurance and reinsurance information services. |
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In 1984, the American insurance industry experiences its worst result in the Non-Life branches since 1906, the year of the San Francisco earthquake. In summer a devastating hailstorm in Munich becomes one of the largest insured losses of all times. Insured damage totals around 1.5 billion Deutsche Mark. |
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1985 |
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Laser technology is used not only in industry but also in the home: in a short time compact discs replace conventional records and dominate the music market because of their superior sound quality. Laser technology is also applied in a wide variety of sectors, including metal and plastics processing industries. |
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Swiss Re develops a future-oriented corporate strategy which takes into account altered market structures, new market participants and products and changes on the demand side in the area of risk management. The designing of progressive methods of risk management transforms the reinsurance product into a differentiated range of reinsurance cover and complementary services. |
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| 1986 |
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On 1 December 1986, a new office building, the 'Mythenschloss', is inaugurated at the head office; employees move in gradually over the following weeks. The original building from the 1920s, which had been used as residential property and was partly under preservation order, had been demolished. The new building with the restored facade provides working space for 500 employees and contains 65 apartments on the top two floors and in the two lakeside wings. |
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| 1988 |
Swiss Re acquires the Lloyd Adriatico, Trieste, one of Italy’s leading insurance companies. Lloyd Adriatico employs 1400 people and is active in all branches. |
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The Thomas Howell, Selfe Group, with head office in Birmingham, one of the leading companies in the field of claims handling and risk inspection with around 1000 employees, is acquired by Swiss Re, which also takes over the Union Re, Zurich, Switzerland’s third largest reinsurer. The Union Re employs around 150 people and has subsidiaries in the Netherlands, France and Spain. |
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On taking over the Reiss Organisation, with 500 employees specialising in the management of captive insurance companies, Swiss Re establishes the International Risk Management Group Ltd. (IRM Group) as a new service company in Bermuda. |
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For the development of the superconductor, two IBM research scientists Bednorz and Müller from Rüschlikon near Zurich are awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. |
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The concept by which contemporary Swiss art is displayed in the Swiss Re buildings, with works by Martin Disler, Barbara Hée, Hans Josephson, Oliver Mosset, Meret Oppenheim, Hugo Suter, André Thomkins and Richard Paul Lohse, is extended at the end of the year with works by Balthasar Burkhard, Max Bill, Dieter Roth and Jean Tinguely. |
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| 1989 |
In 1989, Swiss Re celebrates its 125th anniversary with various cultural events. Swiss Re becomes patron for the Verdi 'Belcanto' opera. An exhibition on the history of the company is set up in the 'Altbau' for visitors and employees. The extended entrance to the 'Neubau' is decorated with artistic works by Max Bill, Jean Tinguely, Dieter Roth and Balthasar Burkard. |
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On 9 November 1989, the Border separating Western from Eastern Germany is effectively opened. The Fall of the Berlin Wall will always be used as a symbol for the end of the Cold War. |
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| previous 1971 - 1980 |
