Risk of deaths linked to heatwaves underestimated, Swiss Re CEO says

Authorities failed to grasp the scale of risk to ​human life posed by heatwaves, the ‌CEO of reinsurance company Swiss Re (SRENH.S), opens new tab was quoted as saying on Sunday, as ​Europe faces mounting deaths linked ​to extreme summer temperatures.
Europe, the ⁠world's fastest-warming continent, has reported thousands ​of excess deaths during a record-breaking heatwave, most ​of them people aged 65 and above. France and Spain have been particularly hard ​hit by the heat in ​recent weeks.

"The risk of heatwaves and the associated ‌fatalities ⁠was underestimated," Swiss Re CEO Andreas Berger told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, adding: "We need to raise awareness ​of ​the dangers ⁠arising from this".
Berger, who was speaking after Swiss Re ​reported a 9% increase in net ​profit ⁠for the first half of 2026, said it was too early to ⁠say definitively how the excess ​mortality would affect the Zurich-based company's figures.

-Reuters