Swiss Re CEO warns on heatwave risks as parts of Germany loosen road haulage curbs

[ZURICH] Authorities failed to grasp the scale of risk to human life posed by heatwaves, the CEO of reinsurer Swiss Re, Andreas Berger, was quoted as saying on Sunday (Aug 9).

His comments come as some German states eased road haulage restrictions to lower weather-related pressure on shipping.

Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, has reported thousands of excess deaths, most aged 65 and above, during a record-breaking heatwave.

France and Spain have faced particularly high temperatures in recent weeks.

The heat has also reduced water levels on major rivers, hindering shipping, which prompted several German states to temporarily suspend some curbs on lorry traffic this weekend.

“The risk of heatwaves and the associated fatalities was underestimated,” Berger told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.

He added: “We need to raise awareness of the dangers arising from this.”

Berger, who was speaking after Swiss Re reported a 9 per cent 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.

The Robert Koch Institute for public health estimated there had been about 11,900 heat-related deaths in Germany this year by late July, mostly due to extreme temperatures in late June.

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The country’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland loosened road haulage curbs on Sunday to ease transport bottlenecks caused by water levels on rivers including the Rhine.

“Low water levels are putting a strain on supply chains. That’s why we’re taking action and creating additional transport options by road at short notice,” said Markus Wolf, Rhineland-Palatinate’s state secretary for transport.

The looser curbs on lorry traffic on Sundays and holidays will apply until the end of August and could stay in place in some states until September, authorities said. REUTERS