John Schoonbee Global Chief Medical Officer
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Dr John Schoonbee is a medical doctor and qualified from the University of Cape Town in 1995. He has been working in the insurance field for 25 years. John joined Swiss Re in 2011 as the Chief Medical Officer for the EMEA region, based in Zurich. He has been involved in many aspects of life insurance, including product development, risk and claims assessment, as well as helping with pricing some of the more complex medical life and health products.
In 2017, John became Swiss Re's Global Chief Medical Officer. He collaborates with a team of over 15 permanent and consultant medical doctors across the globe, as well as L&H research functions across the business. For some years, he led the research for Life Guide, Swiss Re's world leading underwriting manual, and now focuses on significant global health topics. John's initiated a collaboration between Swiss Re and The BMJ reassessing Nutritional Science due to the clear link between diet and the catastrophic effect on non-communicable diseases in the context of ever-increasing obesity and diabetes rates.
He plays a key role in Swiss Re's medical thought leadership, as a spokesperson for L&H medical topics, and leads senior client discussions involving L&H medical risks and opportunities.
The importance of metabolic health and its impact on non-communicable diseases, life expectancy and the industry's claims experience has become a key focus. John's research and collaboration with world experts has led to a Metabolic Health initiative in the L&H business, which he drives with support from various teams and markets.