Private insurance faced with stiff headwind in 1999
For the first time in 60 years premium revenues of the private insurance industry shrank in 1999 as compared to the year before. The Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) is proceeding from premiums amounting to a projected CHF 46.1 billion in the Swiss direct insurance business (i.e. excluding reinsurance) as compared to a premium volume of CHF 48.4 billion for 1998. Whereas a slight increase from CHF 13.4 billion to CHF 13.5 billion was to be noted in the non-life business, premium revenues in the life sector dropped from CHF 35 billion to CHF 32.6 billion as the result of the stamp duty on single-premium life insurance policies introduced on 1 April 1998.
Zurich, 26 January 2000 – The avalanches in February, the floods in May and the gale-force winds on the day after Christmas put quite a dent in the technical account of the property insurers. The continuing above-average increases in health care costs and the generally increased incidence of loss have negatively impacted the loss experience of insurance companies, this being in contrast to the positive experience of the years preceding. As a consequence of tight cost management (which, however, did not result in any paring of employment levels) and due to high financial income, SIA members are projecting satisfactory results for 1999 despite the 1999 premium and loss figures.
According to SIA estimates, the world-wide premium revenues of Swiss private insurers in 1999 (including foreign subsidiaries and branches, direct insurance and reinsurance) continued to rise slightly to CHF 126.1 billion (as compared to CHF 125.4 billion for 1998). Of this total premium amount, CHF 47.9 billion or 38% is attributable to Switzerland, CHF 51.9 billion or 41.1% to the EU, and CHF 26.3 billion or 20.9% to the rest of the world. When broken down according to insurance line, at CHF 51.2 billion (40.6%) life insurance leads non-life insurance at CHF 45.9 billion (36.4%), which in turn leads reinsurance at CHF 29 billion (23%).
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