Method and de­f­i­n­i­tion

The current Sustainability Report of the Swiss insurance industry covers the reporting period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 (GRI 102-50, GRI 102-54). This report was prepared for the first time in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Global Reporting Initiative in the GRI Sustainability Standards, which have been in force since 2018. However, not all criteria and information in the GRI Principles have been applied. Instead of a full GRI table of contents, the report contains a list in the appendix with references to GRI Standard Disclosures or topic-specific standards. This is designed to provide readers with an overview of the information used. 

The chapters below include relevant data and information from the Swiss insurance industry collected in the period from mid-December 2020 until the beginning of March 2021. They are based on the data and information supplied by the participating companies in the industry report (GRI 102-45). Unless otherwise stated, the data collected refers to 2020. The reference date is generally 31 December 2020. Data that has been aggregated at the level of the sector as a whole is used in the report. The report does not provide data on individual companies.¹ 

Data and information on investments and operational ecology were collected from member companies using questionnaires (GRI 103-3). 

Compared with the previous year, the SIA has worked with the participating companies to significantly enhance the questionnaire, refining the level of detail of information (GRI 102-48). This allows additional and more precise information on investments.

As the information is more refined and thus more comprehensive, the overall data taken as a basis has changed; thus, no comparison with last year’s data has been provided. 

In the area of capital investment, 38 out of the 73 companies contacted took part in the survey. They manage about 80 per cent of capital investments² made by the private insurance industry. Thus, the market coverage of the companies participating in the survey allows statements to be made about the insurance industry as a whole. The results based on the data supplied are supplemented by qualitative statements on the efforts made by the industry. 

The questionnaire on operational ecology was answered by 29 member companies. As a general rule, 2020 is the reporting year; due to a lack of current data, two member companies reported their consumption and CO₂ data for 2019. 

The employee information is based on the SIA’s personnel statistics for 2020, as published in May 2021. 

For subject areas for which no quantitative information is available from the member companies, qualitative information is provided on the challenges and measures in the insurance industry. 

^{1 Most participating companies publish ecological balance sheets and report on their responsible investment activities on their websites. 
2 Unit-linked investments were not included.}