Today, the delegates of the Swiss Insurance Association SIA re-elected Urs Berger as its chairman as well as ten members of the managing board for the term of office 2015-2018. Furthermore, two new members have been elected to the managing board. In his chairman's address, Urs Berger highlighted the threats posed to insurance companies by the current regulatory trends.
Zurich, 18 June 2015 – Today, the Swiss Insurance Association held its 85th annual general meeting in Zurich. The SIA delegates re-elected Urs Berger as its chairman as well as ten members of the managing board for the term of office 2015-2018.
Board members Martin Albers, Swiss Re, and Hans Künzle, Nationale Suisse, had stepped down as per 31 December 2014, Thomas J. Grichting, Groupe Mutuel, stepped down as per today's annual general meeting. The delegates have elected the following new members in their stead:
- Ivo Hux, Managing Director, Head France, Benelux & Switzerland, Swiss Re
- Paul Rabaglia, Director General, Groupe Mutuel
In his chairman's address, Urs Berger highlighted the success of the insurance industry. Despite continuously low interest rates and very limited legal leeways life insurers as well as property and casualty insurers managed to grow and present solid financial results for the reporting year. «Insurance companies are part and parcel of the economy. However, they need acceptable working conditions in order to successfully address future challenges», Urs Berger said. «The current uncoordinated regulatory efforts are detrimental for our industry.»
Lucius Dürr, CEO of the SIA, commented on the political key topics. In the reporting year, the insurance companies paid particular attention to the Pension System 2020 reform and the Financial Services Act. Cicero, the newly introduced industry register, is a tangible expression of the insurers’ commitment to quality and prudent customer protection. International trends and developments also continued to keep the industry on its toes.
The talks of the two guest speakers – State Secretary Jacques de Watteville head of the State Secretariat for International Financial Matters and Burkhard Balz, member of the European Parliament, centered on the relationship between Switzerland and the EU. Both speakers joined the insurance industry in welcoming the EU commission’s proposal concerning the recognition of the equivalence of insurance supervision procedures. In addition, Peter Gross, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of St. Gallen, gave a talk under the title «We're growing older. Many thanks. But what for?»