Swiss Insurance Association

The Swiss Insurance Association SIA is the umbrella organisation representing the private insurance industry. Its membership consists of some 80 primary insurance companies and reinsurers with 50,000 employees in Switzerland.[1] In Switzerland, the SIA members generate over 90 per cent of the premium volume in private insurance.

Aims

Swiss private insurers are of vital economic importance. They assume and cover companies’ and private individuals’ financial risks. The association is committed to ensuring an economically viable and sustainable framework for these activities. It works to maintain and promote a liberal and socially acceptable market and competitive system.

The SIA is mainly active in the following fields:

  • social security (occupational pensions, life insurance)
  • medical insurance, accident insurance
  • insurance law and supervision
  • competition and regulation
  • economic and fiscal policy
  • climate and environment protection
  • health promotion activities
  • education and training

Members

The SIA counts some 75 insurance companies among its members, some of which are companies of the same group. In Switzerland, the SIA members generate over 90 per cent of the premium volume in private insurance. The SIA membership consists of some 80 primary insurance companies and reinsurers with 50,000 employees in Switzerland. In Switzerland, the SIA members generate over 90 per cent of the premium volume in private insurance.

Structure

The SIA is an association (“Verein”) in accordance with art. 60 ss. of the Swiss Civil Code. Its main bodies are elected by the general assembly. The Managing Board sets the objectives and establishes the strategy of the SIA; it also monitors the activities of the head office. Committees and commissions, consisting of highly qualified representatives of the membership, are in charge of drafting solutions in the interest of the entire insurance industry. The SIA head office is divided into eight departments (“Education”, “Finance, HR and Administration”, “Finance and Regulation”, “Life Insurance”, “Communications”, “Health and Accident Insurance”, “Non-life Insurance”, “Services”) plus the staff unit “Public Affairs”.

History

The history of the private insurance industry goes back to the 19th century when the first private insurance companies were founded. Many of these companies are active to this day, namely Mobiliar (founded in 1826), Swiss Life (1857), Helvetia (1858), Bâloise (1863), Swiss Re (1863), Zurich (1872) or Winterthur (1875). The SIA’s predecessor – the “Verband concessionierter schweizerischer Versicherungs-Gesellschaften” – was founded in 1900 and made up of 21 insurance companies. Today the association is called SIA and has some 80 members.

Supervisory authority

The member companies of the SIA are subject to supervision by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Compulsory basic health insurance, the Swiss Accident Insurance Institution SUVA, the cantonal buildings insurers and the autonomous pension funds are not considered private insurers. FINMA is in charge of client protection and monitors the insurers’ ability to continuously meet their contractual obligations. The SIA shares the general interest in a strong and competent regulator.

Memberships

The SIA is a member of national and international associations and organisations. It represents its members’ interests and concerns namely vis-à-vis economiesuisse, the Swiss Employers Confederation and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce. Its membership in the European (re)insurance federation Insurance Europe and the Global Federation of Insurance Associations GFIA are of particular relevance.

References

  1. ↑ "AIS Profile". AIS. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
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