Switzerland

Axco provides details on the life insurance sector including Swiss market participants, reinsurance and distribution channels. The reports describe classes of business from both individual and group life such as whole life, endowment, term life and unit-linked.
Information on non-life classes for example critical illness and private medical insurance.

The report describes the public and private healthcare system in Switzerland, the scope of cover, accessibility financing and provides an analysis of how the public and private systems complement each other.

Axco reports on the three pillars of Switzerland pension provision.

• State pension benefits including benefit calculations and eligibility criteria 
• Workplace pension provision; types of schemes calculations eligibility and; tax implications
• Voluntary individual pension provision, type of products and tax implications

The Swiss report provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory framework governing social security as well as details on financing and eligibility. Information includes but is not limited to

• state pensions,
• permanent disability benefit
• occupational accident and disease
• maternity and paternity payments 

In 2022, individual life premium rose by 2.01% over the previous year, to CHF 7.08bn (USD 8.28bn), according to FINMA report. The main drivers of the growth were individual endowment (15.6%) and unit-linked insurance (7.6%). Traditional endowment insurance achieved an impressive growth, compared to only tiny increase in premiums in 2021. Annuity premiums, declining by 6.8% in 2021 have moved into positive territory in 2022, although only marginally (0.7%). Early projections from the Swiss insurance association indicate that a small decline in premiums is expected in both, group and individual businesses. The split between single and regular premium is not available. In the future, the main risk factors for premium growth are the economic slowdown, rising energy prices and inflation.

Products, with benefit payable on death or survival remain ....

Switzerland is a developed pensions market which, despite the small size of its population, in terms of assets is one of the largest pension fund markets in continental Europe due to compulsory pensions.

Switzerland has a three-pillar retirement structure, which is:

• pillar I state benefits providing old age, survivors and disability benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis (AHV/IV)

• pillar II old age, survivors and disability benefit plans providing benefits on a funded basis, split into a compulsory occupational pension provision (in accordance with the Federal Law on the Occupational Old Age, Survivors' and Disability Benefit Plan of 25 June 1982 (BVG)) and a supplementary non-compulsory occupational pension provision

• pillar III providing voluntary individual retirement benefits

The pension market is divided between self-administered and insured pension arrangements as well as between private sector and public-sector pension institutions.

Healthcare in Switzerland is first class and amongst the best in the world. Oversight of the system is the responsibility of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG).

The Swiss health system remains resilient in post-pandemic era. One of the sources of future risks is persistent shortage of doctors, nurses and other medical staff. It was reported in 2023, that the country is on verge of massive shortage of doctors, both general practitioners and specialists, potentially leading in much longer waiting times in the upcoming years, especially for minor and less serious conditions.