Measured by Solvency 1, capital and reserves deposits of Switzerland's insurance industry have significantly improved for the third time in a row. This finding is also substantiated by the results of the second field test of the risk-based Swiss Solvency Test (SST). At the same time, the decline experienced in the past year in receipts from premiums, has slowed down considerably: receipts totalled CHF 50.6 billion in 2005 (compared with CHF 50.7 billion in the previous year). This is revealed by statistics contained in the report on the insurance market in Switzerland in 2005 by the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) - this year, for the first time, the statistics are available in full on the FOPI website.

The Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI), which is responsible for supplementary health insurances, has reviewed the proposed rates for 2007. While the premiums for the mass insurance business will rise by an average of 1.2% per insured person, the premiums for supplementary health insurance for private and semi-private hospital rooms will rise by an average of 0.5%. The comparatively slight adjustments are a sign of the increased pressure on the insurance industry not to pass all of the effective cost increases on to policyholders.

The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) today published the brochure "Swiss financial centre and financial market policy" in German, French, Italian and English. It replaces the publications entitled "Swiss Financial Centre" (in German, French and English) and "Guidelines for Policy regarding the Financial Centre" (in German, French, Italian and English).

The Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) is well prepared in its efforts to implement the Insurance Supervision Law, which entered into force at the beginning of 2006. The paradigm shift towards risk-based supervision is affecting the insurance sector during a favourable economic phase. Director Herbert Lüthy has taken the successful new orientation of FOPI as an occasion to submit his resignation effective the end of the year.

The Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the insurance supervisory authorities of most Member States of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Specifically, this MoU aims to foster the cooperation required for supervising insurance groups and financial conglomerates. It also aims to facilitate the assistance and exchange of information that is needed for fulfilling all insurance supervisory tasks.

In Switzerland, state supervision of banks, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries is to be merged in the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Consequently the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) and the Money Laundering Control Authority (MLCA) will be integrated into one single authority. Today the Federal Council adopted the corresponding dispatch.