As was already the case in 2003, the private insurance market in Switzerland witnessed a decline in the volume of premiums compared with the previous year. In total, receipts from premiums amounted to CHF 50.7 billion - 1.8% less than the previous year. This is revealed in statistics contained in a report on the insurance market in Switzerland 2004 by the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI). Receipts from premiums were utilised for payments on claims amounting to CHF 26.4 billion (2% less than in the previous year). The vast majority of the remainder was used to increase the technical reserves.

The Federal Finance Administration (FFA), the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) and the Federal Office of Private Insurance (FOPI) have jointly drawn up guidelines for effective financial market regulation. Regulatory processes should be transparent, the parties affected should be involved to a greater extent and the economic impact of regulation should be taken into account at an early stage. In this way regulation can be rendered more effective, practical and cost-conscious.