Insurance division

FINMA’s Insurance division licenses and supervises insurance companies domiciled in Switzerland and Swiss branches of foreign insurance companies. FINMA can place insurance groups and conglomerates under its supervision, which complements individual company supervision. Once licensed, an insurance company is assigned to one of the division’s two supervisory sections, depending on its size, complexity and client protection needs.

The Supervision of Groups and Private Client Insurance Companies and Actuarial Unit section mainly supervises insurance companies that require a high level of supervision due to their business model. The group of actuaries and investment specialists integrated into this section is responsible for reviewing tariffs, technical reserves and investment activities as well as for various actuarial matters in insurance supervision. In parallel to this, the Supervision of SME Insurance Companies, Reinsurance Companies and Intermediaries section is responsible for the supervision of a large number of primary insurers and reinsurers. This also includes the supervision of innovative digital platforms as well as InsurTech start-up companies.

The Legal Expertise, Authorisation and Registration sections deal with case-specific, but also fundamental legal issues in the area of insurance supervision and insurance contract law as well as related areas of law, the authorisation of insurance companies (initial authorisation and expansion of insurance activities) and the registration of insurance intermediaries. The Division Operating Office supports the divisional head and the division as a whole with regard to the organisation, processes and resources for insurance supervision.