The 2023 insurance market report, which was published today by FINMA, provides an overview of the Swiss insurance market over the past year. The data shows that insurance companies were able to significantly increase their overall result in the 2023 financial year. Reinsurers in particular improved their annual result. Gross premiums written increased for both non-life insurers and reinsurers.
Swiss insurance companies achieved aggregate annual profits of CHF 13.6 billion in 2023. The overall result increased by CHF 5.9 billion or 78% compared with the previous year. The annual profits of life insurers remained stable (+4% to CHF 1.3 billion). Non-life insurance companies reported an increase in their aggregate annual profits of CHF 1.1 billion or 18% to CHF 6.9 billion. After two years of modest profits (CHF 0.5 billion in 2022 and CHF 0.1 billion in 2021), reinsurance companies reported an aggregate annual result of CHF 5.4 billion in the year under review.
Gross premium volume increased significantly for non-life insurers
Aggregate gross premium volume increased by CHF 11.7 billion or +9.1% in the year under review to CHF 140.6 billion. While the premium volume of life insurers fell slightly (–1.2% compared with the previous year), gross premiums written by non-life insurers (+19.4%) increased significantly, as did those of reinsurers (+4%). The majority of the increase in premiums for non-life insurers can be attributed to the foreign business of Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft AG and Zürich Rückversicherungsgesellschaft AG. In addition, the increased premiums in the non-life and reinsurance business reflect inflation and are also attributable to real rate increases for renewed insurance capacities in the reinsurance sector.
Full report and detailed data on the internet
FINMA publishes an annual report on the Swiss insurance market, which contains general market information as well as sector-specific data on the balance sheet and income statement. The sector-specific figures show the development of premiums, the market shares of the largest insurance companies in Switzerland and the development of the insurers’ equity capital and annual results. In the area of life insurance, the report also covers the actuarial reserves and the technical result and contains information on the operating statement of occupational pensions. The information comes from the supervised companies, which must provide FINMA with data for the prior year’s business on an annual basis.
As a supplement to the insurance market report, FINMA publishes electronic tables on its website in the insurers’ reporting portal, which provide detailed information for each insurance company as well as in aggregated form. The data can be filtered according to individual needs and downloaded in the standard electronic formats. In addition, FINMA publishes detailed information about the operating statement of occupational pensions (charts and transparency schemes) on its website.
