The Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) represents the interests of the private insurance industry at the national and international level. The association comprises about 70 large and small Swiss and international primary insurers and reinsurers, which employ 50,000 people in Switzerland.
Extreme environmental events have a direct impact on the insurance industry. They result in damage on a large scale and make certain risks difficult to calculate. As a result, the consequences of climate change are extremely relevant to the insurance industry, which is why the SIA is committed to a far-reaching climate policy. The SIA’s member companies spoke out in favour of compliance with the Paris Agreement as early as 2016 and supported the Federal Council’s associated CO2 reduction targets. As a major long-term investor, the insurance industry takes its responsibility seriously and promotes sustainable investment products. In order to report transparently on the measures used by private insurers to contribute to the sustainable development of the Swiss financial centre, the SIA published the first sustainability report for the insurance industry in 2020.
Prevention also plays a key role when it comes to environmental events. The SIA is also involved in this area and has, for example, contributed to the surface run-off hazard map, which was developed in collaboration with the federal government and other partners. The hazard map helps to improve preparations for the mounting risk of heavy precipitation in the future. The SIA supports this endeavour by promoting knowledge exchange between member companies and by actively contributing to this topic in mixed working groups and forums. In line with this approach, the SIA is also involved in hail prevention and contributed to the development of the hail map.
Priority themes with contributions from the Swiss Insurance Association
Last modification 13.02.2023
