«If there’s no problem, why do we still need regulation?» asked SVV President and Mobiliar President Stefan Mäder rhetorically. But there’s more behind this question. It concerns the measures that the Federal Council and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma want to take following the collapse of Credit Suisse (CS).

Swiss property insurers fear that they might also bear some of the brunt alongside the banks. While they are part of the financial sector, they face entirely different risks, Mäder emphasized on Friday at the «Day of Insurers» of the Swiss Insurance Association in Bern. «An 'insurance run' is impossible. Such a risk does not exist and therefore does not need additional regulation,» he said.

Lobbying Leads to Partial Victory

The CS collapse and the resulting regulation were major topics at the industry gathering in Bern. The Swiss private insurers can live with the demands of the Federal Council that are currently on the table. They mostly affect the industry marginally.

Mäder attributed this in part to the efforts of the association. Together with his two vice presidents, Juan Beer, CEO of Zurich Switzerland, and Patrick Raaflaub, Group Chief Risk Officer of Swiss Re, he had repeatedly met with the Finance Department in Bern to clearly present the association's position.

Mäder described the current Federal Council report as a partial success. «The insurance industry has managed to anchor the risk-appropriate regulation it requires in the draft,» he said. However, the SVV President now sees the need to consistently follow through, as nothing is set in stone yet.

Advocating for More Personal Responsibility

The insurance association believes that new legal regulations are not always necessary, as demonstrated by the Greenwashing proposal. The Federal Council announced this week that it would initially refrain from measures and instead rely on the industry's self-regulation. It is important to take responsibility and play an active role in shaping a resilient, secure, and future-oriented Switzerland, Mäder appealed.

Personal responsibility reduces the need for collective protection and allows the state to focus on what it does best, he explained. However, Mäder believes that this balance is no longer given: «The balance needs to be recalibrated.»

Two New Board Members

Also on Friday, at the general assembly of the association, Clemens Markstein, CEO of Baloise Switzerland, and Roman Stein, CEO of Swiss Life Switzerland, were newly elected to the 14-member board. They succeed Markus Leibundgut, CEO of Swiss Life Switzerland, and Michael Müller, CEO of Baloise Group.