AXA Switzerland will rejoin the Swiss Insurance Association (SVV) on January 1, 2025, as announced in a press release on Friday. Four years ago, the all-lines insurer had withdrawn from the association of Swiss private insurers.

The reason for the withdrawal at that time was the political positions represented by the then president of the association and chairman of the board of Swiss Life, Rolf Dörig. In June 2023, the SVV elected Stefan Mäder, chairman of the board of Mobiliar, as the new head of the industry association.

During his term, Dörig had clashed with others due to his positions aligned with the Swiss People's Party (SVP), particularly regarding the EU framework agreement, which was not universally supported within the association. In January 2023, Dörig publicly announced his membership in the SVP. Recently, Dörig was also listed as a supporter of «Kompass Europa,» which advocates for a public initiative opposing closer legal integration of Switzerland with the European Union, as reported by finews.ch.

Conditions are now met

AXA Switzerland has now decided to contribute its expertise to the SVV once again. «We are pleased to see that the conditions are in place for us to bring our influence as a leading all-lines insurer back into the Swiss Insurance Association,» said AXA Switzerland CEO Fabrizio Petrillo. «We view it as part of our social responsibility to engage in industry-relevant issues under the SVV’s umbrella, together with the other member companies, to strengthen the insurance industry sustainably and to support a prosperous economic environment.»

United efforts

The insurance industry can only effectively tackle the major issues on the agenda through united efforts, emphasized SVV President Mäder. «Cross-cutting topics like the insurability of top risks such as cyber and earthquake events, the further development of supplementary health insurance, the adaptation of retirement provision to social realities, and the successful recruitment of skilled workers have gained importance in recent years,» he said. «As an industry, we must, whenever possible, speak with one voice to achieve appropriate framework conditions that reflect our significance to the economy and society.»