The discussion about commissions and retrocessions in wealth management has been ongoing for at least 20 years. In 2012, the Federal Court ruled that retrocessions fundamentally belong to the customer and must be refunded to them (finews.ch last reported on this issue four years ago).

A slightly altered form of the commission question arises in insurance brokerage. Brokers who operate exclusively on a commission basis have long been an integral part of the market.

Volume of Around 1.25 Billon Swiss Francs

With health insurance mandatory for all Swiss residents and premiums having more than doubled over the past 20 years—further projected to rise by an average of 6 percent in 2025—this sector represents a vast market opportunity.

The commission volume for health insurance (KVG and supplementary insurance) is estimated at around 1.25 billion Swiss francs.

Wild Growth in Direct Marketing

Particularly in the case of mandatory health insurance (KVG), broker commissions have created problematic conditions, leading to widespread and aggressive telephone marketing.

Recently, the Federal Council intervened by declaring the so-called industry agreement for all health insurance companies binding, thus committing insurers to common standards in insurance brokerage.

New Rules from the Federal Council

Consequently, unsolicited telephone direct marketing will be banned industry-wide. Additionally, broker commissions will be limited. For mandatory health insurance, they can now only be performance-based — paid only upon contract closure — and are quantitatively capped at 70 francs per insured person. finews.ch discussed this issue a few weeks ago in light of the challenges faced by Comparis.

These market conditions create room for new providers.

Alletta on the Horizon

The Swiss startup Aletta aims to become nothing less than a «booking.com» for insurance services. It is a collaborative venture founded by Bernard Duzhmani, who has successfully established various companies in the insurance brokerage sector, and Jürg Stupp, who boasts a long management career in health insurance and was part of the executive board at Helsana.

Since August 9, 2023, Aletta has been registered as an insurance broker with the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma). The company has contracts with major Swiss health insurance providers such as Assura, CSS, Groupe Mutuel, Helsana, KPT, Swica, Sympany, and Visana, as well as recently with Atupri and Sanitas.

Digitale Efficiency

The fundamental approach is as follows: maximum cost efficiency through a purely digital consulting process and the elimination of expensive offices. This lean setup allows the company to refund a portion of broker commissions to customers as cashback. The cashback offer also extends to referrals to acquaintances and B2B solutions for businesses, clubs, and other brokers (via a dedicated B2B partner portal).

The closure process occurs entirely digitally, without a single postal letter.

Supplementary Insurance Included

The purely digital approach, cashback, and simultaneous focus on both the B2C and B2B markets distinguish Aletta from its competitors.

Aletta sees the advantage of its digital platform as enabling a one-to-one comparison of supplementary insurance offerings in their individual services. The customer experience is enhanced through document AI, Text-to-Speech, Speech-to-Text, avatars, and the integration of ten languages.

Expansion Plans

Aletta sees opportunities to expand its business model by entering additional insurance markets. Last year, the company partnered with Coop Legal Protection Insurance to explore this area and is looking for further partners.

According to the founders, an expansion abroad, particularly to Germany, is also on the agenda.