- The business volume of AXA Switzerland increased by 5 percent to CHF 5,841 million in the 2023 financial year compared to the previous year.
- Net profit remained stable at CHF 808 million (–0.5%).
- The premium volume in non-life insurance business increased by a total of 4 percent to CHF 3,885 million. The corporate customer business grew by 6 percent to CHF 1,975 million and the private customer business grew by 2 percent to CHF 1,910 million.
- The combined ratio deteriorated slightly to 89.5 percent (+0.9 percentage points) due to higher storm damage than in the previous year.
- Gross premiums in group life rose by 6 percent to CHF 818 million, and in individual life by 3 percent to CHF 1,048 million.
- Health care grew by 36 percent to CHF 90 million.
- Asset management for third-party customers recorded an increase of 13 percent to CHF 46,740 million.
Fabrizio Petrillo, CEO AXA Switzerland
“We were able to make strong gains in all divisions last year, so that 2023 will go down in the history of AXA Switzerland as one of the strongest growth years of the last two decades. The large investments we make in new business areas year after year are also paying off. Our youngest child, health care, which we only started in 2017 and is the only private insurance company, already has over 150,000 customers.”
Gross premiums increased by 5 percent to 5,841 million francs compared to the 2022 financial year. The significantly higher storm damage than in the previous year was largely offset by better investment results, so that net profit remained stable at a high level of 808 million francs (–0.5%).
Growth in the SME business and successful product launch in vehicle insurance
The premium volume in the non-life insurance business increased by a total of 4 percent to 3,885 million francs, which further strengthens AXA’s leading position in the Swiss market. Despite high market saturation, the corporate customer business recorded excellent growth of 6 percent to 1,975 million francs. The positive development of new business in accident and group health insurance as well as a significant increase in premiums in liability insurance contributed in particular to this.
Premium income also increased in private customer business , growing by 2 percent to 1,910 million francs. In particular, the modular motor vehicle insurance product launched in October 2022 was very well received by customers. The combined ratio deteriorated slightly to a still excellent 89.5 percent (+0.9 percentage points) due to the higher claims burden due to the storm.
Dominique Kasper, Head of Non-Life Insurance AXA Switzerland
«I am very pleased that, as a market leader with our modern, modular products, we can always offer our private customers exactly the insurance coverage that suits them and can be a reliable partner in the event of a claim. In a challenging environment, our strategically important SME business has not only grown well above the market, but also beyond our expectations, which of course makes us happy. It pays off that we can offer companies all insurance products from a single source and also create real added value for them with our additional services such as the Swibeco benefits platform, UPTO’s modular fleet management or the WeCare employee health solutions.”
Strong growth in all pension business areas
The semi-autonomous collective foundations in occupational pension provision continued to enjoy great demand thanks to their advantageous conditions: the premium volume grew by 6 percent to 818 million francs – also well above the market. In private pension provision, the premium volume rose by 3 percent to 1,048 million francs, particularly thanks to the SmartFlex pension product, which enables customers to choose the balance between stock investment and guaranteed protection and to adjust this easily and free of charge at any time. Health care achieved another record year with its award-winning supplementary insurance products. While premium income rose by 36 percent to 90 million francs compared to the same period last year, the customer base grew by over 37,000 insured persons.
“In the BVG business, as the largest provider of semi-autonomous solutions, we have been able to generate additional interest of over 2 billion francs for the SMEs insured with us and their employees over the last four years compared to full insurance – this is obviously just as convincing in the market as it is in the private provision the advantages of our best-seller SmartFlex. Health care is again enjoying excellent growth, which was certainly also due to the fact that we were able to save our customers well over 20 million francs with our basic insurance switching service despite rising health insurance costs for 2024.”
Largest NAV-based Swiss real estate fund
In asset management, the assets under management for BVG third-party customers increased by 13 percent to 46,740 million francs. In addition, FINMA approved the merger of three existing real estate funds to form the new fund “AXA Real Estate Fund Switzerland”, so that as of March 31, 2024 – measured in terms of net fund assets – the largest NAV-based real estate fund in Switzerland will be created, with which pension funds and other pension funds in Switzerland can be offered an attractive opportunity to diversify their investment portfolios.
Daniel Gussmann, Chief Investment Officer AXA Switzerland
«Despite a challenging investment year, we achieved a very good result and were once again able to record a pleasing increase in third-party client mandates. I am also pleased that we will soon be able to bring additional interesting investment opportunities for pension funds onto the market with the “AXA Real Estate Fund Switzerland”. As an insurance company and asset manager, we have many years of expertise in investing premium and pension funds safely and profitably. We pursue a risk-conscious investment approach and consistently rely on an independent best-in-class principle in order to realize the best possible long-term return opportunities for our customers.»
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