Insurance was 8.4% in 2009, but cost has risen for past 2 years
Sausage, roesti and great local wine in St Gallen in late October: the Swiss spent CHF460 a month on average of their household budget dining out in 2009, but this includes work canteens and cafeterias as well as restaurants
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Average disposable household income in Switzerland in 2009 was CHF6,650 a month, with 13 percent of that, CHF1,185, going for food, beverages and restaurants. Housing and energy together made up the largest household budget item, CHF1,495 a month.
Transport used up 7.7 percent of the budgets and entertainment 6.7 percent. Clothing: 2.4 percent.
Households were left with, on average, savings of CHF1,160 after all expenses were deducted.
Taxes consumed on average CHF1,125 a month, some 12 percent, or less than what a household spent on food and beverages.
But taxes are only one part of Swiss mandatory expenses, which also include social security payments:
- 10 percent of disposable income that includes AVS and company pension plans (the Swiss first and second pillars)
- the mandatory part of the health insurance system (5 percent)
- and money sent to other households, for example as part of a divorce settlement (2 percent).
These mandatory expenses together with taxes account for 29 percent of household budgets, some CHF2,720 a month.
In addition, the Swiss in 2009 spent 3.4 percent on health insurance not covered by the basic, obligatory plans.
The figures were published by the Swiss Statistical Office Tuesday 15 November.
The office notes three important points: 58 percent of all households had lower revenue than the average, 39 percent had at least two people contributing to the revenue, and revenue here includes salaries but also social security income, pension payouts, interest payments, dividends, income from fortunes and money from other households (notably divorce settlements).
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Bicycle owners in Switzerland will say farewell at the end of the year to the CHF5 tax and stickers on their bikes, the Federal Council confirmed 13 October.
The tax, in reality a form of third party insurance, will no longer be necessary as of 1 January 2012, but the insurance coverage from 2011 licenses is valid until 31 May 2012.
The system is being phased out to allow private RC (responsabilité civile) insurance to provide third party coverage. Most Swiss have RC coverage but Bern says a campaign will start soon to make those without it aware of the risks they run.
Details, GenevaLunch 23 May 2011
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Northern Peru was hit by a 7.0 earthquake Wednesday 24 August, centred in a remote and under-populated Amazon area. The quake was felt in the capital 600 km away and in southern Brazil. The extent of the damage is not yet known.
Scientists say there is no link between this week’s earthquakes in Peru, which has a history of strong earthquakes and on a smaller scale in Colorado in the western US and Virginia in the eastern US. The latter prompted officials to evacuate the Pentagon in nearby Washington DC, schools and several tourist attractions closed in some areas and the tall, thin, Washington monument suffered cracks at the top. It is closed to visitors indefinitely while engineers study how to repair it. The Minneapolis Star & Tribune reports that only about 5 percent of East Coast residents have earthquake insurance and that about one-third of the damages, which could be $200-300 million, are insured.
Links to other sites: CS Monitor, Denver Post, Minneapolis Star & Tribune, US government earthquake hazards programme,
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – US pharmaceutical company Pfizer won the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s backing Thursday 4 August for health insurers to cover the cost of Champix, a drug used by some smokers to ease their tobacco addiction. The court agreed that in some cases the addiction is an illness and the cost of the drug should be reimbursed.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Bicycle tax time is rolling around, in Switzerland: the 2011 license must be displayed on all bikes by 31 May.
The annual CHF5 “tax”, which is actually a form of insurance, must be stuck onto the bike to be valid, although it can be transferred from one bicycle to another. It provides CHF2 million third-party (responsabilité civile, or RC) damage coverage.
A CHF40 fine can be levied on anyone, including children, who ride a bicycle that is not covered by RC insurance in Switzerland.
The stickers can be bought at post offices, train stations, bicycle and other shops.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Natural catastrophes and manmade economic disasters cost the world $218 billion in 2010, more than three times the cost in 2009, Swiss Re, the Zurich reinsurer, said 29 March.
The loss of lives, 308,000 people, was the highest since 1976 and far higher than the 2009 figure of 15,000 lives lost, worldwide.
Earthquakes alone accounted for one-third of the financial cost.
A number of severe catastrophes claimed huge numbers of lives: “the deadliest event in 2010 was the Haiti earthquake in January, which claimed more than 222 000 lives. Nearly 56 000 people died during the summer heatwave in Russia. The summer floods in China and Pakistan also resulted in over 6 200 deaths”, according to Swiss Re, which insures insurance companies.
The cost to the insurance industry was $40b for natural catastrophes and $3b for manmade disasters.
Ten events at more than $1 billion each:
“The two biggest insured losses were caused by earthquakes – the February earthquake in Chile (USD 8 billion) and the September earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand (USD 4.4 billion). The third costliest event was winter storm Xynthia in Western Europe, which led to insured losses of USD 2.8 billion. Three storms in the US and two storms in Australia also generated losses of over USD 1 billion.
“Property claims from the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico are estimated at USD 1 billion. Given the complexity of the claims, the latter figure is still subject to substantial uncertainty. The overall insurance loss is higher, as liability losses are not included [in the report].”
Liam and Nick Bates, Swiss ski dream week team
This is the fifth in the Swiss dream ski week series, where Nick and Liam Bates, regular contributors to GenevaLunch, see how much great skiing at top Swiss resorts they can pack into one week. Be sure to check out the video at the end.
Click on images to view larger
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Davos to non-skiers is possibly best known as the place where the world’s political and business leaders meet every year to discuss the state of the world. But long before it had that reputation it was a resort with a long history, popular with skiers because of its reliably good snow.
Davos basics
The combined resorts of Davos and Klosters make up one of the largest ski areas in the Alps, with five mountains, 300km of pistes, 85 downhill runs and just about every variation on winter sports you can imagine. One of the most recent additions is a “slow slope” on Schatzalp.
Two of the mountains here stay open later in the season than many Swiss resorts: Jacobshorn until 1 May and Parsenn (Davos and Klosters) unti 25 April, whereas many resorts will be closing in Switzerland and France starting 27 March.
This is a big resort area, with a very good range of prices and types of accommodation, so it’s worth getting a bit of help from the local tourism office to plan where you’ll stay. The town has hotels for heads of state and close by you’ll find farmhouse accommodation and simple B&Bs.
The town and piste maps are well done and helpful for advance planning. If you’re planning to travel from Geneva by train, allow 5 hours 20 minutes, via Zurich, Landquart and Davos.
Nick, who spent a bit of time at the hospital, reflects on life off the slopes while Liam, who fell in love with the igloo village on the mountainside, was equally impressed by the “big, big jumps” at the snowpark.
Stefan Lippe, CEO, Swiss Re
Final bill could be $6-12 billion
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The cost of last week’s earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is expected to be around $800 million, based on currently available information, Swiss Re says in a statement issued Thursday 3 March. The company’s chief executive Stefan Lippe notes that the human toll, in deaths and injuries, is heavy “despite the advanced risk prevention measures that are in place in New Zealand”.
The final cost could be $6 to 12 billion for the total range of loss to the insurance industry.
Buildings are insured by the government’s earthquake commission for up to about $75,000 for the building and $15,000 for contents. Home-owners can buy additional coverage.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss government is increasing sanctions against Iran to the same level as those put in place by its main commercial partners, the government said Wednesday morning 19 January. The tougher measures were taken to ensure that Switzerland is not used by Iran to get around the stricter sanctions put in place by the European Union, in particular, in October 2010.
The list of persons whose assets are frozen is also being extended, the same day that the Swiss have moved to freeze assets of former Tunisian President Ben Ali and Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire, who has refused to give in to pressure from other countries to acknowledge he did not win his country’s recent elections.
Swiss exports to Iran were CHF700 million in 2010, mainly pharmaceuticals, machinery and agricultural products. Imports came to CHF41 million. The volume of trade fell by CHF63 overall, compared to 2009.
The new level of sanctions is also needed to give legal protection to Swiss companies operating internationally, according to Bern, as they now risk being caught between two levels of sanctions.
Swiss gov't will pay smaller share of cost of incontinence
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Opticians in Switzerland are unusually busy this week, reports 24 Heures, but it’s not thanks to Christmas shoppers: this is the last chance to get reimbursed CHF180 towards your new eyeglasses or contact lenses by your health insurance company.
Starting 1 Janaury 2011, a series of health care cost-cutting measures for the basic obligatory health insurance will go into effect.
These include: hospital patients will contribute CHF15 instead of the current CHF10 a day for basic hospitalization, glycemia measuring devices for diabetes patients will be covered up to CHF43 a year instead of CHF135, and the coverage for incontinence pads and pants will be reduced by about one-third for the least and most severe cases and about 10 percent for average cases.
Adults currently can ask to be reimbursed once every five years up to CHF180 for glasses and contact lenses, and children annually, but this will end for all age groups in January.
Insurers will no longer have to reimburse part of cost of glasses, contact lenses
The reductions in coverage will save the federal government CHF40 million a year in obligatory insurance payments, says Bern, about 10 percent of its expenditures in this area. The government covers some obligatory health insurance costs for people receiving disability insurance, social assistance or unemployment benefits. The change will, however, also affect consumers who pay their own health insurance premiums and costs, effectively passing the bill from the insurer to the consumer. Insurance premiums, which have been rising for several years, will go up again for most Swiss in 2011.
The government is, however, increasing coverage in two areas: girls and young women currently have human
papillomavirus vaccinations coverd if they are carried out as part of a cantonal vaccination programme, up to age 20. This will be extended up to age 26, until the end of 2012. Obligatory health insurance will also cover some stomach reduction surgeries in cases of morbid obesity with BMI (body mass index) over 35 (previously 40), if the person has followed a weight-loss programme for two years without losing weight.
Swiss health insurance FAQ, English, published by the federal government June 2010
Table: Swiss Federal Office of Health, 2008 statistical review, mandatory insurance system – total health care costs of some OECD countries, as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One million Swiss, one in eight people in the country, will have a new health insurance company in 2011, says consumer group Comparis, which mandated a study. Insurance premiums will rise 8.6 percent in 2011 after going up more than 11 percent in 2010. Rates will rise less in French-speaking Switzerland, where fewer people changed insurers. The deadline for changing was the end of November.
Exceptional catastrophic events play role in halving profits
Lloyd’s of London, the fabled insurers, saw profit cut in half in the first six months of 2010, to £628 million for the half-year period ending 30 June 2010. “The result reflects a period of significant claims and extremely challenging investment conditions,” the company’s director, Lord Levene said in a statement, adding that “The first six months of 2010 were the costliest on record since we began interim reporting, testing not only Lloyd’s but insurers around the globe. While events such as the Chilean earthquake and the Deepwater Horizon loss have proved challenging, paying these claims and supporting our policy holders is what we are here to do.”
Zurich corporate headquarters. © 2010 Zurich Financial Services Ltd
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s two premier insurance companies have reported a profitable first six months 2010, the companies announced 5 August. Zurich posted a profit of $1.64 billion, a 16 percent decline from last year, and slightly less than analysts’ expectations. Swiss Re reported a profit of $812 million, against a loss of $342m over the same period last year.
Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer, says that the earthquake in Chile and the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico alone cost $830m so far, reports Swiss-German newspaper NZZ (Ger). The company’s premiums have declined 16 percent over last year’s period and it is the gains from its investments that contributed to this year’s good showing.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A flurry of news came out of Bern Wednesday afternoon, as the Swiss government (Federal Council) held a desk-clearing session. Bank deposits and bank supervision changes were part of the package.
Deposits insured to CHF100,000
One decision is to extend by a year the temporary measures taken during the financial crisis, to protect bank deposits, in order to allow a new law to go into effect in 2012. Insured bank deposits will thus become law for the first time.
The temporary protection amount up to CHF100,000 will be maintained by the new law, which also obliges banks to maintain 125 percent of their claims covered and other assets inside Switzerland. The total amount guaranteed has been raised to CHF6 billion and pension-related deposits will be given top priority for reimbursement in case a bank fails.
Bank supervision in leadup to financial crisis criticized
Swiss media have been quick to jump on details of a report approved by the government Wednesday, “Clarification of the actions of the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in the financial market crisis”, in particular noting that parties on the left and right were both critical of the report for not going far enough or going too far.
Exports, port of Basel
Update 11:40 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland officially moved out of recession in the third quarter of 2009, Bern announced Tuesday 1 December. Real GDP (gross domestic product) was up 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. Private consumption (+0.6 percent) and building investments both grew, and healthcare plus the financial and insurance industries also rose. Investments were up “massively”, with industrial goods investments rising by 5.5 percent.
The government’s own “consumption expenditure” rose by 1.3 percent.
Exports of goods and services both climbed, by 2.2 and 0.3 percent respectively, for the first time “after a considerable one-year slide” the government statement reports.
Swiss households' real estate assets, now more transparent
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The net worth of Swiss households fell in 2008 from an average of CHF334,000 per capita to CHF312,000. About CHF200,000 of this is real estate and claims against insurance and pension plans. The drop in assets, the first since 2002, was due to sharp falls in stock market values. It would have been worse but for higher real estate values, which provided something of a safety net. Real estate assets, CHF1,315 billion in total, accounted for 43 percent of all household assets at the end of 2008, up from 39 percent the previous year.
Real estate prices climbed in 2008
The total value of households’ real estate rose by CHF73 billion in 2008.
The figures were released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) Friday 20 November, as part of the national financial accounts. This is the first year that assets include households’ real estate. The report notes that:
“financial assets held by households declined by CHF199 billion (10.4%) to CHF1,718 billion, while assets held in real estate increased by CHF73 billion (5.9%) to CHF1,315 billion. Liabilities rose by CHF15 billion (2.4%) to CHF629 billion. As a result of these developments, households’ net worth fell by CHF 141 billion (5.5%) to CHF2,403 billion.”
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Sales of micro-insurance policies to the world’s poor has increased 50 percent since 2008, according to Zurich Financial’s micro-insurance unit. Small policies that cover health events, household contents, life insurance, and fire and flood protection for low-income people are increasing because of innovative ways of distributing insurance products, which the company says are themselves innovative.
Distribution channels include pharmacies in Bolivia that sell scratch cards for personal accident insurance, and post offices in India that offer life insurance. Low-income households in Indonesia can buy flood coverage for about $10 per year through cooperatives.
Leman Expat Fair, Morges
Morges, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Lake Geneva area has numerous business and social clubs and networking groups for the English-speaking in international population that welcome newcomers, but every autumn the region is home to two events, each of which pull in a few thousand visitors, which make it easy for new arrivals to learn more about the region.
The family-centred indoors fairs, held on separate Sundays, introduce visitors to primarily English-language services and shops in the region, from clubs to insurance and banking advice, including a host of products. The Leman Expat Fair in Morges Sunday 27 is the first of these, with 100 exhibitors in the intimate setting of the Beausobre Theatre. The second is Expat Expo, with 180 exhibitors at Palexpo, Geneva’s large exhibition space near the airport.
Both offer free admission and plenty of giveaways. Check their web sites for details, as well as the GenevaLunch events pages for times and locations.
Ed. note: GenevaLunch will be at the Leman Expat Fair Sunday 27 September. We are unlikely to be able to join Expat Expo because of a date conflict, but we support the efforts of both groups to reach out to as many members of the international community as possible.
Stefan Lippe, CEO, Swiss Re
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Re, one of Switzerland’s largest insurance companies, has posted a CHF381 million loss for the second quarter of the year, after a small Q1 profit of CHF150m, blaming the downturn on hedge and impairment losses but insisting that the company will remain on target. “During the second quarter of 2009, our core business, despite the reported loss, continued to deliver strong underwriting results and solid earnings power. Most importantly, the measures we implemented to improve our capital base have proven to be effective,” notes Stefan Lippe, CEO.
The Sears Tower in Chicago, once famed as the tallest building in the world, has a new owner and with it a new name: welcome to the world, the Willis Tower. Marketing experts are debating whether or not the insurance company behind the name will be able to make it stick. Reuters
US President Barack Obama told the annual meetings of the American Medical Association in New York 15 June that if the US healthcare system is not reformed to provide broader coverage but also to contain costs, the growing cost of medical care could bankrupt the country. Some 50 million Americans are currently without health insurance. A proposal by the president that would cost an estimated $1 trillion and taken 10 years to fully implement, is the subject of growing debate. BBC, New York Times and Bloomberg TV
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.8 percent in the first three months of 2009 compared to the last quarter of 2008. The drop was 2.4 percent compared to the same period in 2008. Foreign trade was the main culprit, says the federal government: exports of goods fells by 6.6 percent and of services by 2.3 percent.
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss citizens vote Sunday 17 May on two issues, one of which appears to have the country nearly evenly divided. Voters will be asked to approve limited insurance coverage for alternative medical treatments and biometric passports.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Federal Council (cabinet) in Bern is backing a number of health care cost containment proposals, including a controversial charge of CHF30 to visit a doctor. The measures, recommended by the Federal Department of Home Affairs, are designed to reduce Switzerland’s increasing health costs. The cabinet 6 May announced that it will also ask the home affairs office to draw up the legislation that will be presented to Parliament.
American insurance company AIG, which Bloomberg says is “the insurer deemed too important to fail,” has posted a fourth quarter 2008 loss of $61.7 billion, prompting the US government to put up to $30 billion into the company in a revised bailout plan.
Swiss Life profits fall ®SwissLife
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Life, one of Europe’s top 10 insurance companies, says its profits fell 75% last year but that its capital base improved at the end of 2008.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The nearly CHF1 billion loss in 2008 that Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, announced earlier is being confirmed today, 19 February, with the company’s new CEO Stefan Lippe presenting the final, audited results: CHF884 million in the red, with CHF170m of the loss coming in the fourth quarter alone.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Jacques Aigrain, the CEO of Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance company, has left the company. Swiss Re announced the news 12 February, just days after the insurer reported an unexpected CHF1 billion loss for 2008. Aigrain, a former investment banker, joined the company in 2001 and became CEO in 2006.
Bern, Switzerland (romandie/ats, Fre) – A driver who denies the charges is in court this week after being accused of making CHF95,000 over a 10-year period by provoking accidents and then collecting money for his “damaged” car, which was already damaged.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Life, Switzerland’s largest life insurance company, will cut its workforce in Switzerland by 200 in 2009, nearly a quarter of the firm’s employees.
