Insurance & Pensions regulatory updates from Switzerland.
The Board of Directors of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has appointed Hedwig Ulmer Busenhart as the new Head of the Insurance division. The qualified mathematician and actuary has over 25 years of management experience in the insurance sector and will take up her position on 1 April 2026. She succeeds Birgit Rutishauser, who left FINMA in April 2025.
An investigation by the Insurance Industry Vocational Training Association (VBV) has revealed that VBV intermediary certificates were wrongly issued in around 100 cases as a result of manipulation. The VBV is not supervised by FINMA. The association acts on behalf of the insurance and intermediary industry and will restore compliance with the law for these certificates. It has also filed a criminal complaint. Untied intermediaries are subject to direct supervision by FINMA. If there is eviden...
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the UK Financial Conduct Authority FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority PRA today signed a memorandum of understanding. The memorandum sets out details of the co-operation under the Berne Financial Services Agreement and opens up new cross-border opportunities in insurance and investment services.
The 2024 insurance market report, which was published today by FINMA, offers an overview of the Swiss insurance market last year. Swiss insurance companies achieved aggregate annual profits of CHF 10.4 billion in 2024, which represents a 24% decrease over the previous year. While life and non-life insurers were able to increase their profits, reinsurers recorded a significant decline.