Suva premiums continue to fall
Despite the difficult investment year 2022 with a negative business result, Suva can again reduce premiums for 2024. The excess investment income generated in previous years is now paying off.
Although Suva's current business figures are anything but pleasing, Suva premiums are nevertheless falling. This is positive news, which Suva's management was able to share with the public at the annual media conference. And flowers were also distributed internally: With the roll-out of digitalization in claims management, Suva has reached a strategic milestone, the insurance company announced. At the beginning of 2022, system-based rule and classification systems will take over the entire case management with a volume of over 490,000 claims. Daily allowance payments and reports of accidents and incapacity to work will be largely automated. However, if cases are more complex, specialists are still available to provide personal advice to companies and accident victims.
More cases recorded in 2022
In 2022, Suva registered over 490,000 accidents and occupational diseases. This represents a significant increase over the previous year (450 000) and, due to the slightly higher number of insured persons, a slightly higher level compared to the years before the start of the covid pandemic. The accident risk - newly registered accidents per 1,000 insured persons - is again following the long-term trend. While the accident risk in non-occupational accident insurance has remained virtually unchanged for many years, it has fallen by -12 percent in occupational accident insurance over the last ten years. Work in Suva-insured companies has thus become significantly safer, according to the findings.
Suva premiums continue to fall thanks to good underwriting result
Suva's assets are fully earmarked. They cover the obligations for around 80,000 current pensions as well as future medical expenses and daily allowances and other insurance benefits from accidents and occupational diseases that have already occurred. Thanks to the favorable development of pension figures, it was possible to release actuarial provisions, resulting in a positive actuarial result.
The gratifying development of the accident risk and the good underwriting result allow Suva to reduce its average net premiums in occupational accident insurance by more than five percent once again. In non-occupational accident insurance, there was also a slight reduction of around one percent.
Difficult investment year leads to negative annual result
In the eventful investment year 2022, Suva achieved a net performance of -8.1 percent. This investment loss could be largely compensated with the existing value fluctuation reserves, which were set aside as a precaution in previous years. Together with the positive underwriting result, this resulted in a negative overall operating result of CHF -152 million.
At 151 percent, the solvency ratio remains in the upper half of the specified range of 100 to 180 percent. The Suva Council has therefore decided to continue the reimbursement of capital gains surpluses from previous years. In 2024, this will again mean a premium reduction in the amount of 20 percent of net premiums in both occupational and non-occupational accident insurance. This would correspond to a reimbursement of around CHF 800 million to the insured, as Suva calculates.
Source: Suva
