Insurance Swiss Life records sustained growth over the course of the year

The financial group Swiss Life increased both its premium and fee income in the first nine months of the year and is well on the way to achieving its strategic goals.

Swiss Life has recorded growth in both premiums and fee income in the first three quarters of the year. Group CEO Matthias Aellig emphasized that the company is well on track to achieve or even exceed the targets set as part of the "Swiss Life 2024" programme.

In the areas of financial advice, asset management and the sale of pension products, Swiss Life increased its fee income by 5% to CHF 1.88 billion, which corresponds to growth of 6% in local currencies. Premium income in the insurance business also rose by 3 percent to CHF 15.9 billion, or 4 percent in local currencies. Direct income from investments exceeded the CHF 3 billion mark with a return on investment of 2.2%.

Strong performance in France

In Switzerland, its home market, Swiss Life generated premiums of CHF 8.0 billion and increased fee income by 5% to CHF 252 million. Assets under management in the semi-autonomous occupational benefits business rose to CHF 7.7 billion. In France, the company recorded strong growth with a 12 percent increase in premium income to 5.6 billion euros, driven by the life business. Fee income in France rose by 16 percent to 416 million euros.

In Germany, premiums grew to 1.1 billion euros, while fee income increased by 10 percent to 602 million euros. In international business, premium income fell by 7 percent to EUR 1.5 billion, while fee income amounted to EUR 283 million.

Importance of Swiss Life Asset Managers

The Swiss Life Asset Managers unit is playing an increasingly important role within the Group, particularly through the management of assets for third-party clients such as pension funds. Fee income from this area amounted to CHF 699 million, with third-party business contributing CHF 436 million. However, the inflow of new money from third-party clients declined and amounted to CHF 3.4 billion, compared with CHF 8.4 billion in the previous year.

Outlook and future goals

Swiss Life remains on track to meet or exceed the targets of the "Swiss Life 2024" program. The return on equity is expected to be above the targeted 10 to 12 percent. The company plans to present new targets for the next three years at an Investor Day on December 3.

SDA