Swiss Insurance Association Celebrates 125th Anniversary: A Look Back at its Beginnings

In 2025, the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) celebrates its 125th anniversary. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the association’s origins and its importance for the Swiss insurance industry. The founding of the SIA in 1900 was a milestone in the history of the Swiss insurance industry, which remains one of the leading industries in the world today.

The idea of founding an industry association was born on 27 October 1900 in Basel. At the time, participants in the ‘Directors’ Conference of Swiss Life Insurance Companies’ were discussing the growing need for a centralised representation of interests. Although the Swiss Trade and Industry Association (SHIV, now Economiesuisse) had existed as an umbrella organisation for the representation of economic interests since 1870, there was still no separate section for insurers.

This was to change: the directors present called on all insurance companies in Switzerland to join together to form a central association that would henceforth act as a section within the SHIV.

Just a month and a half later, on 14 December 1900, this plan was put into action. Twenty-one representatives of the country’s most important insurance companies gathered at the headquarters of the Swiss Central Railway Company in Olten, at the so-called ‘Kilometre Zero’. There they decided to found the ‘Association of Concessionary Swiss Insurance Companies’. The statutes were adopted and a five-member board was elected, consisting of representatives of personal and property insurers.

Founding members and industry diversity

The new association reflected the diversity of the insurance business: the founding members included six life insurers, two accident insurers, three fire insurers, five transport insurers, three reinsurers and two companies from different sectors. The founding members included well-known companies such as AXA Winterthur, Baloise, Helvetia, Mobiliar, Swiss Life, Swiss Re and Zurich – all of which are still active and important players in the Swiss insurance landscape today.

Financing and development

Initially, the financial outlay for members was low: the first membership fee was CHF 20, which, with 21 founding members, resulted in an annual budget of CHF 220, after deducting the annual contribution of CHF 200 to the SHIV. The association operated without its own staff and with an honorary board.

Over the years, the association continued to develop. In 1978, the General Assembly decided to drop the word ‘concessionary’ from the name, and the association was officially renamed the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA). This was a sign that the concession of the members no longer needed to be explicitly emphasised.

The importance of the SIA today

Today, the SIA represents the interests of the private insurance industry at the national and international level. With around 70 members, including globally active primary insurers and reinsurers, as well as specialised property, life and supplementary health insurers, the SIA is a central voice of the industry. Private insurers employ around 50,000 people in Switzerland and make a significant contribution to the stability of the economic system.

The SIA is involved in areas such as social security, insurance law, competition, climate and the environment, as well as education. It is committed to ensuring business-friendly framework conditions to safeguard the future viability of the industry.

A look into the future

The SIA’s 125th anniversary is not only an occasion to look back at the past, but also to shape the future of the insurance industry. Especially today, when wars, recessions, risks and challenges are also drawing ever closer to Switzerland, the SIA’s role as a stakeholder and innovator will continue to be of central importance.

The history of the SIA is a testament to the innovative strength and pioneering spirit of the Swiss insurance industry – an industry that has always helped to manage risk and ensure Switzerland’s prosperity.

Binci Heeb

Also read: The Future of the Insurance Industry: The Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) on the Road to its 2025–2028 strategy