Baloise and the Consolidation of Swiss Insurance — conclusion

Conclusion

The history of Basel insurance in the past half century has been a history of consolidation. The Basel insurers of the 1860s were combined into the Bâloise group, which expanded into Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg, experimented with banking and ecosystems and came under pressure from activist investors. After Patria and Nationale Suisse had become part of Helvetia, the merger of Helvetia and Baloise in 2025 brought these strands together in a single group with its legal seat in Basel. The merger strengthened the city as the domicile of a large insurer, although it reduced employment in both Basel and St Gallen.

Alongside the private groups, Basel relies on public institutions for the protection of its buildings, with cantonal building insurers, intercantonal reinsurance and natural hazard pools providing near-universal cover against most hazards. The exception of earthquakes, a risk that Basel knows from its own history, remains unresolved after decades of political debate. Both the private and the public insurers operate under a framework of supervision that determines how much capital they must hold and how they may invest it. Chapter II turns to this framework of the Insurance Supervision Act and the Swiss Solvency Test.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

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