"In Switzerland, damage related to natural disasters remains insurable"

Denounced in a recent WWF report, a worrying phenomenon has been growing for several years: the progressive withdrawal of insurance companies from the highest-risk areas. However, taking indirect effects into account, natural hazards such as droughts, storms, floods, the disappearance of insects, and forest fires caused damage totaling “more than two trillion US dollars in 2023,” estimate the NGO’s experts.

In Switzerland, premiums related to natural damage are strictly regulated by law, with uniform and mandatory rates. This regulation should prevent some Swiss households from no longer being able to pay their premium, as is now the case in other countries where premiums are becoming unaffordable. An update with Martin Steinauer, head of property claims for Mobilière in French-speaking Switzerland.

In Switzerland, is it still possible to insure everywhere on the territory, regardless of where one is located?

In Switzerland, damage related to natural disasters remains insurable. We have a unique pool in the world dedicated to climate-related damage. This pool is based on a system of dual solidarity that has proven effective. On the one hand, among policyholders, who all pay a uniform and affordable premium rate. On the other hand, among insurers: this solidarity mechanism helps offset risks, with the burden of claims being distributed according to their market share.

Is this form of risk mutualization among private insurers effective and sustainable in a world facing recurring and likely more destructive disasters?

Climate change remains a major challenge, because danger zones will expand in the future. Spatial planning will play a decisive role in this respect. Urban planners are at a crossroads between land use and protection against natural hazards.

Since the floods of the century in 2005, Switzerland has invested several billion francs in prevention, which puts it in a good position today. However, prevention remains an ongoing task.

On Mobilière’s side, we have supported more than 180 prevention projects since 2006 for a total amount of 46 million francs. In particular, we have provided about twenty mobile flood barriers to municipalities exposed to the risk of flooding to cope with severe floods. We also actively support various "sponge city" projects aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, notably floods and heat waves.

To what extent does this proactive approach reduce costs and avoid significant expenditures related to disasters?

Prevention is everyone’s business: public authorities and private companies.

At Mobilière, we go even further: as an insurer, we have every interest in understanding the root causes of claims. That is why we are committed to research on natural hazards and climatology, as well as to the modeling of prospective scenarios.

Created in 2013 in collaboration with the Oeschger Centre of the University of Bern, the Mobilière Laboratory for Research on Natural Hazards studies and quantifies climate risks, natural hazards and their consequences and, more recently, the effects of climate change on health. This laboratory aims to produce results of great interest to the community.

The village of Blatten did not appear in a risk zone on the hazard map. The risk of the mountain collapsing will now have to be assessed and integrated into the risk mapping.

The case of Blatten in 2025 is emblematic of these red zones... What lessons has your sector drawn from this tragedy to act in the future?

Every disaster brings its share of lessons. The village of Blatten did not appear in a risk zone on the hazard map. The risk of the mountain collapsing will now have to be assessed and integrated into the risk mapping. This mapping is an essential tool, as it serves as the basis for our pricing.

Will more public support be needed to absorb the sometimes enormous costs of disasters (floods, landslides, fires, etc.)?

The pool for natural damage has worked well so far. Natural disasters can only be covered if insurers and insured parties show solidarity and jointly assume the risk.

Today, part of the risks are ceded to reinsurers like Swiss Re. Given that these reinsurers are also more reluctant to cover dangerous areas, what impact could this reluctance have in the long term?

If there is strong reluctance, it would be appropriate to favor strengthened prevention measures and even closer collaboration between insurers and insureds, notably through increased dialogue on risk management. In this area, reinsurers actively share their expertise, which is an asset.

It should also be remembered that the whole community benefits from prevention measures. Every franc invested in prevention avoids five to seven francs of damage. These investments are therefore largely beneficial for everyone.

In Switzerland, the issue will be the climate bill and, indirectly, the cost of premiums. Should we fear seeing them explode, particularly in the most at-risk areas?

Premiums related to natural damage are prescribed by law and identical for everyone. FINMA is responsible for setting the premium rate retrospectively. Finally, insurers wish to continue to offer attractive and competitive premiums, in the interest of all parties. In Switzerland, thanks to the pool for natural damage, there is a mechanism for compensating risks across the entire territory.

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