Swiss Life premiums rise 7% in nine months as growth varies across markets
Key Facts
Swiss Life said on November 11 that premiums in the first nine months of 2026 rose 7% in local currencies, while fee income increased 8% on the same basis, extending the positive development recorded in the first half. Chief Executive Matthias Aellig said the company continued this trajectory in the third quarter and was on track to meet the targets of its Swiss Life 2027 programme. The business units’ results show variation across markets, with Switzerland leading premium growth while premiums at the International unit declined. Fee businesses also grew in Germany and France, with contributions from financial advisers, asset managers, products and services. The group estimated its solvency ratio at 205% at the end of September, above its strategic ambition range.
Swiss Life attributed fee-income growth to a 13% increase in income from its owned independent financial advisers in local currencies, and a 9% rise in income from its own and third-party products and services. Swiss Life Asset Managers also contributed, with income up 7% during the period. In Switzerland, premiums rose 15% to 9.4 billion francs, and the company said growth was driven by particularly high individual premiums in group life insurance. This performance highlights strong demand for that business in the Swiss market during the nine months. Swiss premium growth was the clearest driver among the market results reported.
In France, premiums rose 4% to 6.1 billion euros, while premiums in the life business increased 6%. Unit-linked solutions accounted for 72% of life business premiums, according to the company. In Germany, premiums grew 2% to 1.1 billion euros, and fee income rose 17% to 744 million euros. Excluding the contribution from the TELIS Group, German fee-income growth was 10%. The figures show that fee growth in Germany outpaced premium growth, while France recorded an increase in life premiums and a large share of unit-linked solutions.
By contrast, premiums at the International business unit fell 7% to 1.5 billion euros during the period, while its fee income rose 2% to 286 million euros. In asset management, third-party client assets stood at about 161 billion francs at the end of September, up 10% from the end of 2025. But net new assets totalled 8.5 billion francs in the nine months, compared with 15.0 billion francs in the year-earlier period. This places growth in existing assets alongside lower new inflows compared with the period of comparison. The results thus show a difference between expansion of the asset base and the volume of new money flowing in during the period.
Direct investment income was 2.96 billion francs in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 3.13 billion francs in the same period a year earlier. The unannualised direct investment yield fell to 2.1% from 2.2%. The company estimated its Swiss Solvency Test ratio at about 205% on September 30, compared with 213% on December 31, 2025. It said the ratio remained above its strategic ambition range of 140–190%. This level puts solvency above the target range despite the decline from the reading at the end of last year.
As part of its programme targets, Swiss Life aims for fee result to exceed 1 billion francs in 2027 and for an adjusted return on equity of between 17% and 19% in each year of the programme. The company began a new 250 million franc share buyback programme on October 1, which is set to run until the end of March 2027. Aellig said, "Swiss Life continued the positive development from the first half of the year in the third quarter of 2026." The company links its third-quarter performance to its progress towards the Swiss Life 2027 programme targets. The buyback programme is scheduled to remain in place until the end of March 2027.