Capacity is available, premiums are falling in some cases, and yet the world of insurance isn’t getting any easier. The 19th episode of Marco La Bella’s LBC Insurance Radar covers a wide range of topics, from the Strait of Hormuz to the August hailstorm and the burglary season. The overarching message: Those who understand their risks are better at negotiating.
To start things off, this episode focuses on the latest Aon Trend Barometer. The Swiss insurance market has sufficient capital in many lines of business, and competition is intense. Companies with a strong risk profile can benefit from this, for example in D&O or credit insurance, where attractive terms are possible. In liability, motor vehicle, and daily sickness benefit insurance, however, the situation remains tight; the latter is burdened by rising illness-related absences and high benefit costs. So while capacity is available, it is being allocated more selectively. Those who can provide transparent documentation of risk management, claims history, and prevention measures hold the upper hand.
When the policy ends at the strait
The situation around the Strait of Hormuz illustrates just how quickly geopolitics can shift insurability. War risk coverage for ships remains available, though at premiums that can reach up to 10 percent of the ship’s value per voyage in particularly high-risk cases. Insurance can mitigate losses resulting from attacks, but it neither provides the oil nor offsets price increases. Even traditional business interruption insurance is often of little help when trade routes are blocked if there is no insured property damage. Alternative supply chains and forward-looking contract drafting thus become the actual safeguards.
One afternoon, 1.7 billion francs
Swiss Re warns of the growing financial impact of hail, storms, heat waves, and wildfires. Switzerland experienced just how real this warning is on August 28, 2026: Insured losses from the severe weather are estimated at over 1.7 billion Swiss francs, with approximately 800 million of that amount attributable to motor vehicles alone. The problem is the simultaneity, a single event affects thousands of buildings, vehicles, and businesses all at once. Added to this are drought and wildfires, which disrupt transportation, production, and energy supply. Building protection, resilient supply chains, and realistic insurance coverage amounts thus take center stage.
The gap nobody knew about
The cybersecurity section focuses on two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a technology that powers countless websites, online stores, and customer portals. Under certain conditions, these vulnerabilities can be exploited to remotely execute malicious code on servers. The Federal Office for Cybersecurity is urging users to update their systems promptly. What’s particularly concerning isn’t so much the vulnerability itself as the fact that many companies don’t even know what software their IT service providers are using behind the scenes. For cyber insurers, timely patching has long been a key criterion. For companies, this means: a clear overview of their own systems, well-defined responsibilities, and an emergency plan that’s more than just a PDF in a folder.
Innovation from the Swiss InsurTech Hub
Four companies associated with the Swiss InsurTech Hub are showing the way forward. With “Repair First,” Microrep focuses on repairing damaged eyeglasses rather than replacing them. Previsia is digitizing risk prevention in industrial and commercial insurance. Go Healthy aims to promote healthier behaviors and reduce stress and sleep problems through an app. Insaio develops AI-powered voice assistants that handle administrative tasks, schedule appointments, and respond to customer inquiries. The common thread: technology is designed to identify risks earlier and free up time for experts to focus on providing in-depth advice.
Suva: Oversight pays off, but costs are still Rrsing
In 2025, Suva reviewed approximately 2.9 million invoices from medical service providers and rejected just under 300,000 of them. This prevented unjustified expenditures totaling 123 million Swiss francs; according to Suva, without these checks, premiums would be about three percent higher. About 75 percent of the audits are now automated. Nevertheless, medical costs have risen: In 2025, Suva paid approximately 1.34 billion Swiss francs for post-accident treatments. This is a good example of how machine-based and human expert reviews achieve more together than either one alone, and that even this only slows the trend, not reverses it.
More freedom in retirement planning – but also more risk
A Swiss Re study shows that the responsibility for retirement planning increasingly lies with the insured individuals themselves. Those who opt for a lump-sum payment rather than a pension bear the risk that the money will not last if they live a long life or that it will lose purchasing power due to inflation. This creates new challenges for life insurers and financial advisors. Digital tools and AI can support the analysis, but when it comes to decisions spanning decades, face-to-face conversations remain irreplaceable.
When it gets dark early
Finally, a seasonal classic. According to AXA, burglaries per insured household rose by about 4 percent in 2025; between October and March, the insurance company recorded about 45 percent more cases than during the summer months. AXA paid out over 22 million Swiss francs in 2025, with the average claim exceeding 7,000 Swiss francs for the first time. Secured doors and windows, lighting, and vigilant neighbors help, as does taking a critical look at your home contents insurance, especially when it comes to jewelry, watches, or art.
The Classification
In his conclusion, Marco La Bella sums up the key points: insurability is more than just a collection of policies. A cyberattack, a supply chain disruption, or a severe weather event rarely affects just one business unit. Companies must understand their critical processes and interdependencies in order to identify gaps in coverage in a timely manner. For brokers, this shifts their role from product broker to risk analyst. Technology helps in this process, but it does not replace judgment.
Binci Heeb
Be sure to check out: LBC Insurance Radar #18: Five Percent, Fourteen Percent, Fourth Place
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