Greenwashing self-regulation
The self-regulation to prevent greenwashing adopted by the Swiss Insurance Association SIA (hereinafter ‘self-regulation’) came into force on 1 January 2025. It sets a uniform minimum standard for unit-linked life insurance policies with a sustainability focus.
The SIA is committed to promoting Switzerland as a strong financial centre and a leader in sustainability. To this end, having a high level of integrity in the services offered is essential. With this in mind, in 2024 it developed a self-regulation component for unit-linked life insurance policies with a sustainability focus.
The core element of this self-regulation is the establishment of a definition of sustainability. In future, unit-linked life insurance policies designated as sustainable must pursue at least one of the following investment objectives in addition to financial objectives: Compatibility with one or more specific sustainability objectives or contribution to the achievement of one or more sustainability objectives.
To ensure that this definition of sustainability is appropriately implemented in insurance companies, the self-regulation contains various provisions:
- Organisational requirements: This includes general requirements, e.g. regarding training, internal risk control and external auditing, which the supervised insurance companies must fulfil. This ensures that companies have the appropriate structures and processes in place to prevent greenwashing.
- Principles for issuers of sustainability-related unit-linked life insurance products: These are principles specifically aimed at the creation of life insurance policies and, in this important step, ensure that sustainable life insurance policies are actually sustainable.
- Principles for the sale of sustainability-related unit-linked life insurance products: The interaction between the agents and the customer is central to the conclusion of a life insurance policy. The principles formulated ensure that customers are correctly informed about the characteristics of insurance products.
The supervised insurance companies and their tied insurance intermediaries in Switzerland voluntarily undertake to comply with self-regulation. The industry is thereby sending a clear signal in support of transparency and against deception.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing in the financial sector refers to the deception of customers regarding the sustainable characteristics of financial products and services. The integrity of these products and services is crucial for Switzerland’s financial centre, which is why the SVV firmly rejects any form of greenwashing.
