Swiss private insurers employ some 50,000 people in Switzerland
In Switzerland roughly 50,000 employees hold attractive and highly qualified jobs in the insurance sector. Both basic and comprehensive training are of prime importance, with some 2,000 people currently in an apprenticeship.
Insurers identify, assess and analyse risks related to the probability, frequency and extent of future losses. Moreover, they assist insured persons in preventing and managing loss events. To do so, expert knowledge and know-how are required. There are but a few industries that unite as many professions as the insurance sector.
Marketing and sales specialists, pension advisers, economists, mathematicians and IT specialists work in distribution and administration, while risks are being assessed and handled by scientists, medical doctors, construction experts, engineers, geologists, physicists, chemists – to name but a few. They analyse loss events and loss scenarios, monitor and research the latest and future developments and elaborate preventative measures. The knowledge and work of these experts support our societies and economies in assessing chances and risks.
A major employer
The financial sector is a major employer, providing some 245,800 full-time jobs, which represents 5.5 percent of all jobs in Switzerland. The insurance sector is responsible for roughly a third of these (private and social insurance, pension funds, etc.).
The market environment and general conditions demand and enable efficiency improvements. Nevertheless, the number of employees in the insurance industry has remained roughly the same over the past 15 years, as insurance companies invest heavily in new technologies, innovation and start-ups.
Basic and advanced training as key values
Competent employees are a core competitive driver and a main success factor for insurance companies. The Swiss insurance sector champions the successful dual Swiss education systems and is active at all levels of education – at universities, technical colleges and higher vocational training as well as in offering basic professional training. Trainings in the insurance sector offer major transfer opportunities form one path inside the education system to another as well as being highly relevant in practice. Year after year, over 2,000 young people undergo insurance training. With its minimum standard for the initial and continuing training of insurance intermediaries approved by FINMA, the sector assumes responsibility for the professional practice of the activity of intermediaries and the protection of insured persons, in accordance with the new provisions of the Insurance Supervision Act. This compulsory system of exams for accreditation as an intermediary and recertification exams with registration in the FINMA register or the sectoral register replaces the non-binding self-regulation ‘Cicero’ that was applicable until now.
Modern working environments
The insurance sector also responds to societal and technological changes by offering a modern working environment. Working from home, agile projects, part-time employment and family-friendly working models and environments are but a few aspects of this response. Some 29 per cent of the workforce works part-time, with women holding almost three times as many part-time jobs as men. Of the roughly 50,000 employed by Swiss private insurers, 56 per are cent male and 44 per cent are female. Women occupy some 36 per cent of all higher management positions. One in four is active as a customer consultant.
