What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?

Together with great colleagues from my team and other legal teams in L&C, we participated in various transactions regarding the innovation and transformation of the insurance business of AXA in Switzerland, such as M&A activities or collaborations with different start-ups or outsourcings and more. The goal is to find solutions to help our customers beyond purely financial help. We innovate in the areas of wellbeing, cyber security, fringe benefits for the employees of employers who are insured, mobility and many more.

What impact did Brexit have on the financial industry in Switzerland?

For insurance companies in Switzerland assuring policyholders which have their domicile in Switzerland, Brexit did not have much impact for our finance and asset management. However, in the field of accident insurance, we have some touchpoints with foreign legislations. As a result of Brexit, the agreement on the free movement of persons between Switzerland and the EU, as well as regulations on the coordination of social security systems had to be replaced by a new agreement between Switzerland and the United Kingdom. There was a brief period of time with some degree of uncertainty. Fortunately, Switzerland and the United Kingdom concluded a new social security agreement on 9 September 2021. The new social security agreement contains the same coordination principles as before. However, the provisions from the EU coordination law (EU Regulations No. 883/2004 and No. 987/2009) have been slimmed down and tailored to the needs of the two states.

Have any new laws, regulations or judicial decisions greatly impacted your company’s business or your legal practice?

At the beginning of 2022, a new insurance contract law came into force, introducing a new direct right of claim of the injured party against the liability insurer, even in cases without mandatory insurance, which brought some challenges especially for the liability insurance business of commercial lines. We had to adapt documents and processes and train staff. Other challenges are likely to follow in 2022, with the new data protection law, and again in 2023, with the new supervisory law, with implementation tasks, new processes, new compliance challenges and more.