Helsana posts outstanding result for 2019
Zürich (ots)
In 2019, Helsana Insurance Company Ltd recorded an outstanding result of CHF 436 million. This comprises a very strong investment performance and a solid underwriting result. Customer growth for 2020 once again clearly exceeded the prior year and the new corporate strategy was successfully launched at the start of 2020.
In 2019, Helsana Insurance Company Ltd recorded an outstanding result of CHF 436 million. This comprises a very strong investment performance and a solid underwriting result. Premium income showed a healthy increase compared to the previous year, totalling CHF 6.7 billion (2018: CHF 6.5 billion). And the net customer growth seen in the prior year was again clearly exceeded: around 120,000 customers were added for 2020 in basic insurance alone.
Historic premium situation
The premium situation in the area of basic insurance has never been so rewarding: for the first time since the introduction of the Federal Health Insurance Act, the vast majority of our insured persons benefit from premium reductions in 2020. This is because cost developments in the Swiss healthcare sector have been moderate in the recent past and inflation for net benefits per person has been significantly below the long-term average. In 2019, total inflation for Helsana's benefit costs stood at -1.1 percent.
The shift from inpatient benefits to outpatient hospital services, as well as the Federal Council's second TARMED intervention, certainly played a role here. However, improved risk compensation, strong net customer growth and effective benefits cost management, including systematic fraud prevention, were also important factors.
Solid underwriting result
In 2019, the Helsana Group posted a solid underwriting result of CHF 97 million (2018: CHF 175 mil-lion). The combined ratio stood at 98.6 per cent (2018: 97.3 percent).
Compared to the previous year, the combined ratio in the area of basic insurance increased slightly from 97.1 percent to 98.1 percent. In the supplementary insurance business, the Helsana Group closed the year with a cost-covering result, with the combined ratio for the reporting year being 99.8 per cent (2018: 98.3 percent). In the accident insurance business, the combined ratio rose to 98.2 percent (2018: 92.3 percent). Half of this increase can be assigned to the refinement of the management costs allocation.
Very strong investment performance
Helsana was able to benefit from the overall exceptional result posted by international capital markets in 2019. Following a slightly negative performance of -2.6 percent in the previous year, Helsana's portfolio's overall performance stood at +9.0 percent in 2019. The investment performance outstripped that of the benchmark by 0.8 percentage points. Success on the capital markets thereby made a substantial contribution to Helsana's outstanding overall result. Equity again increased considerably, reaching CHF 2.8 billion at the end of 2019 (2018: CHF 2.3 billion).
Shaping the Swiss healthcare system
Helsana launched its new corporate strategy 2020+ in the new year. Going forward, Helsana will play an even greater role in shaping the Swiss healthcare system, using a range of advisory and coordination services to offer greater support to insured persons no matter what their life situation.
A new 'Health' business division has been created as part of the new corporate strategy. Dr Claudine Blaser Egger (49) will oversee this division as of 1 June 2020 as a new member of the Helsana Executive Board. Claudine Blaser Egger completed her PhD in Biology and Immunology at ETH Zurich and gained a Master in Business Administration from the same institution. Most recently, she worked as CEO of Argomed Ärzte AG.
More at www.helsana.ch/en/2019
Helsana - Committed to life.
We are committed to the health and quality of life of our customers. We provide advice and coordinate with the objective of offering the best quality of care in every health situation. As a shaper of the Swiss healthcare system, we therefore work to ensure a sustainable, high quality, competitively organised and customer-friendly healthcare system. Helsana Insurance Company Ltd is not listed on the stock exchange, and is organised as a holding company. With over CHF 6.5 billion in earned premiums, the company is one of the leading providers in the Swiss insurance market with a workforce of more than 3,300 employees in Switzerland. With a wide range of products and services in the areas of basic, supplementary and accident insurance, as well as daily sickness benefits, Helsana protects almost two million people against the financial consequences of illness, accidents, maternity and long-term care in old age. We develop insurance solutions to mitigate the economic consequences of illness or accident-related occupational absences for more than 60,000 companies and associations with a total of approximately 700,000 insured persons.
Contact:
Media Relations
Helsana Insurance Company Ltd., P.O. Box, 8081 Zurich
Phone: +41 58 340 12 12, Mail: media.relations@helsana.ch
You can also access this media release in the media corner at
www.helsana.ch/en/media.