Swiss Life reported higher premiums and fee income for the first nine months of 2026 on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, as strong demand for life insurance in its home market and growth across its fee-based businesses kept the Swiss insurer on its growth path.

Gross written premiums, policy fees and deposits received rose 8% in local currency to CHF 17.4 billion, up from CHF 16.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. Fee income also rose 8% in local currency, to CHF 2.04 billion from CHF 1.91 billion.

Swiss home market leads growth

In Switzerland, premiums reached CHF 9.4 billion, an increase of 15%, driven by particularly high single premiums in the group life business. Fee income in Switzerland rose 9% to CHF 289 million. Swiss Life is Switzerland’s largest life insurer and one of Europe’s leading providers of life, pensions and financial services.

Group chief executive Matthias Aellig said the company had continued the positive development seen in the first half of the year into the third quarter. “We further expanded our fee business across all divisions with strong contributions from our owned IFAs, our own and third-party products and services and Asset Managers,” he said. “Moreover, we saw pleasing growth in our premiums and significantly increased the assets under management in our third-party asset management business.”

The 8% growth in fee income was driven by owned independent financial advisers, up 13%, own and third-party products and services, up 9%, and Swiss Life Asset Managers, up 7%.

France and Germany grow, international slips

In France, premiums rose 4% to EUR 6.1 billion, with life premiums up 6% and unit-linked products accounting for 72% of the total, reflecting the group’s focus on those products. Fee income in France increased 12% to EUR 493 million.

In Germany, premiums grew 2% to EUR 1.1 billion, while fee income rose 17% to EUR 744 million, including the contribution of the TELIS Group for the July-to-September period. Excluding TELIS, fee growth in Germany was 10%. In the international market unit, premiums fell 7% to EUR 1.5 billion, while fee income edged up 2% to EUR 286 million.

Swiss Life Asset Managers reported third-party assets under management of CHF 161 billion at the end of September, up 10% from CHF 146 billion at the end of December 2025. Net new assets in the third-party business were CHF 8.5 billion, compared with an exceptionally high CHF 15.0 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Investment income lower, solvency strong

Direct investment income was CHF 2.96 billion for the nine months, down from CHF 3.13 billion a year earlier, with a non-annualised direct investment yield of 2.1%, against 2.2% in the prior-year period.

The group estimated its Swiss Solvency Test ratio at around 205% at 30 September 2026, down from 213% at the end of 2025 but still above its strategic ambition range of 140% to 190%. As announced with its half-year results, Swiss Life started a new CHF 250 million share buyback programme on 1 October 2026, running until the end of March 2027.

Aellig said the group was well on track to achieve the financial targets of its “Swiss Life 2027” programme. The company will host an investor day on 1 December 2027 to present its next group-wide programme and financial targets for the following three years.