Successful business year for Sympany
Basel, 21 April 2020 – Sympany is concluding the 2019 business year with an excellent result. At CHF 1,043 million, premium income in 2019 was not far off the level achieved the year before (2018: CHF 1,048 million), with CHF 809 million coming from basic health insurance in accordance with the Swiss Health Insurance Act (KVG). Equity amounted to CHF 508 million by the end of 2019. An exceptional investment performance gave rise to a profit figure of CHF 78.4 (before the allocation to the surplus fund) and the operating result also remained very solid.
The number of private customers has risen to around 261,100, with 206,700 of these covered by basic insurance in accordance with the KVG. This marks an increase of 4,500 basic insurance policyholders compared to the previous year. Sympany expanded its offering to corporate customers, resulting in a higher business volume and a further boost in terms of customer loyalty.
Policyholders benefit from surplus payment again
In 2019, Sympany paid back surpluses of CHF 26.6 million from 2018 to its policyholders. As well as basic insurance policyholders, this year saw customers of Vivao Sympany AG, Moove Sympany AG and Kolping Krankenkasse AG benefit from this for the first time. Payouts ranging from CHF 50 to CHF 400 per person were issued across a total of nine cantons. Supplementary insurance customers also received surplus payments of between CHF 30 and CHF 320 per person under various hospital supplementary insurance schemes. In total, six out of ten customers received surplus refunds.
In 2016, Sympany became the first health insurance provider in Switzerland to pay out surpluses to policyholders in both the basic insurance and supplementary insurance categories instead of simply allocating them to its reserves. Sympany is planning to enable its customers to enjoy a share in its success this year too by means of surplus payments. With this in mind, it has transferred CHF 21.3 million to the surplus fund and will request a payout from the authorities.
Digital services proving popular
The mySympany app and customer portal attracted a growing number of users in the reporting year. Around half of all Sympany policyholders – 106,500 – are already relying on these digital services, with one third of them (70,200) choosing the “paperless” option. Sympany therefore boasts one of the highest take-up rates in the industry. As part of its digital further development, Sympany has expanded the functional range of the “Sympi” chatbot with the aim of responding quickly to customer enquiries sent to the Customer Services team.
More partner pharmacies and group practices in more regions
With regard to basic insurance, Sympany expanded its managed care network to cover more regions. Policyholders under the HMO model now have access to 40 group practices and healthcare centres, while the casamed pharm pharmacy model now includes some 350 partner pharmacies. Prevomed, the occupational health division of Sympany’s subsidiary Meconex, also made encouraging progress in 2019 and was able to take on occupational health services for more companies.
Getting even closer to customers
Sympany has set up a customer advisory council with the aim of even further improving its ability to meet customers’ needs. For the same reason, the regular surveys initiated in the previous year have been stepped up further and now cover more than 20,000 customers. The feedback gained from these formed the basis for many of the improvements that have already been implemented with regard to customer focus. As a result, Sympany scored very highly in a survey carried out by comparis.ch on how satisfied the people of Switzerland are with their insurance providers.
Handing over the baton on the Executive Board
July 2019 saw a change to the Executive Board when Susanne Henseler was appointed the new Head of Benefits. She succeeded Rolf Meyer, who had been in the role since 2012.