Swiss insurer Helvetia had a successful first half of 2019 not least thanks to its performance on invested capital. The company is on track to reach its growth targets.
Helvetia had first-half profit of 289.7 million Swiss francs ($295 million), up 29 percent compared with the same period of 2018. The increase was mainly due to strong investment performance, the life insurance business and a one-off tax effect, Helvetia said in its statement.
The non-life business generated a profit of 198.6 million francs, up 35 percent from the first half of 2018. The main reason for the improved result was the marked improvement in the investment results caused by the good stock market performance. The non-life business also profited from the effects of the tax reform in Switzerland. In the life business, Helvetia recorded an increase in profit of 40 percent, to 108.9 million francs.
The overall business volume grew 3.3 percent to 5.97 billion francs in the reporting period, driven by non-life premiums in Europe and specialty markets.
Growth Strategy Implementation
The implementation of the «helvetia 20.20» growth strategy, designed to strengthen the core business of the company through the establishment of new business models remains on track. The implementation of the strategy enables customers to conclude insurance for their purchases directly at the point of sale, thus meeting the need to insure special products individually. Helvetia applies this approach, for example, to electrical equipment and electronics or vehicles.
