Pax Swiss Life Insurance Company
| Pax, Swiss Life Insurance Company AG
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|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1876 |
| Seat | Basel , Switzerland |
| management | Peter Kappeler ( CEO ) Daniel OA Rüedi ( Chairman of the Board of Directors ) |
| Number of employees | 314 (2019) |
| sales | CHF 827 million (2019) |
| Branch | Insurance |
| Website | www.pax.ch |
The Pax, Swiss Life Insurance Company Ltd is a private insurance company based in the Pax-building in Basel on Aeschenplatz . The company, founded in 1876, is primarily active in the field of personal insurance and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pax Holding cooperative . As the parent company, it holds 100 percent of the start-up Creadi AG in Basel and a minority stake of 37.65 percent in Dextra Versicherungen AG, Zurich. On March 31, 2017, the Pax Group sold its majority stake of 57.6 percent in Pax Anlage AG.
Company purpose and organization
Pax, Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG sells private and professional life insurance on the Swiss market. It sometimes occurred to a lesser extent in reinsurance business in this branch of insurance. Pax is 100% owned by the cooperative umbrella company Pax Holding .
The company's share capital was increased from CHF 60 million to CHF 120 million in October 2017. As the sole shareholder, Pax Holding made the contribution for the capital increase from its own resources.
The three organs of Pax are the general assembly, the board of directors and the auditors. The Board of Directors consists of five to nine members who must be members of the Pax Holding cooperative.
Pax is operationally managed by a five-member executive board. They consist of:
- Peter Kappeler, Chairman (CEO)
- Daniel Mutz
- Alex Flückiger (CFO)
- Volker Schmidt
- Yvonne Haring
Since September 1, 2017, Pax has been divided into the following seven departments: Legal & Compliance as well as Corporate Communication, Human Resources and Personnel Development, Finance, Operations & IT, Sales & Marketing, Products & Actuarius, Asset Management.
Group and capital structure of Pax as of December 31, 2018:
Pax Holding, Basel (cooperative) |
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| Creadi AG, Basel Share capital CHF 4 million 100% |
Pax, Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs AG, Basel Share capital CHF 120 million 100% |
Dextra Versicherungen AG, Zurich Share capital CHF 9.92 million 37.7% |
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Pax Verwaltungs AG, Basel Share capital CHF 0.25 million 100% |
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history
Predecessor companies
The life insurance association of civil servants and employees of the St. Gallen postal district, founded in 1870, is regarded as the forerunner of today's Pax . The death benefit was financed according to the pay-as-you-go system . In 1876, it was re-established in Basel under the name of the Insurance Association of Federal Officials and Employees . The central president Mathias Jenny is the first manager of the company. New areas are established with employees of the customs district in Schaffhausen and employees of the federal administration in Bern. In the course of the federal law on the supervision of private companies in the insurance sector, which came into force in 1886, the company changed its statutes and organized itself for the first time in the form of a cooperative. The approval issued by the Federal Council on November 26th to operate a life insurance policy is initially valid for six years. Until then, business was conducted in the rooms of the Central President's apartment. An increasing workload requires the association office to move to new premises in Schützenmattstrasse. With the expansion of the group of civil servants, it was renamed the Swiss Life Insurance Association (SLVV) again in 1891 .
After the First World War , the organizational structure was reformed, which led to a strengthening of the say of the staff associations and members of the cooperative. With the introduction of the insurance fund for the staff of the General Federal Administration, the customer base and the previous federal subsidy ceased to exist on January 1, 1921, so that the SLVV had to realign itself. As a result, the insurance company decided to expand its business activities to the entire Swiss population. In 1926, the SLVV acquired the old Simon'sche Villa on today's Aeschenplatz and relocated its headquarters there.
Change of name to Pax
In 1936 the name was changed to Pax, Swiss Life Insurance Association . The reorganization of the Swiss Code of Obligations in 1937 led to the revision of the statutes, which came into force on January 1, 1942. As a cooperative, the future Pax, Swiss Life Insurance Company, was administered by the Assembly of Delegates as the highest body. In 1950, the Simon'sche Villa gave way to a new five-story building.
In 1951, Pax was the first company in Switzerland to introduce profit sharing for annuities . Due to the increased workload, the Hollerith punch card system is introduced for the more efficient processing of mass work and as a result a five-day week and an in-house canteen are set up.
In 1957, Pax established a foundation to promote employee benefits in trade, commerce and the liberal professions in Basel, offering full insurance solutions decades before the introduction of the Occupational Pension Act. By participating in increases in the value of investments in good properties, the increased inflation-related devaluation of insurance savings should be partially compensated. For this reason, Pax-Anlage AG was founded in 1959 . In 1963 the real estate department was spun off and legally converted into an independent company; the Immotest Bau- und Verwaltungs-AG , today Pax Verwaltungs AG . As a result, plans arose to expand business activities to West Germany and West Berlin. On June 15, 1964, Pax was granted permission to do business in Germany and thus founded a branch in Munich. The growing workforce required the Pax building to be expanded by three floors. In 1978, the balance sheet total exceeded one billion Swiss francs for the first time .
1986 to 1996
In 1986 the task arose of covering the space required by the increased workforce by building an extension. The company has doubled its total assets to over two billion francs in the past nine years. In the same year, from April 1, two general directors were at the top of the executive board. The company introduced a new logo in which the PAX lettering was in italics in capital letters .
In 1994, Pax was one of the first life insurers to offer unit-linked life insurance on the Swiss market. This was created in collaboration with Bank Sarasin . In 1996 the cooperative was transformed into a holding company. The insurance portfolio of the Pax corporation , Swiss life insurance company , could thus be transferred. From then on, the listed Pax Anlage AG acted as a further mainstay of Pax . The holding company's statutes were designed in such a way that Pax's independence can be guaranteed. In 1994 Pax agreed a partnership with the German Nürnberger Versicherung and became a minority shareholder in Garanta (Switzerland). In 1995 the balance sheet total exceeded four billion francs.
In 1996, the Nürnberger took over the majority of the shares of Pax Deutschland, which was founded in Germany in 1964 and converted into a stock corporation in 1991, with its headquarters in Munich .
New headquarters and restructuring
After a two-year competition phase, the new eight-storey administration tower was built in two construction phases between 1992 and 1997 on Aeschenplatz. It combines part of the high-rise building built in 1950 with a glazed structure that is curved towards Aeschenplatz and acts as a V-shaped link between the two wings of the old building. The new building was designed by the Basel architects Bürgin Nissen Wentzlaff and is considered to be the architectural landmark of Aeschenplatz. While the old building mainly consists of a blade facade, glass and steel are the predominant materials in the modern new building. In addition to beech wood, granite was also used as a building material.
In 2004/2005 the structures were redesigned, including a. the management was downsized. In 2010, the company made the previously employed field service workers self-employed and thus built on a sales network consisting of independent brokers and partners. On September 11, 2014, Pax introduced an extensive rebranding. The brand was redesigned, among other things, with new guidelines and values and a redesigned logo.
In October 2016, Pax Holding founded the InsurTech company Creadi AG to deal with digital business models in the insurance industry. At the end of 2017, the company sold its majority stake in Pax Anlage AG for strategic reasons in order to focus more on its core tasks. In November 2017, Pax also initially took over 25% of the online direct insurer Dextra Versicherungen AG. The company promises stronger customer access and a broadening of the earnings base from this commitment. The stake in Dextra was increased to 37% in October 2018 through a capital increase.
Logo and corporate design
The Pax logo, which was introduced on September 11, 2014, shows in its basic form the Pax lettering in upper and lower case in light green and bold. To the left of the lettering there is a dot in the color Prune (dark blue-violet). The two brand colors are complemented by Claire and Orange. The company uses five shades of gray as additional complementary colors. The written corporate communication is carried out in the standard font Segoe UI .
The claim of the Pax brand is “Prevention in a nutshell” and sums up the company's performance.
Sponsorship
Pax sponsors the Swiss Student Sustainability Challenge . This is a funding program for student engagement at the Northwestern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences . In addition, the company supports the Jass programs on Swiss television as well as three tournaments for young players and at the Central Swiss Jass Championships. As a further funding, the Pax is involved in the InsurTech sector for the best- funded blockchain competition.
Since January 2018, Pax has been promoting digital art as part of the Pax Art Prize with the help of a foundation that has a capital of 1.3 million francs. The prize is to be awarded annually in close coordination with the House for Electronic Arts Basel .
management
The management of Pax and its predecessor companies were held by the following directors:
| Term of office | Surname |
|---|---|
| 1876-1903 | Mathias Jenny |
| 1903-1917 | Arnold Gürtler |
| 1918 | Felix Gschwind |
| 1919-1949 | Theodor Ludin |
| 1949-1975 | Wilhelm Lützelschwab |
| 1975-1988 | Armin Gfeller |
| 1978-1986 | Anton Fehr |
| 1986-1995 | Heinz Buser |
| 1995-2007 | Hans Weber |
| 2007-2011 | Paul Schneider |
| 2011– | Peter Kappeler |
Company key data
The company figures for 2019:
- Equity Pax Group: CHF 621 million
- Total premium income: CHF 827 million
- periodic premiums: CHF 339 million
- Single premiums: CHF 12 million
- Individual life insurance premiums: CHF 353 million
- Group life insurance premium: CHF 474 million
- Investments: CHF 6,895 million
- PAX Leben shares and investment funds: CHF 340 million
- Fixed-income securities: CHF 4,546 million
- Gross insurance benefits: CHF 794 million
- Annual profit of the group: CHF 14.3 million
- Balance sheet total: 8,756 million francs
literature
- Pax Lebensversicherungs-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Review of the years 1876–2000 , anniversary publication of the Pax Lebensversicherungs-Gesellschaft, Basel 2000.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ pax.ch: Annual report of Pax 2016 , p. 12 (PDF)
- ↑ pax.ch: Bodies and Organization , accessed on July 7, 2017
- ↑ pax.ch: Pax organizational structure, as of September 1, 2017 , accessed on November 13, 2017
- ↑ pax.ch: Annual Report 2018 (PDF), p. 26, accessed on July 23, 2019
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 3.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 4.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 6.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 7.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 7,8.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 9.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 14.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , pp. 18/19.
- ↑ Review of the years 1876–2000 , p. 20.
- ↑ Lutz Windhöfel : Architectural Guide Basel 1980-2004 , A guide to the tri-national city, Birkhauser Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-7643-7087-4 , no. 58.
- ↑ List of works by Nissen Wentzlaff , accessed on September 11, 2014
- ↑ pax.ch: History of the Pax , accessed on September 11, 2014
- ↑ finanzen.ch: Pax Versicherung takes over 25% of the online direct insurer Dextra , article from November 10, 2017. accessed on November 13, 2017
- ↑ Pax Annual Report 2018 , p. 60, last accessed on April 16, 2019
- ↑ pax.ch: Information on cultural and social engagement , accessed on November 28, 2017
- ↑ bzbasel.ch: Insurance group Pax launches a price for digital art , article from January 6, 2018, accessed on January 16, 2018
- ↑ pax.ch: The 2019 financial year , accessed on April 21, 2020
- ↑ Annual Report Pax 2019 , accessed on April 21, 2020