Swiss Accident Insurance Fund

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Suva

logo
legal form Public law institution
founding 1912 Start of
operations in 1918
Seat Lucerne , Switzerland
management Felix Weber
(Chief Executive
Officer ) Gabriele Gendotti
(Chairman of the Board of Directors)
Number of employees 4,200 (December 31, 2016)
sales 4.1 billion CHF (premium income 2016)
Branch Insurance
Website www.suva.ch

Suva headquarters in Lucerne, built in 1914/15
Suva rehabilitation clinic in Bellikon

The Suva (also Swiss Accident Insurance Fund ) is the largest casualty insurer of Switzerland . The independent company under public law with its headquarters in Lucerne insures around two million employees against occupational accidents, occupational diseases and leisure accidents. Self-employed people can also take out business insurance to protect themselves against the consequences of accidents.

Company history

At the end of the 19th century, industrialization changed the conditions and accident risks in the workplace. Many families suffered health and financial hardship from work accidents. In 1890, the federal government was given the constitutional mandate to create a law on health and accident insurance. In 1912 the people approved the Health and Accident Insurance Act (KUVG). This provided for subsidization and the introduction of compulsory accident insurance for a substantial part of the employees. The federal government commissioned Suva with the implementation of the compulsory accident insurance and with the supervision of occupational safety in the companies. For almost 80 years the company was known as the Swiss Accident Insurance Company ; since 1996 the company has been appearing uniformly in all parts of the country with the name and logo Suva. In the Swiss legal system, however, the company is still referred to as the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund .

The headquarters was built in 1914/1915 according to the plans of the Pfister brothers on Fluhmattstrasse in Lucerne. In the last years of the First World War , the building served as an army hospital for interned foreign prisoners of war.

Suva started operations on April 1, 1918. The aftermath of World War I and the flu epidemic that raged across Europe did not make the start easy. In the first year, 105,864 accidents were reported to Suva, and 849 disability pensions were granted for 1918. In 1928, Suva took over the “Zum Schiff” spa resort in Baden, thereby laying the foundation for its three core businesses: claims management, prevention and rehabilitation. Suva strengthened the third area in 1974 with the opening of the Bellikon rehabilitation clinic. The Sion rehabilitation clinic was opened in 1999 and the “Zum Schiff” spa clinic closed one year later.

Over the years, Suva grew steadily. In 1953 the active population exceeded the billion mark for the first time. The investments serve to secure long-term pensions. As a result of the change in leisure behavior, more and more leisure accidents were recorded in the second half of the 20th century. In 1985, the number of leisure accidents (260,697) exceeded the number of occupational accidents (254,565) for the first time. In 1984 the KUVG was replaced by the new Accident Insurance Act (UVG) and the mandatory accident insurance was extended to all employees. In addition to Suva, other insurance companies have now also been approved for implementation. This law was then revised. In 2006, the Federal Council opened the consultation process, which was suspended in March 2010. In 2011, parliament turned the deal back to the Federal Council with the mandate to restrict it to the essentials. The social partners then worked out a compromise with the support of Suva and the Swiss Insurance Association (SIA). This formed the basis of the legislative revision that the councils passed on Friday, September 25, 2015. On November 9, 2016, the Federal Council passed the ordinances on the UVG and their entry into force on January 1, 2017.

deals

Suva operates under four brands for its range:

  • Pro : occupational safety
  • Liv : Leisure security
  • Risk : premiums and investments
  • Care : claims management and rehabilitation

organization

The three core businesses of Suva are prevention , insurance and rehabilitation . For rehabilitation, Suva has its own clinics in Bellikon and Sion . Suva is run by its social partners. It is self-supporting, without public funds and returns surplus income to the insured in the form of lower premiums. The social partnership-based composition of the Suva-Rat administrative board of 16 employer, 16 employee and 8 federal representatives enables broad-based, sustainable solutions and guarantees the solidarity of society. Article 66 UVG (Federal Law of March 20, 1981 on Accident Insurance) defines which companies and administrations are compulsorily insured.

The four-person management is responsible for the operational management of Suva. Gabriele Gendotti from Ticino has been President of the Suva Council since 2018 . Previously, Markus Dürr (2014 in 2017) and Franz Steinegger held (1991 to 2013) this office.

Suva has a network of 18 regional offices (agencies). Suva has been running accident insurance for the unemployed (UVAL) on behalf of the federal government since 1996, and military insurance (MV) since 2005, although this remains an independent social insurance scheme.

Trivia

The Suva building is located on Fluhmattstrasse in Lucerne in an elevated position. The employees of Suva enjoy a status that is similar to that of an official. That is the reason why the building is often mockingly called Faulhorn among locals. Other, lesser-known names such as Lokomotive and Mastodon are also mentioned. The real mountain called Faulhorn is located in the Bernese Alps .

Web links

Commons : SUVA  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Regulations on the organization of the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (Organizational Regulations Suva) dated June 10, 2016 (PDF), accessed on March 22, 2018
  2. April 1, 1918: No kidding, Suva starts operations In: 20 minutes from April 1, 2018
  3. Markus Dürr new Chairman of the Suva Board of Directors. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 17, 2013
  4. ^ Faulhorn, the derisive name of the building