Editorial
The Hill We Climb
This was the title of the poem read by the young poet Amanda Gorman at the inauguration ceremony of the new President of the United States on 20 January 2021. This title perfectly reflects our state of mind as we look back over the 12 past troubled months. The COVID-19 pandemic is everywhere. It is disrupting not only our lives but also the Swiss health system.
This was the title of the poem read by the young poet Amanda Gorman at the inauguration ceremony of the new President of the United States on 20 January 2021. This title perfectly reflects our state of mind as we look back over the 12 past troubled months. The COVID-19 pandemic is everywhere. It is disrupting not only our lives but also the Swiss health system.
The crisis we have been experiencing since March 2020 has affected us all considerably. It has affected our private lives, our working lives, our hobbies, our dreams. In 2020, everything was brought to a standstill.
The pandemic we have been going through for over a year has turned everything upside down. Fear and uncertainty have taken over. The consequences are only just beginning to be felt and will stay with us for many months, if not years. This health, economic and social crisis has shaken many of our certainties. And yet. Thanks to resilience, courage and our capacity to adapt and, sometimes at the cost of overwhelming sacrifices, the system has held strong. WE have stood firm.
The Swiss health system too has resisted. Hospitals have resisted thanks to the outstanding work performed by exemplary medical staff. Our social insurance systems have held strong thanks to solid foundations. However, we are paying the price and will continue to do so, because entire sections of the Swiss economy have been hit hard. Above all, physical and mental health have never been so badly affected. Especially among young people and the elderly. Everyone in fact.
And yet, we must continue to climb that hill and to find innovative solutions to remain loyal to our spirit of solidarity and our origins. In order to remain close to you, our customers. To achieve this, Groupe Mutuel has strengthened its internal sales force to improve its services, particularly in German-speaking Switzerland. We have also expanded our teams to better support you.
What have we done to alleviate the consequences of this unprecedented crisis? We have made every effort to provide uninterrupted, high-quality, fast and efficient services to our customers. We have protected the health of our employees who represent the foundation of the company's future development. These two principles have driven our approach during the crisis. We repaid 101 million Swiss francs to close to 80% of our insured persons. We donated 1 million Swiss francs to SMEs thanks to the DireQt campaign supported by QoQa. And we donated 1 million Swiss francs to the “Chaîne du Bonheur” to help those in need. We temporarily suspended the deadlines for all our commercial rents in order to help SMEs, and even offered up to two months' rent to a number of craftsmen, shopkeepers and restaurant owners who were experiencing financial difficulties. We also put in place a number of measures to help those who are currently facing hardship, such as by waiving reminder fees or offering payment facilities. We have been proactive, responsive and supportive. We have placed human values at the heart of our business, our transformation and our strategy.
In these troubled times, the financial results for 2020 are therefore somewhat anecdotal, but they remain balanced in the health sector (AOS/OKP). And on the rise for supplemental insurance. Business results have increased significantly in the corporate sector, where we are once again able to strengthen our market shares.
Thanks to our financial strength, we are able to ensure stability for the entire system and to look to the future with confidence. Our financial reserves, in the same way as the equity of any other company, are essential but not excessive. They amount to approximately three months' worth of invoices sent in by our customers. Furthermore, we have decided to reduce our financial reserves by 50 million Swiss francs to redistribute this amount to our policyholders. The intention to reduce our financial reserves, still to be approved by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), is in line with the repayment of CHF 101 million that took place in 2020. Financial reserves serve to deal with unexpected events and the period we are currently going through has shown us how important this is. It is not part of our strategy to increase reserves unnecessarily. Beyond any political tensions, we are facing up to our responsibilities and taking concrete action in the interest of our policyholders.
Groupe Mutuel is not only a health insurer. We aim to be your overall health partner and your retirement benefits’ specialist during your entire life, whether you are an individual person or a company. Our goal is to support you in the best possible way, for example by offering new digital services to make your life easier and to provide you with prevention advice. This is done by always placing human beings, patients, insured persons and customers at the centre of our concerns at all times. We aim to put these values at the heart of our business in order to strengthen our corporate culture. We hope that you will enjoy going through this activity report, which highlights our corporate culture and values.
Let us continue this progression together. Let us climb the hill together.
Karin Perraudin, President
Thomas Boyer, CEO
