What happens to my life insurance policy if the insurance company goes bankrupt?

I know there are some guarantees in Switzerland for bank deposits and pension funds, but what about life insurance policies? If the insurance company goes bankrupt within my lifetime, will my policy still be valid or would at least part of the benefit be paid out? Or would I just lose my full investment?

Hi there,

While Swiss financial supervisory authority FINMA enforces strict controls and high solvency quotas on life insurance providers, the possibility of bankruptcy cannot be ruled out entirely.

If a life insurance provider does go bankrupt, your life insurance policy will normally be passed on to another life insurance provider - allowing you to keep your coverage. You can then choose to either remain with the adoptive insurer or terminate your policy.

Should FINMA be unable to find another insurer willing to take on customer of the failed insurance provider, policies are liquidated and policyholders receive the cash value of their policies from the segregated assets which insurance providers are obligated to maintain.

Best regards from Moneyguru

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