Axa Switzerland suffered several major losses in the Crans-Montana inferno. The insurer has responded with a proposal.
The new CEO of Axa Switzerland probably imagined his first day on the job would be a bit different.
Patric Deflorin, former top manager at Berner Mobiliar, has only been at the helm of the Winterthur-based insurer since January 1.
Consultation with the municipality
Shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve, the fire disaster in Crans-Montana, which left 40 people dead and over 100 injured, affected the Axa insurance group in several ways.
AXA Switzerland covered both the municipal liability insurance for Crans-Montana and the business liability insurance for the “Le Constellation” bar.
The Winterthur-based insurer announced this late on Thursday evening after consulting with the municipality concerned.
Axa stands by its responsibility
Both had taken out standard industry products with a contractually limited sum insured from Axa, it was further stated.
However, it will only be possible to determine who is liable for the damage incurred once the ongoing (criminal) investigation has been completed.
It is well known that the municipality did not properly monitor the bar for years. Many minors were still in the bar after 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, even though those responsible should have had the consent of a parent or guardian.
Axa Switzerland will, of course, fulfill its obligations as an insurer in full, according to the press release.
Underinsurance identified
Furthermore, it is already clear that the insurance sums of the municipality and the bar would be far from sufficient to cover all financial losses of the surviving victims and their families in the event of liability.
In other words, Crans-Montana and the bar were underinsured.
Medical care for those affected is guaranteed regardless of liability.
For persons residing in Switzerland, the social insurance companies, including AXA’s accident insurance, would cover the costs, the insurance group explained.
Terrorism as the cause?
Social insurance providers who have paid out in advance could reclaim all or part of the costs they incurred from those liable.
For damages suffered by those affected that are not covered by social insurance providers, such as claims for compensation, an application for victim assistance could be made under the Victim Assistance Act.
However, it is still unclear whether terrorism exclusions in the policies apply to this tragedy.
As reported by muula.ch, the local synagogue is located above the bar in Crans-Montana, and the fire could therefore have had causes other than mundane sparklers.
However, the Valais authorities did not want to allow any in-depth investigations on site, which is why they quickly ruled out terrorism as the cause.
Viable solutions sought
Under the leadership of its new CEO Deflorin, AXA suggested setting up a round table for insurance claims.
Under the leadership of the federal government, the parties involved, such as representatives of the victims and the public sector, as well as the liability, property, accident, and health insurers involved, could define unbureaucratic and sustainable long-term solutions to cover the financial losses of the surviving victims and their families.
This is a wise proposal, otherwise survivors and bereaved families would have to approach many external agencies separately.
Over 200 million in damages?
The extent of the damages for individual policies cannot yet be estimated.
However, various estimates suggest that rescue operations, medical care, long-term pensions and lost wages, as well as compensation claims from young victims, will cost over 200 million Swiss francs.
Importantly, this figure cannot be verified at present.
Reinsurers may be involved
Axa is a large corporation in Switzerland, which most recently recorded a business volume of over 6 billion Swiss francs and generated a net profit of almost 800 million Swiss francs. In this respect, this should not pose any major problem.
Normally, major claims are also reinsured. The primary insurer then recovers part of the money paid out from companies such as MunichRe, SwissRe, Neue Rück, Scor & Co.
The new CEO of Axa Switzerland, Deflorin, certainly imagined the start at his new employer would be far less dramatic.
08.01.2026/kut./ena.
