Swiss Mobiliar is Switzerland’s largest property insurer. One in three households is insured with the cooperative company – and this figure continues to rise. However, it is strongly impacted by natural phenomena, which is why it invests in preventive measures as part of its social commitment. Since 2005, it has supported close to 140 prevention projects with a total investment of around 36 million francs. It also promotes research, founding the Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks in 2013 in cooperation with and on the premises of the University of Bern.

Nationwide coverage

The floods of 2005 cost Swiss Mobiliar about 500 million francs. That in itself is reason enough to obtain an overview of potential natural hazards with the help of the cantonal hazard maps. The problem is that to identify the potential for damage, it is necessary to be able to locate contracts and claims precisely. This is where Swiss Post comes into play: it holds high-quality geodata which, in addition to address data, also includes the geographic longitudes and latitudes for all buildings in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein that are served by the postal service.

Swiss Post geodata

The combination of information relating to insurance policyholders and the data from Swiss Post’s street directory with geographical coordinates (geodata) makes it possible to visualize where policyholders live and where damage could potentially occur. This in turn allows a risk analysis of natural hazards to be conducted. Swiss Mobiliar uses the Swiss Post geodata for the geographical information system MobiGIS and for its cooperation with the Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks at the University of Bern.

“The cornerstone of our calculations”

Swiss Mobiliar is clearly impressed by the Swiss Post geodata. It is a key element of risk analyses, serving to identify the threat for each address. But MobiGIS, or Swiss Post geodata, is also used for market development. Insurance policyholders’ addresses can, for example, be visualized on a map. These advantages are also recognized by the company managers: “We value the quality of the geodata and the additional information, such as the number of households or companies per address, which Swiss Post can deliver to us,” says Luzius Thomi, Head of Geoanalysis and Natural Hazards at Mobiliar, to explain why the company purchases the geodata. He adds: “Geocoding is the cornerstone of our calculations.”

Key facts about Swiss Post geodata

• The geodata is collected and updated on an ongoing basis by Swiss Post
• In addition to the street directory, the directory includes all geographical longitudes, latitudes and altitude information for all buildings in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein that are served by the postal service
• Building addresses can be visualized on digital maps
• The data enables target groups to be selected according to geographic criteria
• It can serve as a basis for individual use of geographic information systems (GIS)
• The geodata is primarily used by customers in the fields of logistics and transport, telecommunications and geomarketing

More information about Swiss Post geodata.