Emerging Risks in the Context of Liability Insurance (Swiss Insurance Association)

Summary

• More than 93 percent of the material requirement for the Swiss economy originates from primary materials rather than recycled sources.p.21
• The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment estimates that around 14'000 Tonnen of macro- and microplastics enter Swiss soils, surface waters, and sediments annually.p.30
• The Forever Lobbying Project calculated estimated costs for PFAS decontamination in Europe at 2 Billionen Euro over a 20-year period.p.34
• The annual number of class action lawsuits in Europe increased from 69 in 2018 to 133 in 2023.p.38
• The Swiss Automated Driving Ordinance came into force on 1. März 2025 to regulate licensed automated vehicles.p.15

Key insights

1. Under the All Risk principle in liability insurance, all emerging risks not explicitly excluded are covered by default.p.3
2. The revised EU Product Liability Directive explicitly classifies stand-alone software as a product, increasing liability exposure for software developers.p.12
3. Advancements in vehicle automation shift claims exposure from motor vehicle liability toward commercial and product liability insurance.p.16
4. The EU AI Act entered into force on 21. Mai 2024 as the world's first comprehensive legal framework categorizing AI systems by risk level.p.25
5. Circular economy practices lengthen product lifespans, which expands latency periods and increases long-term liability claim potential.p.29
6. Litigation funding and jury psychological strategies are major non-economic drivers of rising social inflation.p.38