“The merger of Atupri and V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a will make us one of the leading health insurance groups in Switzerland, with a strong domestic market in the Espace Mittelland region,” says Lorenz Hess, Chair of V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a’s Board of Directors. “This is a merger by combination, entered into on level ground.”

In future, the two equal partners Atupri and V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a will both operate under the umbrella of the ‘Atusana’ foundation, but will remain independent in terms of their operations and business activities. The merger will not result in any job losses or office closures.

“We each benefit from our complementary strengths,” says Sandra Thoma Hauser, Chair of Atupri’s Board of Trustees. “V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a has nationwide sales power and is the regional market leader in the canton of Bern. Atupri will continue to focus on a consistently digital approach throughout the customer journey.” By combining their economic potential under one roof and exploiting economies of scale, the two health insurers can benefit from synergies in investment and procurement, and further enhance their market position.

Synergies in digitalisation, product development, sales and administration, as well as in the exchange of knowledge and expertise, will improve the innovativeness and efficiency of both health insurers and free up additional resources. “We will pass on this added value to our companies’ customers in the form of attractive products and services,” says Christof Zürcher, CEO of Atupri. “The merger is systematically geared to mutual added value,” says Angelo Eggli, CEO of V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a. “We will only take measures that bring added value for both V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a and Atupri, as well as the customers.”

The partnership-based nature of the merger is also reflected in the Atusana foundation’s governing bodies, which comprise equal numbers of representatives from each company. Strategically relevant decisions even require a three-quarters majority. Lorenz Hess will chair the foundation’s Board of Trustees. Sandra Thoma Hauser is to serve as Vice Chair. The other members of the Board of Trustees are: Déborah Carlson-Burkart, Bettina Borisch, Roland Frey, Iris Kornacker, Stefan Niedermaier and Daniel Wirz.

The new Executive Board, which is yet to be appointed, will be responsible for the coordination and strategic alignment of the companies. Angelo Eggli will be CEO, with Christof Zürcher as Deputy CEO and Corporate Centre Director. The other members of the Executive Board are: Stephan Wilms as CFO and Caroline Meli as Head of Market Management.

With this new and unprecedented form of merger between health insurers, Atupri and V⁠i⁠s⁠a⁠n⁠a aim to break new ground in the healthcare sector, and to thus prepare themselves today for the challenges of tomorrow.