The Swiss Insurance Association (SIA) represents the interests of the private insurance industry at national and international level. The association comprises around 70 primary insurers and reinsurers employing a workforce of 49,000 people in Switzerland. Overall, the member companies of the SIA account for around 85 per cent of insurance premiums generated in the Swiss market. This makes the insurance industry and, as a result, the SIA a major force in the Swiss economy. Private insurers are therefore committed to the successful development of the areas they operate in, both in business and in social and political terms, meaning that they assume economic responsibility.