Facts
The policyholder, born in 1958, took out a tied pension policy "winplus+" with AXA Leben AG (formerly Winterthur-Leben) on 13 December 1996 as a mixed insurance policy. This included benefits in the event of survival on 1 December 2018 CO in the event of death before that date (CHF 65,385), a surplus participation (at least CHF 4,391), an occupational disability insurance (CHF 12,000 per year) and premium waiver in the event of occupational disability. The annual premium was CHF 3,000 at a technical interest rate of 3 %. On 29 January 1998, the policyholder took out a further tied pension policy "winspiro", also as a mixed insurance policy with benefits in the event of survival on 1 February 2019 CO in the event of death before that date (CHF 64,043) and premium waiver in the event of occupational disability. The annual premium was CHF 2,774 at a technical interest rate of 3.5 %.
At the end of the contract term, the policyholder received benefits from the "winplus+" policy on 1 December 2018 amounting to a total of CHF 69,898 (CHF 65,385 as capital in the event of survival and CHF 4,513 as bonus) and from the "winspiro" policy on 1 February 2019 benefits amounting to a total of CHF 64,654 (CHF 64,043 as capital in the event of survival and CHF 611 as bonus). However, the policyholder claimed an additional amount of at least CHF 20,000 (plus interest), which AXA Leben AG rejected. No agreement was reached.
The policyholder filed a claim with the Insurance Court of the Canton of St. Gallen and requested that AXA Leben AG be ordered to pay an amount of at least CHF 10,000 (plus 5 % interest since 22 July 2019) from the "winplus+" policy and CHF 12,000 (plus 5 % interest since 22 July 2019) from the "winspiro" policy, to be quantified in separate proceedings. He also requested payment of a further amount of at least CHF 20,000 (plus interest) from both contracts. With a decision dated 10 May 2021, the cantonal court dismissed the claim.
The policyholder then filed a public-law appeal and requested that the cantonal decision be set aside and the matter referred back for a new decision. He alleged, in particular, a violation of the prohibition of arbitrariness, the right to be heard and Articles 1 et seq. and 18 CO, as the delivery of the detailed annual statements for 1996 to 2019 had been refused. AXA Leben AG requested that the appeal be dismissed, while the Federal Social Insurance Office waived a statement.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined whether the lower court violated federal law by refusing the policyholder’s request for delivery of the detailed annual statements for 1996 to 2019. The dispute concerned whether the policyholder was entitled to delivery of these documents in order to verify the calculation of the surplus participation.
The Court first confirmed that insurance companies offering life insurance policies with surplus participation are required to provide policyholders with a comprehensible annual statement of the surplus participation each year. This statement must, in particular, disclose the basis for the calculation and the distribution principles. However, there is no statutory obligation to disclose the surplus plan CO the detailed annual statements. The policyholder’s right to information…