G ROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT Property and Casualty Insurance 53 SWITZERLAND _  Our property and casualty insurer in Switzerland is Allianz Suisse Versicherungs-Gesellschaft. _  With revenues of 1.3 (1.2) billion euros, it ranks fourth in the Swiss market. While we continued the restructuring of both our group health insurance and accident insurance businesses,  premium income was slightly higher than in the previous year at 1.3 (1.2) billion euros.  A lower claims frequency and the restructuring of the group health insurance business reduced the  claims ratio to 74.3 (76.3) percent. Despite investments in new IT systems to im- prove the efficiency of our workflows, the  expense ratio re- mained nearly stable at 24.7 (24.3) percent.  Investment income increased to 88 (0) million euros, mainly be- cause lower write-downs of equities were required.  Despite improvements in the operating business,  earnings after taxes fell to 19 (31) million euros, because deferred tax liabili- ties from earlier years were dissolved and recognized as income. In the  current fiscal year , we will continue our restructuring ef- forts and improve the efficiency of our distribution system. Both measures have the objective of further improving our earnings performance. Revenues at our  Allianz Risk Transfer (ART) company were down 3.9 percent to 492 million euros. Of this amount, 344 million euros were generated by conventional reinsurance, while 148 million euros came from the sale of alternative risk solutions. Revenues in this business line increased 1.8 percent. This area involves comprehensive risk management solutions for compa- nies in the service, financial and industrial sectors. The corre- sponding products bundle financial and insurance expertise. At 62.7 (55.5) percent, the  claims ratio continues to stay at a very advantageous level. The  expense ratio increased 4.0 per- centage points to 26.6 (22.6) percent, mainly as a result of higher commissions. At the bottom line,  earnings after taxes improved to 38 (33) mil- lion euros, primarily due to higher investment income.  With the expiration of two high-volume contracts in the tradi- tional reinsurance business, revenues are expected to decline by about 130 million euros in 2004.  2003 2002 2001 Gross premiums ¤ mn 1,250 1,235 1,244 Premiums earned (net) ¤ mn 1,143 1,143 1,127 Claims ratio % 74.3 76.3 79.8 Expense ratio % 24.7 24.3 27.2 Earnings after taxes ¤ mn 19.4 31.0 120.5 Investments ¤ mn 3,084 3,195 3,735 Employees 2,604 2,887 3,186 Allianz Switzerland Allianz Risk Transfer 2003 2002 2001 Gross premiums ¤ mn 492 512 506 Premiums earned (net) ¤ mn 457 468 472 Claims ratio % 62.7 55.5 77.5 Expense ratio % 26.6 22.6 26.2 Earnings after taxes ¤ mn 37.9 32.8 34.3 Investments ¤ mn 1,005 1,153 1,139 Employees 31 30 28