Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE

What Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE does

Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE (also known as Earthquake Damage Organization, EDO; French: Organisation dommages sismiques, ODS; Italian: Organizzazione danni sismici, ODS) is a Swiss non-profit association (Verein) headquartered in Ostermundigen, Bern. Founded on June 16, 2021, it operates as a public-private partnership between the 26 Swiss cantons, the Principality of Liechtenstein, 19 cantonal building insurers, and 9 private insurers. Its mandate is to coordinate rapid, standardized building damage assessment and reconstruction cost estimation across Switzerland and Liechtenstein following earthquakes, addressing a gap in national disaster response infrastructure where delays in damage estimation have historically inflated economic costs.

The organization's core offering centers on the TERMOT digital platform, developed in partnership with Swiss Re and operated by risktec AG. TERMOT integrates the Swiss Seismological Service (ETH Zurich) earthquake risk model and the Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings, systematically grouping every Swiss and Liechtenstein building into sectors of 10–30 with unique identifiers. The platform feeds building and incident data to pre-registered field experts — civil engineers, architects, construction technicians, and construction managers — via mobile applications that allow on-site damage recording and reconstruction cost estimation. Capacity is stated at up to 300,000 buildings per year. Operational readiness is supported by TCS (Touring Club Suisse) as call and operations centre, with experts mobilized via SMS and email after seismic events. The platform achieved full operational status in October 2023 and was first deployed live following the 2025 Blatten earthquake.

SOE generates no disclosed revenue from customers in the conventional sense. Its operating budget is funded 50% by the cantons and Liechtenstein (public service agreements) and 50% by cantonal building insurers and private insurers (subscription-style member financing). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the organization explicitly operates as a lean association rather than a commercial entity. It is governed by a Board of Directors including representatives from RK MZF, VKG, and SVV, with Dr. Stephanie Eymann as President and Thomas Küchni as Director; Bruno Spicher (Risk Agent GmbH) joined the Board in May 2024.

Name

Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE

Legal name

Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE

Website

https://soe-ods.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE is a Swiss non-profit association, founded in 2021, that coordinates nationwide earthquake damage assessment and reconstruction cost estimation across Switzerland and Liechtenstein for cantons, the Principality of Liechtenstein, and building insurers via its TERMOT digital platform and a pre-registered expert pool.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Earthquake Damage Assessment Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Security, Safety & Fire/Life Safety Management (BPABAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Security Training & Compliance (Guard Training, SOPs, Drills) (BPABAMAN), Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) & Advanced Inspection (Phased Array, TOFD, Guided Wave) (EUAEAKAF)

Keywords

• Earthquake damage assessment
• Building evaluation services
• Catastrophe response coordination
• Seismic risk management
• Public-private partnership services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ostermundigen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: One half financed by cantons and Principality of Liechtenstein through service agreements.
2. Insurance Funding: One half financed by building insurance and private insurance companies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SOE is a non-profit association that coordinates and delivers rapid building damage assessment and reconstruction cost estimation following earthquakes in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It maintains the TERMOT digital platform and a pre-recruited pool of building-evaluation experts who are mobilized via SMS/email to record damage and estimate reconstruction costs on-site. Services are provided under service agreements to all 26 cantons, Liechtenstein, cantonal building insurers, and private insurance companies, with the capacity to assess up to 300,000 buildings per year.

Product overview

Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE (Earthquake Damage Organization EDO) operates as a single unified offering centered on the TERMOT digital platform. This platform, combined with mobile applications for field experts, enables coordinated building damage assessment and cost estimation following earthquakes in Switzerland. The organization maintains a pool of pre-recruited experts (civil engineers, architects, construction technicians, building managers, insurance experts) who can be mobilized rapidly via SMS and email after an earthquake event.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TERMOT: Digital platform developed by SOE and SwissRe for coordinating earthquake damage assessments and building evaluations. Provides building and incident information centrally and via mobile applications.

Products and services

• TERMOT Platform
• Expert Pool (EDO Experts)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supportive.

• RK MZF (Intergovernmental Conference on Issues relating to Military, Civil Protection and Fire Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresents the 26 cantons and Principality of Liechtenstein. Provides expertise in immediate management of natural disasters and coordinates issues of public interest relating to cantonal military concerns, civil protection and fire services. Dr. Stephanie Eymann serves as RK MZF representative on the EDO Board.
• VKG (Association of Cantonal Building Insurers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategically coordinates and represents the interests of building insurance organizations and their members. Michael Wieser, VKG representative, serves as Vice President of EDO.
• SVV (Swiss Insurance Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRepresents the interests of the private insurance sector. Jean-Philippe Moser serves as SVV representative on the EDO Board.
• Swiss RecoreTechnology or IntegrationDevelopment partner for the TERMOT platform. Provided expertise in developing the IT infrastructure for earthquake damage management.
• risktec AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationDeveloped the TERMOT platform and is responsible for its further development and operation. Ensures platform operational readiness and technical support during emergency response events.
• TCS (Touring Club Suisse)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWith 1.6 million members, Switzerland's largest mobility club. Supports EDO as call centre and operations centre, and provides personnel for earthquake preparedness and managing operations during earthquake events.
• Risk Agent GmbHcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting company advising on management, organization, risk, insurance and project management. Bruno Spicher has been consulting for EDO since its founding and helped develop the organization as project manager and director.
• Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH ZurichsupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides earthquake risk modeling data and expertise. The SED's earthquake risk model is integrated into the TERMOT platform for rapid calculation of potentially damaged buildings and required experts.
• Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP)supportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports EDO and ensures coordination with federal earthquake preparedness measures.
• Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)supportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports EDO in earthquake preparedness and coordinates with federal measures for earthquake risk management.
• WFCP (World Forum of Catastrophe Programmes)supportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork promoting exchange of ideas and expertise between government and government-sponsored organizations for natural disasters. SOE is a member.
• SIA (Swiss Association of Engineers and Architects)supportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of engineers and architects that provides professional expertise relevant to building damage assessment and earthquake engineering.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• World Forum of Catastrophe Programmes (WFCP): Network in which SOE participates that connects government-sponsored catastrophe insurance schemes globally. Provides peer benchmarking and knowledge sharing across SOE's direct international counterparts.
• Swiss Re: SOE's TERMOT development partner and re/insurance incumbent. Comparable through shared focus on Swiss earthquake risk modelling and is integrated with SOE's assessment infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• PERILS AG: Industry-wide data provider for European catastrophe losses used by re/insurers. Indirect peer through its role in standardizing loss reporting infrastructure similar to TERMOT's damage assessment data layer.
• Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) Switzerland: Swiss federal body supporting SOE with coordination on earthquake preparedness measures. Operates in the adjacent emergency preparedness domain with overlapping stakeholder relationships.
• Italian Civil Protection Department: Italy's national body coordinating disaster response including earthquake events. Addresses an analogous seismic risk environment and operates at a comparable whole-of-country scale.

Direct peers

• California Earthquake Authority (CEA): Privately funded, publicly managed not-for-profit providing residential earthquake insurance in California. Comparable public-private partnership structure delivering standardized earthquake coverage and damage assessment, with a similarly narrow geographic mandate.
• Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP): Mandatory earthquake insurance pool established by the Turkish government with World Bank support, providing standardized residential earthquake cover. SOE shares TCIP's role as a national coordination entity for seismic damage assessment.
• Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (Spain): Public-law entity that acts as Spain's catastrophe insurer of last resort, including earthquake coverage. Comparable non-profit, state-anchored insurance pool that has institutionalized post-event damage assessment capabilities.
• New Zealand Earthquake Commission (EQC): Crown entity that provides natural disaster insurance for residential properties in New Zealand, including earthquakes. Operates a similar government-funded model with pooled risk and standardized damage assessment, making it the closest international counterpart to SOE.

Regional players

• Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich: Provides the earthquake risk model data integrated into TERMOT. Operates as the upstream scientific counterpart for SOE's downstream damage assessment activities in Switzerland.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/soe_ods
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schadenorganisation-erdbeben-soe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schadenorganisation Erdbeben SOE