Zurich to focus on global corporate business

Zurich Insurance is to focus on strengthening its global corporate business as part of a strategy shift for the period 2014−16.

The insurer announced plans last month to streamline its organisational structure to reduce complexity and costs, which would mean up to 800 job losses throughout the global organisation.

StrategicRISK understands the insurer aims to build on its strengths and grow the global corporate and corporate life and pensions businesses in the next phase of its development.

Speaking to SR, a Zurich spokesperson said: “Our plan for profitable growth is about focusing more closely on the markets and customer segments where we have a competitive advantage, building on our strengths.

“This new chapter is about focusing on our strengths as an insurance company. It’s about growth in selected markets and with selected customer segments.”

Zurich identified its global corporate business as fundamental to its strategy for profitable growth and plans to focus more resources on supporting its multinational and international corporate customers in an increasingly riskier business arena.

“Globally, we can see that risks are growing faster than the economy, with assets increasingly concentrated, natural catastrophes more frequent and higher complexity and interconnectivity owing to globalisation,” Zurich said.

“Therefore, multinational corporations are facing more complex risk maps and a higher severity of individual accidents. For international companies, all of this is added with the complexity of regulations and managing of risks in different countries.

“With a growth of risks, in volume and scale, the need for a solid insurance counterpart is emerging. That requires a global approach with local understanding and delivery.”