Zurich at a Glance

Zurich at a Glance 

9013_Zurich_Group@Glance_09_120710_RA.indd 1 7/10/10 10:52:34


Over 60,000 people 

helping customers 

manage risk in more 

than 170 countries. 

Zurich at a Glance 1 


Since 1872 

We’ve been in the business of insurance. Reaching out 

from our home market of Switzerland, we expanded 

quickly into new markets. We now provide services in 

more than 170 countries, offering insight and guidance 

in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, 

the Middle East and other markets. 

2 




Our business is insurance 

We divide our business into three 

main segments: General Insurance, 

Global Life, and Farmers. 

General Insurance provides property & casualty products and services to individuals, 

businesses, and major multinational corporations around the world. We reach these 

customers through a range of business divisions – including Europe General Insurance, 

North America Commercial, and Global Corporate – and a mix of distribution channels. 

Across General Insurance, we leverage the strength of a globally-integrated platform 

– one which includes underwriting, claims, product management, distribution 

management, risk engineering, reinsurance and customer relationship services – to make 

an array of risk management tools available to our customers. We continually refine our 

understanding of the risks our customers face, and through this practice generate new 

insights that we feed back into our underwriting process. This business model maximizes 

value and efficiency for our existing customers, and gives us a strong strategic foundation 

for selecting new markets and acquiring new businesses. 

Our General Insurance segment serves 

individuals, small and medium-sized 

businesses, commercial enterprises and 

major multinational corporations. 

Building from this global strength, and with a deep local understanding of markets 

across Europe, North America, Latin America, Southern Africa, Asia-Pacific and the 

Middle East, Zurich’s General Insurance segment is well positioned for continued delivery 

of top tier performance in the property & casualty marketplace. 

. 

4 Zurich at a Glance 


Global Life offers a broad range of life insurance, 

investments, savings and pension propositions 

to individuals and groups, managed globally and 

focused on local customer and distributor needs. 

Farmers includes Farmers Management Services, 

through which our Group manages the Farmers 

Exchanges, as well as the Foremost, Bristol West and 

21st Century range of products in the United States. 

1 

As measured by the Farmers Exchanges’ 

and AIG U.S. Personal Auto Group’s 

combined direct written premium in the 

U.S. personal lines business for 2007, 

resulting in an overall market share of 7.6%. 

Source: SNL. 

Global Life offers a broad range of life insurance, investments, savings and pension 

propositions to individuals and companies across the world. Global Life is managed 

globally while remaining focused on local customer and distributor needs. Our strategic 

focus is on customer groups and three distribution channels that benefit from our 

global reach. Our customer groups consist of: retail customers, internationally mobile 

expatriates, corporate customers, and private banking clients. We reach the majority 

of our retail customers through three main distribution channels: Zurich agents, 

independent financial advisers/brokers, and banks. Customers and distributors of Global 

Life products look to Zurich to deliver when it really matters, which in the case of life 

insurance or pensions could be far into the future, making the long history and financial 

strength of Zurich a key part of Global Life’s proposition. 

Farmers is the name of our third business segment. Through Farmers we also manage 

the personal lines and small business insurance sold in the United States by the Farmers 

Exchanges, which we do not own. Counting all insurance sold through the Farmers 

Insurance Group – which includes not only insurance sold under the Farmers brand, but 

also Foremost, Bristol West, and 21st Century, the direct auto insurer – makes Zurich 

responsible for managing the third-largest personal lines insurer 1 in the U.S. 

All three business segments are united by our common aspiration to be the leading 

insurance provider in our chosen markets, and to deliver to our customers when 

it matters. 



Here to help your world 

We take a global approach to our core businesses of general 

and life insurance. We have a strong presence in the world’s most 

attractive insurance markets, and apply our scale and financial 

strength to deliver tailored, world-class service in more than 

170 countries. 

North America 

Today we’re the third largest commercial insurer in 

the U.S., as well as its third largest personal lines 

insurer through Farmers. 



Europe 

We take a pan-European approach in the region, 

anchored by major operations in Germany, Italy, 

Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 

Asia-Pacific/Middle East 

Zurich, a long-standing presence in traditional 

markets such as Australia and Japan, is building 

its profile in Greater China and other regional 

markets to fuel further profitable growth. 

Latin America 

Emerging markets are key to our strategy for 

growth. Acquisitions in leading Latin American 

markets demonstrate our commitment to 

working in these thriving environments. 

Africa 

From marine and aviation insurance to 

microinsurance that can reach the poor, we 

offer a range of propositions and solutions 

to match Africa’s diversity of individual, 

commercial and corporate needs. 





Zurich HelpPoint 

Understanding you and your 

needs, how you want to work 

with us, how we can serve you: 

Zurich HelpPoint demonstrates 

our focus on customers and 

delivering when it matters. 

Zurich HelpPoint is the collective term for the many advice, service and solution offerings 

we deliver that capture our commitment to putting customers at the heart of all we do. 

To understand how to do this best, we contacted over 39,000 customers from 

around the world and asked them what they wanted. 

The answer that came back? 

Help. Help at the moments that matter most. Help that understands your business. 

Help that shortens the distance between problems and resolution. Help that adapts 

and changes as your life changes. Help that goes the extra mile. Help that understands 

you and the world you live in. Help that delivers. Help that says the customer is the point. 

Zurich HelpPoint. With 60,000 employees able to serve customers in more than 

170 countries, help is on the way. 



We put our customers at the heart 

of all we do 

If we’re successful in helping 

our customers manage risk, 

they can enjoy the freedom 

to work, play and thrive. 

This means anticipating and understanding the needs of our personal, commercial 

and corporate customers, and being entirely focused on meeting those needs. 

To make this possible, we have aligned our resources across businesses, functions 

and countries, so that every corner of our business can make a contribution to 

serving our customers. 

We aim to make it as easy as possible for our customers to do business with us, 

and ensure that they receive quality service when they do. The advice we offer is 

professional and insightful, drawing on the benefit of our global scale. We offer 

customers expert guidance, a wide range of solutions, and efficient service that 

treats them as individuals, not policy numbers. 





Looking to the future 

Providing products and services, no matter how 

high the quality, is not enough. We make sure that 

our business is constantly following a planned and 

systematic evolution toward greater effectiveness 

and efficiency. At the same time we remain 

committed to constantly evaluating change in our 

environment so that we – as well as our customers – 

are prepared for tomorrow. 

12 




Change is in our business model 

In our Group we search out and 

share best practices, we enhance 

the quality of our data, and we 

strive to improve our expense ratios. 

The Zurich Way 

Target of USD 2.7 billion for 2009 to 2011 

USD 

500m 

USD 

700m 

2006 2007 

USD 

800m 

Total TZW planned benefits 

2009 to 2011: USD 2.7 billion 

USD 

900m 

2008 2009 2010 2011 

Across our Group we search out and share best practices to continuously improve 

how we do business. We call it The Zurich Way – our journey of ongoing transformation 

to make Zurich a truly outstanding company in our industry. Across the Group, people 

are doing great things for our customers, and The Zurich Way takes all these best 

practices and systematically transfers them across the organization to fulfill our 

commitment to bring everyone up to the same level. 

What does this achieve? Take, for example, our core processes of Underwriting and 

Claims, where The Zurich Way delivers fair pricing and better customer service in a 

consistent, recognizably Zurich way. Or take Zurich’s ambitious goals for further 

profitable growth. These are largely driven by The Zurich Way of Tied Agent 

Distribution, Independent Distribution, Proposition Development and Cross-selling, 

each rowing in the same direction to better serve customers – however they choose to 

access Zurich – with products and services that truly meet their needs. The Zurich Way 

also helps integrate businesses we acquire so new colleagues can deliver a one Zurich 

experience to customers. What’s more, The Zurich Way is reshaping the Group 

towards our aspiration of having the most effective, efficient and customer-focused 

operating model in our industry. Through The Zurich Way we’re committed to 

delivering an anticipated USD 2.7 billion in total planned benefits between 2009 and 

2011, helping Zurich sustain its financial strength underpinned by a total focus on what 

our customers want and need. 

At Zurich we’ve institutionalized this culture of change, so that we’re always preparing for 

the next transformation in the way we do business. 



And so is growth 

Even under historically adverse 

conditions, our businesses deliver. 

Business Operating Profit 

(USD millions) 

8,000 

6,000 

4,000 

2,000 

0 

1 

Restated. 

2,316 

2,988 1 3,947 

6,035 1 6,707 1 5,186 

5,593 

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 

Zurich is locked on course to seek out and exploit opportunities for profitable 

growth. We strive constantly to be first in creating propositions that match our 

customers’ needs, and to reach them through distribution networks that set 

an industry standard for efficiency and convenience. Through acquisitions 

we compound the gains from these innovations, securing profitable growth 

through new positions in both mature and emerging markets. 

Even under historically adverse conditions, our businesses deliver. Our General 

Insurance segment has exemplified distribution excellence, delivering strong growth 

even in mature markets by finding new ways to reach customers. Global Life has 

demonstrated the full potential of product excellence, reaching unique customers 

(like expatriate savers) with options that laser in on their specific needs. Farmers 

Exchanges, which we manage but do not own, fulfills the promise of customer 

excellence, excelling in the fast-growing Hispanic and Asian-American segments 

in the United States. 

Most often growth is achieved in a simple way: by listening to our customers, 

understanding their needs, and then letting them know how Zurich can help 

them meet those needs. 





We’ve got the right people 

Under the leadership of our 

multinational senior executive 

team, we hire and develop 

future industry talent from 

all over the world. 

The kinds of people who can execute on our strategy successfully are always 

in demand. That’s why we’re committed to searching out and retaining 

the very best, and to keeping them challenged and motivated throughout 

their careers. We want to be an employer of choice not just in our industry, 

but across industries. 

Our workplace culture is stimulating, rewarding and collaborative. Compensation 

is competitive, career development opportunities are widely available, and 

performance is recognized and rewarded. Our flagship Global Associate Program 

is specifically designed to develop future industry leaders, drawing on our 

relationships with universities all over the world. Employees are encouraged at 

every stage of their career to take control of their own development goals, while 

all managers are given deep insights into how they can motivate and align their 

teams. Visit the Careers section on our Web site if you’re ready for change. 

www.zurich.com/careers 



And they’ve got great insight 

With a deeper understanding of our 

customers’ needs, we can develop 

new solutions for a new age. 

Zurich is a thought leader. We house internal think tanks to stimulate critical thinking 

on new developments arising in the risk landscape, such as pandemic flu and 

nanotechnology. We bring in external experts to work on our Advisory Councils, 

which advise management on the broader risk implications of global challenges, 

such as natural catastrophes and climate change. We fund academic programs 

around the world, and contribute to the global stock of knowledge by being 

a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum. 

We’re engaged in these activities first because it makes good business sense: our 

customers expect us to provide risk insights on their behalf. Just as importantly, 

we aim to make our risk insights available to the public at large – stimulating more 

informed reactions to risk, and giving a more expansive view of the role insurers 

play in society. 

In these and many other ways, Zurich is a leader of the insurance industry in thinking 

about and evaluating change. 





Contact us 

Registered Office 

Zurich Financial Services Ltd 

Mythenquai 2 

8002 Zurich, Switzerland 

Media Relations 

Zurich Financial Services Ltd, Switzerland 

Telephone: +41 (0)44 625 21 00 

E-mail: media@zurich.com 

Investor Relations 

Zurich Financial Services Ltd, Switzerland 

Telephone: +41 (0)44 625 22 99 

E-mail: investor.relations@zurich.com 




Here to help your world. 

For more information please visit: 

www.zurich.com 

Zurich Insurance Company Ltd 

Mythenquai 2 

8002 Zurich, Switzerland 

Phone +41 (0)44 625 25 25 

www.zurich.com 

50634-0911

Zurich at a Glance

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