Zurich - Multi-line insurance organisation, Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has announced that it is building on the success of its previous strategic cycles and raising the bar for customer experience, simplifying the business and driving innovation as it sets ambitious new financial targets for the next three years.

Group Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco said: “In the last three years, against a backdrop of a global pandemic and its economic fallout, the growing impact of climate change and war in Ukraine, our successful strategy of customer focus, simplification and innovation has consistently delivered for shareholders and customers.

“After two successful strategic cycles, we have already achieved much, but our ambition does not end here. Now, we plan to further accelerate our strategy to build a clear leadership position in the insurance industry.

“Over the next three years, we intend to further grow our Property & Casualty margins and profits in the Life business. We expect Farmers to maintain mid-single-digit growth rates in revenues, continuing recent trends. With this business performance, and with strong expense discipline, we aim to achieve a business operating profit after tax return on equity in excess of 20% by 2025.

“At the same time, we will continue to embed sustainability across the business through accountable, transparent and measurable initiatives.

“We will track our progress against the new targets announced today and we are confident we will achieve them by 2025.”

Consistent strategy, increased ambition

Building on its track record of strong delivery in challenging times, Zurich has further increased its financial ambition for the 2023-2025 period. Selective top-line growth and continued strong risk selection and expense discipline will allow Zurich to target compound annual organic growth in earnings per share of 8% over the period. This is expected to lead to a business operating profit after tax return on equity (BOPAT ROE) in excess of 20%. The Group aims to deliver continued high levels of cash remittances, which are expected to be in excess of USD 13.5 billion over the three years, while retaining its strong capital position with a target Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio of at least 160%. Zurich plans to deliver these targets by accelerating its customer-focused strategy and generating additional value for shareholders.

This will continue to support Zurich’s attractive dividend policy. The policy targets a pay-out ratio of around 75% of net income attributable to shareholders, delivering increases based on sustainable earnings growth and a minimum target of the prior-year level.

Expanding a leading franchise

In Commercial Insurance, Zurich has driven a continuous improvement in the combined ratio over the last six years, thanks to disciplined underwriting, improved quality of insights, customer focus and the shift toward a more balanced business.

The Group’s well-balanced and high-quality portfolio and relative underexposure to unattractive lines of business is the source of ongoing margin expansion and stable and increasing returns. A talented workforce and superior insights, based on data and analytics, help Zurich to maintain its focus on better risk selection and position it well to succeed in today’s evolving market conditions. This position of strength will enable further profitable growth, deepen relationships with customers and improve Zurich’s competitive position.

Boosting loyalty in retail

In Retail, the Group intends to build on existing groundwork by strengthening customer loyalty and establishing its position as the insurer of choice. Zurich aims to achieve this by using digital platforms to deliver relevant, personalized propositions in a convenient way, when it suits its customers.

The Group is fostering a customer-focused culture at every level of the business. At the same time, it has built capabilities to listen, anticipate and respond to the needs of both commercial and retail customers. Zurich intends to maintain momentum by further strengthening this area over the next strategic cycle.

In Retail, Zurich has consistently improved its transactional net promoter score (TNPS), a measure of customer satisfaction, by 7.8 points since 2019. This has driven increased levels of customer retention and supported growth in the Group’s customer base, with 4.6 million net new customers added since 2019.

Driving best-in-class results in Life

In the Life business, Zurich has improved returns on capital and reduced its sensitivity to interest rates through a continued focus on sales of protection and capital-light savings products. These products accounted for 95% of annual premium equivalent sales in the first half of 2022, up from 85% in 2019. Targeted actions on legacy portfolios of traditional, interest rate-sensitive savings business have reduced the sensitivity of the Life business to financial markets and further improved returns on capital.

Zurich has strengthened distribution by acquiring and renewing key bank distribution agreements and by expanding distribution through financial advisers and specialist agents. The Group intends to drive growth by continuing to expand distribution and by using enhanced data analytics to support greater personalization of products for customers, improve sales and increase retention, while also targeting growth in new customer segments.

Zurich will expand its product range, while also continuing to grow its successful capital-light savings business. In addition, Zurich will build on its strong in-house investment management capabilities, including in sustainable funds, to deliver a broader range of customer solutions and to capture additional margin.

Strong ambition at Farmers Exchanges

At the Farmers Exchanges, which are owned by their policyholders, the integration of the MetLife business is expected to bring higher revenues as well as diversify the business’s geographic and distribution footprint. Increasing rates are expected to further support growth, while focused investment by the Farmers Exchanges will aim to improve technical capabilities to better align with best-in-class peers.

Embedding sustainability across Zurich

Accountable, transparent and measurable: these terms epitomize Zurich’s approach to sustainability, which it views through the three key lenses of planet, customers and people.

Zurich will sharpen its focus on helping customers transition to a net-zero future over the next three years and beyond. The Group aims to increase the share of revenue it generates from sustainable solutions, which incentivize or support actions that produce a positive social or environmental impact. It provides a range of products, from coverage for green mobility and sustainable energy solutions to resilience advisory services, as well as a suite of ESG investment solutions in the Life business.

Maintaining excellent capital levels

Strength of capital and financial flexibility are a hallmark of Zurich, which, together with low volatility of operating results, underpins the dividend policy. Completion of the announced disposals of back books in Italy and Germany will further reduce the market sensitivity of the SST ratio. The capital policy of operating at or above an SST ratio of 160% is maintained.