Zurich will further its lean into mid-market commercial insurance

Zurich is focusing its growth in commercial insurance on the middle-market where growth has been twice as fast as in the large corporate segment, top officials have claimed.

“At the moment, we are growing in mid-market - twice as fast as in large corporate,” Sierra Signorelli, Zurich's CEO of commercial insurance, told an online briefing.

“We will continue to pursue the opportunities we see there,” she said.

Room for growth is visible not only on the market, but in the Zurich portfolio where mid-market accounts for only some 25% of the commercial portfolio to date. “It makes sense for us,” she said of the ongoing increase for mid-market.

The move is not a reduction in emphasis on large corporate which remains “still core”.

Amongst favoured lines, construction got singled out as a source of pending growth. Infrastructure deals and the energy transition may be key drivers, with a post-Covid backlog still palpable.  

Financial lines and US motor merit increased caution, she said.  

Rates across the broad spectrum of commercial lines have done a lot to support profitability, but rate adequacy remains under close scrutiny in light of pressures from inflation, weather-related events and evolving regulation, she indicated.

“It is important that we maintain pricing adequacy going forward as we see that a number of trends that have led to rate increases over time continue to persist,” Signorelli said.

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