Zurich enjoys growth after commercial rate increases

Zurich Insurance Group reported 'solid' growth in its commercial business in the 2020 nine-month earnings statement, driven by favourable pricing, improved underwriting, and stable COVID-19 claims.

The Swiss insurer's property & casualty (P&C) gross written premiums grew 3 percent year on to $27.26 billion in the period. In the same period of 2019, the gross written premiums were $26.4 billion.

The growth was said to be driven by Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and North America businesses, further supported by higher premium rates, which improved more in the third quarter.

Property & casualty claims related to COVID-19, net of reduced claim frequency, remained unchanged at approximately $450 million as at September 30, 2020.

Zurich's life business annual premium dropped 19 percent due to decline in sales in the first nine months, largely driven by a combination of government-imposed restrictions related to COVID-19. Although, it saw a recovery in the third quarter driven mainly by a strong performance in Latin America.

George Quinn, Zurich's group chief financial officer, said: "Growth in our commercial business has remained strong with further improvement in commercial pricing and underlying underwriting performance. Our life business saw a return to growth in the third quarter despite ongoing challenges for face-to-face distribution channels, while Farmers continued to execute on their strategy to improve growth.

"Through the nine months, the Group has continued to demonstrate its resilience and the strength of the balance sheet, with the capital position under the Z-ECM improving over the quarter."