Zurich Insurance Group is significantly increasing its presence in the middle-market and specialty sectors by investing heavily in the recruitment of top-tier underwriting talent across its global operations.
In a bid to strengthen its position, the company has added over 100 underwriting professionals in the U.S. alone, with these new hires distributed across more than 30 locations nationwide. This recruitment drive is part of Zurich’s broader strategy to enhance its underwriting capabilities worldwide, as revealed by the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Claudia Cordioli, during an earnings call following the release of its third-quarter results.
“We continue to focus on expanding our underwriting capabilities globally, with a particular emphasis on recruiting top-tier underwriting talent,” said Cordioli. The announcement was made as Zurich issued its Q3 financial results report on November 6.
While Cordioli acknowledged that this strategy will increase the group’s expense ratio in the short term, she emphasised that the long-term benefits will soon be realised as these new teams begin to generate business.
“We expect these teams to start actively producing business in the coming year,” Cordioli explained. “Each underwriter in the middle-market segment is expected to bring in premiums between $8 million and $9 million, so the contribution from these hires will be significant.”
London to Host Dedicated Specialty Unit
Zurich is also setting up a new dedicated global specialty unit in London, aimed at capturing the full market potential of its specialty lines. This unit will integrate and leverage Zurich’s global capabilities to expand its $9 billion portfolio of diversified exposures.
Cordioli noted that the high barriers to entry and the prerequisite expertise required in these business areas are expected to drive attractive long-term earnings growth and deliver strong returns for shareholders.
“Our focus on the middle-market and specialty lines positions us to benefit from long-term growth trends, such as investments in infrastructure and technology-related construction,” Cordioli added.
Zurich’s middle-market business has remained strong, with the group’s global presence continuing to expand. “At the nine-month stage, our middle-market footprint is 40% international in terms of gross written premium,” she added.
Strong Performance Across Property and Casualty
Zurich’s property and casualty business performed strongly during the nine months to 30th September, achieving record gross written premiums (GWP) of $38.9 billion, an 8% increase year-on-year. This growth was supported by average rate increases of 2%, and it was driven by exceptional performance in the retail sector, where GWP increased by 16% compared to the same period in 2024. Commercial insurance also continued to show positive momentum, with GWP growth of 3%.
Cordioli noted that improvements in pricing sophistication, customer segmentation, and claims management had all contributed to enhanced retail margins. She added that a strong rate environment was helping Zurich to sustainably improve profitability.
“While losses from natural catastrophes were well below prior-year levels, results have benefited from our sophisticated risk selection process,” said Cordioli.
Zurich’s proactive portfolio management over the past four years, which has included a 25% reduction in its U.S. hurricane exposure, has also contributed to better performance.
Moderating Rates in Some Lines, but Positive Trends Continue
While rates in some lines of business, such as property catastrophe, have softened following several years of strong performance, Zurich has continued to see positive trends in other areas. For example, in the U.S. commercial motor sector, prices are up 15%, and in financial lines, rates are beginning to strengthen after years of slowing increases.
“It’s important to differentiate by line of business and customer segment,” Cordioli explained. “We’re writing business at very attractive margins, and this is helping us improve our combined ratio this year.”
Zurich’s construction business, in particular, has performed well, with positive rate increases of 5% and a combined ratio better than the group’s specialty lines average of 85%. (A combined ratio below 100% indicates an underwriting profit.)
Farmers Exchanges Shows Positive Growth
Further good news came from the Farmers Exchanges, which have shown evidence of a meaningful transformation. The Farmers Exchanges, which are owned by policyholders, grew GWP by 5% to $22.6 billion in the first nine months of the year, driven by strong growth in new business and higher retention rates.
Policy count growth accelerated in the third quarter, with an additional 103,000 policies added over the past six months. This marks the first time in over a decade that the Farmers Exchanges have seen organic growth.
“The fundamental repositioning of the Farmers Exchanges is now delivering results, as we see meaningful growth for the first time in years,” said Cordioli.
Zurich does not own the Farmers Exchanges but, through its subsidiary Farmers Group, Inc., provides certain non-claims services and other fee-based services.