Net premiums written 1999
$17,148m (£11,988.7m)
European head office
Mythenquai 2
8002 Zurich
Switzerland
Tel: +41 1 625 25 25
Fax: +41 1 625 35 55
Website: zurich.com
Established in 1872
Main classes of business: The group concentrates its activities in five business segments: non-life and life insurance, reinsurance, farmers management services and asset management.
History
Zurich was founded in 1872. Within the next 12 years the company rapidly expanded its operations to include most European countries. In the years following the First World War, Zurich established a strong presence in the US and started business in the UK (1922) and Canada (1923). At the same time, Zurich expanded its activities in the life insurance business. Over the past 30 years, Zurich has steadily expanded its market position within Europe and the US and gradually established a presence in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Zurich made an important strategic decision in 1995 to set up asset management as a fourth core business. By acquiring the Kemper Corporation in January 1996, Zurich created a basis for establishing asset management for third-party customers. It quickly became clear, however, that it would not be possible to achieve the necessary critical mass within an appropriate time scale. The merger of Zurich Kemper Investments and Scudder, Stevens & Clarke, which became effective on December 31, 1997, was the next step. In September 1998 Zurich entered a merger with the financial services sector of British American Tobacco (BAT); the new company, is known as Zurich Financial Services Group.
Zurich Financial Services is a Swiss Holding company in which all the operating entities of both the former Zurich Group and the financial services business of BAT Industries have been combined under a single management team.
On October 17 2000, the Allied Zurich and Zurich Allied shares were replaced by Zurich Financial Services shares with a primary listing in Zurich and secondary listing in London.
Key personnel:
Rolf Hüppi chairman and CEO
Gastón Aguirre Silva, Latin America
José Cela, southern Europe
Peter Eckert, Switzerland
Martin Feinstein, north America consumer
Heinrich Focke, northern Europe
Steven Gluckstern, global asset business
Günther Gose, group chief financial officer
Constantine Iordanou, north American corporate
Malcolm Jones, Asia/Pacific
Thomas Kaiser, Zurich corporate solutions
Alexander Leitch, UK, Ireland, Southern Africa
Dirk Lohmann, global reinsurance
Frank Schnewlin, head of corporate center
Edmond Villani, Zurich Scudder Investments
Biography
Rolf Hüppi - chairman and CEO
Rolf Hüppi joined Zurich in 1963 and from 1964 to 1970 worked for the Zurich branch office in India, assuming overall responsibility there in 1966. In 1970 he returned to home office in Zurich for two years before moving to the US to carry out various functions, culminating in the regional manager's position at Pittsburgh, PA. In 1975 he once more returned to home office, to build up Zurich's international division.
In 1983 he was elected member of the group executive board and was simultaneously appointed chief executive officer of the Zurich organization in the US assuming overall responsibility for the Zurich group's activities in the US.
After his return, he was appointed deputy chief operating officer in 1987, chief operating officer in 1988 and president and chief executive officer in 1991. In 1993, Hüppi was elected member of the board of directors of Zurich Insurance Company and has been chairman since 1995.
With the merger between the financial services arm of BAT Industries and the Zurich Group in September 1998 Rolf Hüppi has assumed the position of chairman and chief executive officer of Zurich Financial Services.
