Zurich UK reports 9% growth in P&C arm during 2023

Zurich UK has revealed that its property and casualty (P&C) business grew by 9% in 2023.

In a trading update, the insurer said its P&C arm achieved a gross written premium (GWP) of £3.72bn last year, up from £3.47bn in 2022.

It also registered a combined ratio of 93.8%, an improvement from 2022’s figure of 94%, while business operating profit (Bop) grew by £1m year-on-year to £262m.

The growth came as Zurich UK continued its focus on broker and customer propositions.

The insurer also put a greater focus on broker service during the year with the launch of Club Blue.

This provides support in three areas, including futureproofing, professional development and ease to trade.

Tim Bailey, chief executive of Zurich UK, said: “We’re pleased with the performance of the business over the last year, delivering growth and profitability across all areas.

“Our P&C business continued to perform well, achieving 9% top line growth, with a solid performance in core target portfolios.

“Last year saw an even greater focus on our broker service with the launch of Club Blue, the expansion of our regional office network into Leeds, Southampton and Bristol and the refresh of our mid-market proposition.”

Growth areas

Zurich UK also revealed that its efforts to improve service saw its customer and distributor satisfaction scores reach a record high in 2023, as measured by a transactional net promoter score.

“Our overall consistent profitability has been achieved thanks to the hard work and dedication of our teams, as well as our commitment to our broker partners across the country,” Bailey said.

“This year, we will build on this strong performance with a continued focus on our target growth areas.”

Meanwhile, at a group level, Zurich grew its Bop by 21% to $7.4bn (£5.8bn) and said that it had seen “strong growth” across all businesses.

It noted that its life, farmers and P&C businesses had seen “particular strong growth”.

“We delivered record returns in 2023, well ahead of all targets for 2023-2025, with particularly strong growth in P&C and life and highly effective management actions at the farmers exchanges,” Mario Greco, group chief executive, said.

“I expect this positive momentum to continue and to achieve EPS growth above 10% over the cycle.”