Zurich suffers 8% premium fall

Zurich suffered an 8% drop in premium worldwide as it battled tough economic conditions in 2009.

Zurich UK chief executive Stephen Lewis said the insurer would mantain its tough underwriting discipline, especially in personal lines motor.

HIghlight (2008 in brackets)

- Gross written premiums and policy fees of $34.1bn (37,151)

- Operating profit $3,46bn (3,535)

- Combined ratio 96.8% (98.%)

UK General Insurance delivered a robust operating performance in the midst of a number of unforeseen challenges in 2009 including the Cumbria floods in November 2008 and the well publicised claims-related issues in the personal lines motor segment.

Stephen Lewis, chief executive, Zurich UK General Insurance said: “2009 has clearly been a challenging year for everyone in the financial services sector. We took several tough decisions in 2008 and reconfigured our business so as to be able to steer our way through the turbulent economic environment in 2009. This year looks like it will be another tough period for the market, but by keeping our distributors and customers at the forefront of our operations we will ensure we continue to offer high quality products and services in the UK market. We will maintain our strong underwriting discipline and take necessary corrective action to address profitability where the need arises, such as in personal lines motor, and in doing so, position ourselves to tackle another challenging year.”