Our strategy
A clear strategy developed by us, for all our stakeholders
Our strategy positions Zurich for success over the long term. It builds on our unique footprint, solid financial position, balanced portfolio trusted brand and the skills, strengths and expertise of our people. And, it draws on our purpose and values. These clearly articulate why we are in business and how we set out to achieve our goals, always putting those who depend on us in the center.
Our strengths
We are a balanced and diverse business with unique capabilities. We use our strengths to generate value for our stakeholders and reach our goals.
A solid financial position
We are rated AA/stable by Standard & Poor’s. Our solid financial position reassures our customers that we will be there when they need us to handle their claims and gives confidence to our shareholders that we are financially stable. It also gives us a well-earned positive reputation as a business and employer, and positions us to invest in future growth.
A balanced business
Our business is balanced both geographically and by products and customer segments. Our strong retail and commercial franchise and flexible operating model means we can weather economic and market volatility and take advantage of industry change.
A trusted brand, talented people
We understand the risks our customers face and can structure offerings that meet their needs. This reinforces our global brand, one of the most valuable in the insurance industry. Our strong reputation allows us to attract the best talent worldwide.
Our long-term strategy
Customers
Zurich’s ambition is to be the insurer of choice by building meaningful relationships with customers and earning their loyalty.
Simplification
We are successfully simplifying our business and operations, reducing unnecessary complexity to make better use of resources.
Innovation
We are evolving to make sure we continue to meet customers’ expectations and needs.
Our targets for 2023-2025
Our financial targets for the cycle 2023–2025 are our most ambitious yet. Here is what we aim to achieve by the end of 2025.
Business operating profit after tax return on equity1
>20
Cumulative net cash remittances over the period 2023–2025
USD
>13.5
Swiss Solvency Test ratio2
≥160
Compound organic earnings per share growth3
8
1 Business operating profit after tax return on equity, excluding unrealized gains and losses.
2 Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio calculated based on the Group’s internal model approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. The SST ratio as of January 1 has to be filed with FINMA by end of April each year and is subject to review by FINMA.
3 Compound organic earnings per share (EPS) growth rate, before capital deployment, over the period 2023–2025. The baseline for the 2023–2025 EPS growth target was the assured achievement of the 2020–2022 target of a compound earnings per share growth rate of 5% (i.e. EPS of USD 32.1).
Our business model works to deliver benefits for our stakeholders
Helping our retail and commercial customers to understand and protect themselves from risk.
Serve customers
We continuously expand our network, making products, services and solutions available to customers through many channels: directly, or indirectly via brokers and agents, and in cooperation with third parties including banks, travel providers, retailers, rental agreements and car dealerships.
A strong, global partner network is vital to our success, and this requires developing and curating our relationships.
The success of our business and the satisfaction of our customers are founded on the activities described below, from pricing risk to settling claims quickly. Trusted customer relationships mean we are better able to provide advice and solutions that meet the individual needs of our customers in an evolving risk landscape.
Understand and underwrite risks
Insuring risks is central to what we do. Our underwriting expertise, knowledge and skill, accumulated over decades of experience and backed by a wealth of data, gives us the ability to assess, understand and quantify risks at all levels of complexity. This enables us to offer fairly priced, appropriate insurance solutions to our customers, as well as provide insights to support them in managing their risks and mitigating potential losses.
As trusted long-term partners, we stay close to our customers to better understand their individual needs and, where possible, equip them with the right tools to navigate any challenges they face. We have deployed technology throughout the organization to improve how we engage with our customers and support our underwriters in providing a superior service. We constantly make improvements to the day-to-day environment for our underwriters by seeking and acting on their feedback. This reduces turnover and means we can retain experienced people within the organization, helping us to maintain the strong technical capabilities our customers expect.
Manage reserves
Our Group-wide policy, the ‘Zurich Way of Reserving,’ with well-defined standards and conservative approach, is the basis for how we calculate insurance liabilities. Our reserving process is supported by strong governance, including extensive internal and external reviews.
Invest
Our income includes returns from invested premiums, policy fees and deposits. Our success as a business is important to those who depend on us to pay claims reliably, as well as investors who look to us to deliver savings returns and operate our business responsibly.
Zurich’s approach to managing investments aims to maximize risk-based returns relative to the Group’s liabilities, while understanding emerging risks in challenging times. That is why we manage our assets responsibly and do this by integrating environmental, social and governance factors in our investment decisions.
Manage claims
It is vital our customers have faith and confidence in our ability to fulfill our commitments. Experience and a reputation built over decades mean our customers can trust us to use our expertise to support them in their time of need, responding swiftly, keeping them informed throughout their journey, and settling the claim fairly.
We are constantly seeking new ways to respond to our customers’ expectations of service, offering a choice of communication channels and self-service capabilities. We innovate to respond to their changing needs and enhance the sustainability of the services we deliver. We strive to deliver insights to customers to help them mitigate and even avoid future losses.
We systematically analyze customer feedback using a range of engagement opportunities, including net promoter system (NPS) programs, not only as part of our claims process but throughout all key customer touchpoints.
Contact Zurich
Have a question? Need to get in touch with someone? Please contact us.