Welcome to Zurich

Zurich is 150. They say you’re only as old as you feel, and Zurich still feels like a startup. We’ve stayed nimble, adapting to whatever history has thrown our way – from world wars to natural disasters to pandemics – and we’ve grown stronger along the way.

But in one important way we are unlike a startup: Zurich is, first and foremost, a beacon of stability. Throughout our long history we have managed to shape our industry, and have earned the trust of our customers, communities and families worldwide.

All the credit for our achievements goes to the people of Zurich, where – who knows? – an apprentice can rise to become a business leader. After all, our trust in people drives them to become better and better.

The stories in these pages illustrate how we care for our customers – and for one another. Our Zurich Forest, for instance, has become a symbol of how much we care for the planet.

We’re proud of what Zurich stands for, and we’re looking forward to our next 150 years with the same confidence that we had when we started all the way back in 1872.

Side
by
Side

In an ideal world, nobody leads, and no one follows. Working together, trusting each other, we accomplish what no one can do alone.

EJ Crespo likes the program’s freedom and flexibility.

Learn and earn. A swiss apprenticeship program in the U.S.? Meet those putting it to the test.

Photo essay by Clarissa Bonet

Lizeth Torres joined the program right after finishing high school.

Lydia Arthurs enjoyed learning while on the job, and in class.

Jesse Buss balanced fatherhood and an apprenticeship.

Sabrina Wilks, workers’ compensation apprentice.

Brandon Quarles is focusing on information technology (IT).

Kareena Deol has found her passion in underwriting.

Will Banks managed an ice cream shop before becoming an apprentice.

A Swiss soul

Zurich’s apprenticeship program incorporates a successful, traditional and time-tested way to pass on skills and knowledge. The ‘earn and learn’ approach can transform lives. It’s a Swiss thing, and ‘Swissness’ is part of Zurich’s soul.

Dayanna Chavez Carranza will never forget the day she learned about Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program. “It seemed almost too good to be true!” she recalls. A mother with a young son, she was holding down two jobs when she applied for Zurich’s program. The approach was perfected in Switzerland, by Swiss, who believe that their apprenticeship system is second to none. And it might well be. It combines classes with real-life work experience in a way that brings together the best of both worlds. Apprentices accepted to the U.S. program earn a salary and upon completion, receive an associate degree, a Labor Department certificate of apprenticeship and a full-time position with Zurich. Carranza is an enthusiastic fan of the program, and Zurich. She’s planning to grow her career while “contributing to the team’s and company’s goals.”

It is just one of many success stories since Zurich North America launched its insurance apprenticeship program in 2016, the first of its kind to be certified by the U.S. Labor Department. It gets at the heart of what Zurich believes in. It helps to shape its success by helping to cultivate and bring together diverse talent. It has won awards and hired 145 participants (which could jump to about 220 with its latest cohort). The majority of graduates stay with Zurich after the two-year program ends.

Gold standard

The U.S. program is similar to many in European countries with dual vocational education and training systems. Swiss and even some international educators believe the Swiss system is the gold standard. It is also extremely popular, with about two thirds of Swiss choosing an apprenticeship, rather than a university education. Sameen Pasha joined Zurich’s U.S. program in 2019 and graduated in 2021. She liked Zurich’s model. “Why land in a situation where you might have literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt after you finish your degree?” says Pasha. Some apprentice alumni have also gone on to do further studies, using Zurich’s tuition reimbursement benefits to help defray the cost. Pasha graduated from the North America program in 2022, and is studying for a bachelor’s degree in operations management.

Zurich has had apprentices since its earliest years. Board minutes from 1883 note the salary of an apprentice, Otto Hardy, were raised to CHF 30 from CHF 20 a month. Apprentices even in those days looked forward to earning much more when they got a regular position.

Professional knowledge that only comes with working in a company is an added attraction. Michelle Hristozova, who completed Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program in 2019, and went on to get a bachelor’s degree, has already achieved her goal to become an underwriter at Zurich.

Other apprentices praise Zurich’s diversity and inclusion. Justin Peters, who began as an apprentice in Zurich North America in 2021, is African-American. He learned about Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program when he was working for a pest control business. He mentioned to one of his clients back then that his father was an underwriter. “When I said that, the customer’s face lit up. She told me I absolutely had to look into Zurich’s apprenticeship program.” Peters did so, and liked what he saw. “Zurich took the initiative to show that they wanted to see change in the demographics,” says Peters.

Of course, insurance doesn’t always sound very exciting to young people. It sometimes took convincing to attract suitable candidates. Zurich’s Swiss apprenticeship ads in the 1960s emphasized the excitement of a business that offered a chance to work abroad. Zurich North America’s apprentices can look forward to a varied experience. They may be assigned to traditional areas like claims, but also information technology, human resources, crop insurance, sales and communications. In the UK, Zurich has also expanded its apprenticeship program to include data analytics, even offering an opportunity to study for a degree in data science.

Zurich North America’s apprentices praise the work-life balance. “There aren’t many programs that allow you to have dedicated time for school and work, while still having the time to do what you love outside of work,” says EJ Crespo, who joined Zurich North America’s program in 2021. His hobbies include video editing and photography.

From apprentice to CEO

Angel Rosario, who dreams of one day being the head of a team, or even starting his own business, has no regrets about choosing Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program. “No scholarship can compete with the value this program offers. You learn from industry professionals. And having colleagues that lend a hand and take time out to make sure you grasp the concepts helps quite a lot.”

Apprentices can rise to the top. Several Swiss who began as apprentices in various occupations have become Swiss cabinet members. In Zurich, too, the sky’s the limit. Lupus Tin began as an apprentice in Hong Kong, later becoming part of the general insurance executive team. Eric Hui, who started as a trainee, is Zurich Hong Kong’s chief executive officer.

Anthony Brennan joined Zurich as a trainee actuary, and is today CEO Zurich Ireland. “I could have become an actuary by going to university, but that would have delayed me by a few years and would have a cost attached to it. With the Zurich trainee program, I was able to start right away. It allowed me to have a great career with Zurich,” says Brennan.

“As a former Zurich apprentice, I’m delighted to see the Group exporting a model that has proved its value in Switzerland. We are highly committed to giving people options to build a strong foundation and pursue opportunities. It’s also key to Zurich remaining an employer of choice,” says Juan Beer, today CEO of Zurich Switzerland.

A startup mindset

The youngest of Zurich’s founders were only in their thirties when they signed the new enterprise into life. They were busy men who contributed their energy and idealistic fervor to a changing society.

On October 22, 1872, 10 men met in the city of Zurich to found a corporate entity with the name Versicherungs-Verein (Insurance Association). The new company would become what we know today as Zurich, the global insurer. It was initially set up as a subsidiary of another marine insurance company that these same men had founded in 1869. In the Zurich region back then, the real money was in textiles. Insurance was, and still, is important for the textile industry. The many textile factories that had sprung up in eastern Switzerland, a region that includes Zurich, relied on cotton from America, India and Egypt, and imported raw silk, sending finished goods abroad. Transport and shipping were their lifelines.

It’s no surprise then that four of Zurich’s youngest founders, Heinrich Emil Streuli- Hüni, Adolf Guyer-Zeller, Carl Abegg-Arter and Robert Schwarzenbach, were running private textile businesses. With the exception of Guyer-Zeller, they took over the family-owned business when they signed Zurich into life. The latest venture was just one of many going concerns. They also engaged in politics, served on boards of several Swiss companies and took speculative bets on the risky growth industry of the age – railroads. The Northern Railway completed its first line between Zurich and Baden in 1847.

But while railroads still represented a comparatively new industry in 1872, Switzerland was already a major textile superpower. Family-owned textile factories had introduced automated looms in the nineteenth century which revolutionized the industry.

Adolf Guyer-Zeller’s travels inspired him to invest in the railway industry.Photo: Privatarchiv W. Wahl-Guyer

Robert Schwarzenbach was only 22 in 1861 when he took over the family silk manufacturing and trade. He succeeded in expanding the family business into an international enterprise. The business he set up in New York was later taken over by his son who ran it from the Schwarzenbach building on Park Avenue.

The U.S. exerted a strong draw for ambitious, curious young Europeans, including Zurich’s Swiss founders. Heinrich Emil Streuli-Hüni spent over two years in the U.S., even becoming a U.S. citizen. He recorded his impressions, including of a dubious investment in a U.S. coal-burning cooking stove invention to produce gas for home lighting. Like many tech adventures, it turned out to be unfeasible and took much of his time and money. His distraction is evident in his complaints about losing his bonus from his day job at the New York silk trading company where he worked for a time, before returning to Switzerland.

Inspiring travels

Streuli-Hüni left the U.S. to return to Switzerland in 1861, the same year Guyer- Zeller and Schwarzenbach also visited America. Guyer-Zeller’s journeys through the North American continent, ostensibly to learn more about the textile production and trade, but seen in retrospect more like a homage to the travel industry. He took steamships on the Great Lakes, journeyed by boat, and rail, visiting many cities, and making it as far as New Orleans, and even Cuba before he returned home to Switzerland. His travels left him itching to build a Swiss rail network.

Carl Abegg-Arter was also on the board of a major Swiss bank.Photo: Portrait of Carl Abegg-Arter, oil on Canvas, Léon Bonnat, 1906

Like many successful entrepreneurs, Guyer-Zeller was a dreamer who translated visions into reality. Along with running the family cotton business, he also invested in Swiss rail companies and took an active role in the growing industry. He is best remembered for engineering the rail line taking visitors to the top of the Jungfrau peak in the Bernese Alps.

The most prominent of Zurich’s board members is probably Carl Abegg-Arter. He was just 32 in 1868 when he was called to serve on the board of what became Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland’s largest banks, at the behest of another notable Swiss, Alfred Escher. Escher is still celebrated for his monumental engineering feat, the Gotthard rail line. Having Abegg-Arter on the insurer’s board likely allowed Escher to keep an eye on what was going on there, while he dealt with other projects, including serving as chairman of Credit Suisse for over two decades. Abegg-Arter became the bank’s chairman after Escher died in 1882 and Credit Suisse’s longest-serving chairman. He served on both boards until 1912, the year he died.

Streuli-Hüni became the longest-serving board member at Zurich. He was on the board for 43 years, served as chairman for 14 years and retired and died in 1915. During that time, he also served on the boards of railways, banks and a condensed milk company that later merged to form Nestlé Group. He even served for a time as Nestlé’s deputy chairman.

Heinrich Emil Streuli-Hüni worked in New York and became a U.S. citizen.Photo: Schulthess Familien-Archiv, Horgen

Close shaves

Zurich’s younger founders embraced the entrepreneurial mindset and weren’t afraid to imagine the future. They seized opportunities and tested ideas. They took calculated risks. They idealized the prospects of what progress would bring. They embraced new technology and ideas. Fully half of the 10 men who set up Zurich were still in their thirties when they signed the charter in 1872. Well-traveled, from a background that valued work and common business sense, their experience and knowledge served them well. Their ideas about progress were also tied to self-interest, but that included an idealistic mindset. Their long-term thinking really did reflect a vision for the future. In some cases, they were a bridge, coming from old, family-owned companies, but presaging a global shift toward modern, capital-intensive companies owned by shareholders.

There is one aspect that has changed since Zurich’s founders were active. Visionaries still abound, but today’s entrepreneurs come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Founders of successful companies are also often as likely to be women as men. They may lack the impressive mustaches of early founders but certainly also have a lot of great ideas.

Robert Schwarzenbach was only 22 when he took over the family business.Photo: Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Graphische Sammlung und Fotoarchiv

The Living
Book

As time passes, our experiences add to our history. See, how Zurich evolves through the stories of our people.

Ready to join The Living Book?

You can be part of our story, too! We're looking for moving anecdotes that capture our past, present and future. Make it your book by contributing photos, videos and brief stories.

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      A healthy relationship

      I’m a registered nurse by profession with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and a master’s degree in healthcare administration. I was looking for a fulfilling position that would allow me to ‘pay it forward,’ where I could apply my clinical background and leadership experience. Attracted to Zurich by a former colleague’s LinkedIn post, I joined the pharmacy team within Zurich North America’s Managed Care – Workers’ Compensation business in August 2022. Our team works closely with claims professionals and other departments to pre-authorize prescriptions and to review pharmacy bills for appropriateness. We have a strong focus on customers’ (patients’) wellbeing. We also analyze drug utilization patterns, while working to continuously improve our current programs and initiatives. Right from the start at Zurich, I received warm and genuine welcomes, and wishes for a long and prosperous career. At my welcome lunch during just my second week with my team, they’d even remembered it was my birthday and I received a card signed by everyone. It was very thoughtful and went a long way in conveying inclusiveness. Folks still ask how I’m doing and how I like Zurich. It’s testament to a culture of authentic interactions! I look forward to many more years of growing and innovating within a family that’s rich in talent, intellect, diversity, and empowered potential. Thank you, Zurich!

      Leah Montoya

      Senior Supplier Medical Process Specialist

      North America

      With Zurich since 2022

      Zurich – cradle of SoulContract

      It all began back in late fall 2016. Aron had just started as a legal counsel with Zurich Switzerland. As a guitar player and singer, during a coffee break, talk naturally turned to music. It turned out that one of Aron’s new colleagues, Andrea, was a skilled vocalist. She shared his love of soul music. So the pair joined forces, and SoulContract was born! A surprise first gig for colleagues at Legal & Compliance’s Christmas dinner was a resounding success. It led to a sing-along that lasted the whole evening. Since that successful debut, SoulContract has gotten star billing in bars and clubs – and, last but not least, at internal Zurich events.

      Andrea Grüter / Aron John

      Senior Legal Counsel

      Zurich, Switzerland

      With Zurich since 2014 / 2016

      The Zurich Blue Santa

      Back in my home country of Brazil where I first started working for Zurich, besides my day job, I was leading our Engagement Group and one of my favorite tasks was to organize our Christmas celebrations. In 2018 we invited Santa Claus to be one of us – he came and greeted our employees wearing his Zurich blue outfit, as a true Zuricher! The CEO, Santa, his elf and I walked through every floor, spoke to everyone, took a bunch of selfies, giving me a strong feeling of belonging, pride and joy! I felt as lucky to be part of this organization then as I feel now!

      Estela Padoveze

      Employee Listening Program Manager

      Zurich, Switzerland

      With Zurich since 2013

      Caring

      Personal bonds matter. A wealth of experience and knowledge enable mutual trust, fostering a relationship that can last for decades.

      Things look good now. But just wait until rush hour.

      Full throttle. For Zurich Mexico’s auto claims adjusters, helping others is a way of life.

      Photo essay by Jordi Ruiz Cirera

      Claims to fame

      Mexico’s auto claims adjusters make life a little easier in a place where driving is not for people with weak nerves. Meet two of Zurich’s adjusters, who found their dream job assisting customers.

      Aclaims adjuster “is a surgeon…. those papers are not just forms and statistics and claims for compensation. They’re alive. They’re packed with drama,” says actor Edward G. Robinson, in the role of Barton Keyes, a claims adjuster in the Hollywood classic, ‘Double Indemnity.’ But of course, that’s just the beginning. In Mexico City, besides experiencing daily drama on the road, claims adjusters serving motorists have to have hearts of gold and nerves of steel. Driving there is not for the weakhearted. We caught up with two claims adjusters, who took a little time to talk about their jobs.

      For Wendy Flores, who joined Zurich in 2017, auto claims adjusting was always her dream. But it took moving to Mexico City, and joining Zurich, to get the job she wanted. Today, she loves it for the variety and the chance to serve others, a quality shared by most of her colleagues. “A day as an adjuster is never boring. That is what I love most about the job. We experience laughter, anger, frustration, worry, sadness and joy. We understand what it means to have empathy.” Flores had wanted to be an auto claims adjuster ever since she was young. A family friend who worked as an adjuster would talk about exciting things that happened in his job and how he might even get two parties to reconcile and agree after an accident. Excitement and bringing people together to settle their differences – what could be better? But at the time, it wasn’t a profession open to women. Time passed, Flores grew up, married and moved to Mexico City where the husband of her friend – lo and behold – worked as an adjuster.

      Wendy Flores, Zurich Mexico’s first virtual auto claims adjuster.Photo: Jordi Ruiz Cirera

      Mexico City at last count had 8.9 million residents. And including the people living in its greater metro area, residents number around 20 million! Naturally, they might occasionally need to file claims. Especially as the driving habits of big-city dwellers in Mexico can leave something to be desired. Very often, the biggest vehicle has right-of-way at intersections. Lane changes often involve psyching out other drivers. Traffic congestion is a way of life. In fact, according to one study, the average speed on roads in Mexico City, as the population has grown, has dropped to 11 kilometers per hour – around the same as in 1910, when horse-drawn carriages were still on the roads.

      Flores’ dream seemed closer after her move to Mexico City. But when she first made inquiries, she was told again that adjusting was no job for a woman. At last, fate intervened. She heard of an opportunity at Zurich. And, fulfilling her childhood dream, Zurich hired her as an auto claims adjuster. “They trusted me. They gave me the backing and unconditional support to perform a job in which I believe and respect.” And, as a women, she says, she feels her skills are valued.

      Zurich Mexico relies on 72 adjusters working on the road in cars, or on motorbikes and those available online. Mexico City’s team includes 33 on-the-ground adjusters, and six serving customers virtually. In 2019, Zurich Mexico also introduced virtual adjusting. Flores was the first adjuster to provide the service to Zurich’s clients, in which assistance is offered as soon as adjuster and claimant connect through a video call. The claims adjuster receives photos and videos through the customer’s mobile device, and then instructs the customer how to get repairs. They may also provide further guidance, for example if another driver is involved and if the vehicle can be moved. This service can save the insured a lot of time and offers greater convenience. And it gives customers the feeling that “they are accompanied by Zurich from the moment that they report an accident,” says Flores.

      Ricardo Eduardo De Lucio Rodríguez, inspired to help others.Photo: Jordi Ruiz Cirera

      Ricardo Eduardo De Lucio Rodríguez, like Flores, has worked as an auto adjuster for many years. He joined Zurich Mexico in 2017, starting as an adjusters’ supervisor. He was inspired to become an adjuster due to his desire to assist others. “I have always been willing to help people,” he says. As a young boy, he already developed a fascination for vehicles, too. At an early age, he learned how to help his father change the oil in the family car. But it was an unusual incident that set Rodríguez on the path to his future career. He and his father were at a filling station. The attendant forgot to remove the nozzle and hose from their gas tank. They drove away, taking part of the pump with them. An argument ensued. Things only got resolved after an insurance adjuster arrived on the scene, displaying impressive confidence and competence. He told them not to worry, that everything would be fine. “Ever since then, I have admired what great work adjusters do,” says Rodríguez.

      He belongs to a mobile unit and is often found on Mexico City’s roads in his hybrid vehicle. He is also passionate about his job, which, he says, “begins by waking up with the right attitude.” Each day he works, after washing his car, he drives to his assigned place to wait for directions to wherever a customer might require assistance.

      Mexico’s adjusters understand that a car accident, even one in which nobody is hurt, can be very stressful for everyone involved. They learn how to calm down situations that could otherwise become explosive. They understand and empathize with the emotional situations and fears of the people involved. Rodríguez recalls that one woman who had a car accident was crying, until the adjuster told her a joke, and got her to laugh, so that she was able to complete the claims process. “That’s a good example of the human side of what we do,” he says.

      Rain or shine, if you’re driving in Mexico City, remember that Zurich’s adjusters are likely never far away, and they’re looking forward to assisting you. Even when COVID-19 struck, they were there for customers. “Every day brings new challenges: the weather, the traffic, the mood of those involved in a claim and so on,” says Wendy Flores. “But even in a pandemic, we never would have considered not caring for our customers.”

      Aging gracefully

      Zurich is helping Japan’s seniors to maintain their independence. While Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, other countries’ demographics suggest Zurich’s approach is what is needed elsewhere, too, to benefit seniors and society.

      The short story, ‘When My Wife Was a Shiitake’ by Kyoko Nakajima tells of a retired man whose wife suddenly dies. He is, curiously, reborn through the experience of learning to cook. While some elements are uniquely Japanese, the story has a universal quality that speaks volumes about aging, and how it is possible to discover a new life, even in old age. It is an appropriate message not only for Japan, the country with the highest percentage of centenarians, at six for every 10,000 people. It is also a message that Zurich’s property and casualty (P&C) business in Japan has heard, and to which it has responded. “We believe we are making a contribution to society as Japan’s population continues to age,” says Hiromasa Takeuchi, who helped to develop a product tailored to seniors.

      In 2010, Zurich’s Japanese P&C business introduced the personal accident insurance product specifically for seniors. It has proved a success. Today, the policies-in-force total 1.3 million. The senior personal accident insurance policy has found resonance in a country where typical accident insurance cover is limited to people 75 years or younger. Zurich’s policy resonates in a country with an average life expectancy of 85, one of the highest in the world: roughly a third of the product’s policy-holders are older than 80.

      Sumiko Iwamura, Sumirock for short, received an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest professional DJ.Photo: Enno Kapitza

      Zurich’s SPA is sold through ‘endorsers,’ which includes banks, as well as credit card companies and retailers. Unlike most other products on the market, it can be continued until the age of 100. “Many of our partner banks are working on the goal to enrich a 100-year lifespan,” says Tomokazu Hirose, who heads partner relationships in the wholesale business. “We have received many positive comments from those offering the product. It is meeting a genuine need by protecting active seniors.”

      Delivering the product to customers with confidence includes training. Such training gives sales support staff a sense of what it is like to be old and helps them to better communicate with elderly customers.

      In Japan, where working hard means staying active even as one gets older.Photo: Enno Kapitza

      “Thanks to your kind support, I was able to complete the payment procedure all by myself even though I am very old.”

      “Using a dedicated app, we try to understand how our voices sound to seniors, and to speak in easily understandable ways, using the best words to make everything as clear as possible,” says Chie Kawanishi, manager of the customer care center. The approach was first used for motor. It was adopted by the personal accident team as an innovative way to support customers. Training even includes wearing glasses and other devices to simulate being old. By understanding what it is like to hear and see through the ears and eyes of the elderly, “we can reduce communication errors when talking to customers,” says Kawanishi. Those dealing with seniors often receive gratitude for speaking at a speed that is easy for older persons to understand. Sales support staff also learn to treat seniors with care, just as they would younger clients. “We do not judge by age,” says Kawanishi.

      While the demand for Zurich’s product is understandable, the genuine outpouring of customer gratitude is one of the most surprising things. Seniors expressed thanks on many occasions. “All of your staff responded and explained kindly and helped.” Another wrote, “thanks to your kind support, I was able to complete the payment procedure all by myself even though I am very old.” These are just a few of the positive comments Zurich has collected in surveys.

      Makoto Suzuki researches longevity.Photo: Enno Kapitza

      Optimism toward senior customers sends a positive message to everybody. This makes sense in a country where elderly often make headlines for amazing feats. In 2015, Mieko Nagaoka became the first 100-year old to complete a 1,500-meter freestyle swim. Toshio Tominaga, a mere youth by comparison at 73 managed a solo swim across the Tsugaru Channel, a distance of about 20 kilometers. And there’s ‘Sumirock’ – Sumiko Iwamura – who received the Guinness World Records title for being the oldest professional club DJ at 83.

      So instead of telling elderly customers that “it’s easy to get injured when you get older,” the Zurich team provides support and encouragement, telling senior policyholders: “because you’re fine, you have many opportunities to play an active role, so be prepared for injuries and recovery.”

      Perhaps Zurich might explore other avenues. For example, policies tailored to supercentenarians? There are still new things to experience even for those who already have celebrated many birthdays, and we hope, have many more to come.

      Misako Miyagi lives in Okinawa, where a significant number of residents have reached the century mark and beyond.Photo: Enno Kapitza

      Confidence

      Forests are not just trees. A project to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil shows the important contributions all creatures provide to maintain a biodiverse habitat.

      New seedlings for the restoration of South America’s oldest forest.

      High hopes. Regrowing one of brazil’s threatened forests, where life is slowly returning.

      Photo essay by Lalo de Almeida

      Returning home

      Forests are not just trees. A project to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil shows the important contributions all creatures provide to maintain a biodiverse habitat.

      “The animals are coming back,” says Weverton Rodrigues da Silva with satisfaction. As head of the tree nursery at Instituto Terra, a nonprofit organization working to restore part of South America’s oldest, and once-greatest forest, he knows that seeing animals return to their native habitat is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Twenty years ago, few would have believed that the Atlantic Forest, reduced to a fraction of its former size, could ever be regenerated. But Instituto Terra is showing that it can, with much work and love, create a place for a huge range of species that depend on the Forest, and in turn, contribute to its – and our – health.

      Bringing back biodiversity

      The Atlantic Forest, one of most diverse and vulnerable habitats on earth, once stretched along South America’s eastern coast. Less than a tenth of it remains today, fragments of what it once was. Its most dangerous predators aren’t the jaguars or maned wolves that survive, despite all odds in a shrinking patchwork of wild land. The real predator is man. What took nature over 100 million years to create has taken humans just five centuries to destroy. The little that remains is under constant threat from urban sprawl, and monoculture plantations like sugar and coffee. When nothing more will grow, the land is trampled under the hooves of cattle.

      Working to reverse this destruction, Instituto Terra was established in 1998 by Lélia Wanick Salgado and her husband, renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado. Along with the tree nursery, it offers classrooms and educational programs, helping to bring about a transformation in communities in Brazil’s Doce River valley.

      Zurich is also playing a role. Through the Zurich Forest project, it established a grant enabling Instituto Terra to restore a part of the Forest in three different areas in the region to its original state; self-sustaining and biodiverse. To achieve this, over an eightyear period, a million native seedlings will be planted on the Salgado family’s former cattle ranch. Zurich is also looking for ways to further expand its engagement.

      Wild cats still roam in the shadows

      Da Silva and his team might replant as many as 5,000 seedlings a day during the rainy season, grown from a native seedbank. In all, Instituto Terra has already planted over 2 million trees within the reserve, and sells, donates or otherwise promotes regrowth beyond its borders, too.

      That is creating habitat for native species, including apex predators that keep things in balance. Brazil is believed to be home to about half of all jaguars alive in the wild. There are several different cats that roam the Atlantic Forest but sightings are rare. Da Silva recalls with pleasure a small cat he saw at sunset. Perhaps it was an ocelot, an oncilla or a jaguarundi. The wild cats still roam in the shadows, almost shadows themselves. Visitors may never see them. But if they are lucky, they might spot tracks or claw marks, perhaps of the onça-parda - puma.

      The Atlantic Forest, even in a depleted state, still harbors a mind-boggling number of creatures, despite some native species believed to be already extinct. These include a brownish-green bird called by locals gritador-do-nordeste – northeast screamer. That its raucous voice may never be heard again is sobering.

      But one bird’s voice refuses to be stilled. The Rufous (red-bellied) thrush, or sabia, is Brazil’s national bird. Da Silva pauses whenever he hears its melodious trill. Its name is even part of a Brazilian tonguetwister: “voçê sabia que o sabiá sabia assobiar?” In English, that means “did you know that the thrush could whistle?” Some even think its call sounds like ‘38’ in Portuguese. Its highly varied diet comprises over 120 different plants.

      Visitors to Instituto Terra might also spot a black-necked araçari, a medium-sized toucan with an enormous bill. Only a few birds like toucans have beaks large enough to grasp jucara palm berries. Eating the fruit from trees, they can scatter the seeds over a wide area. When toucans are absent, studies have found that the jucaras produce smaller weaker, trees.

      There are also a few creatures so close to extinction that biologists describe them as the ‘living dead,’ including the Americas’ largest primate, the muriqui. Where these monkeys manage to live in small groups in the Atlantic Forest, they do the forest a favor. Their incredibly varied diet includes an astounding 137 different plants. By spreading the seeds of the fruit and other plants they eat, they also promote a wide distribution of seedlings, encouraging greater genetic diversity. At Instituto Terra, muriquis haven’t been spotted, but brown howler monkeys may sometimes be seen. It’s a sign that the regrown forest can support such creatures who depend on trees for their survival.

      Tiny armies of hope

      The Atlantic Forest’s defenders include army ants that live in trees and offer protection to their hosts. And there are even smaller, but no less significant creatures to mention: microbes. Drugs and antibiotics are derived from soil bacteria. Researchers have found that the soil in the Atlantic Forest, with its amazing biological diversity, could provide new drugs. Who knows? The next life-saving medicine might come from the Atlantic Forest’s dirt.

      Weverton Rodrigues da Silva, meanwhile, remains optimistic that the Atlantic Forest will return to a state in which both humans and nature can co-exist in harmony. “I see a different species almost every day.” As a youngster, some of the rarer animals were those he’d only heard about in stories that his father and grandfather told him. Like the animals in legends. Today, that has started to change as the animals return, he says, adding: “Now, I can see the animals for myself. This is their natural environment. They feel safer here.”

      Home

      Many endangered species are finding a safe haven in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, where Instituto Terra has focused its efforts to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest.

      Night hunter: Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are largely nocturnal.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Glittering-bellied emeralds (Chlorostilbon lucidus) feed primarily on nectar from flowers.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Birds of a feather: the black-capped donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) mates for life.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      The red-browed amazon (Amazona rhodocorytha) is threatened both by habitat loss and by being captured for the trade in wild parrots.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Black-necked aracaris (Pteroglossus aracari) have a harsh squeal (“skreee-yeep!”) that can be repeated many times.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) are named for their booming territorial calls.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) also known as Maikong, do eat crabs – but also fish, insects, rodents, eggs and fruit.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      The collared anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla) spends up to 60% of its time in trees.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

      Magic

      We use the best of new technology to deliver what really matters: being there for people when and wherever they need us.

      Drones can assess crops in minutes.

      Flying high in Nebraska. RCIS’s technology includes drones to survey crops.

      Photo essay by Jon Horvath

      Justin Doerr, Nebraska farmer, drone pilot and RCIS claims adjuster.

      Drones rely on stateof-the-art software, cameras and transmitters.

      Farming gets a drone’s eye view.

      Soil, sun, rain and prayers, plus patience, and precision.

      Technology helps. So do generations of farming experience.

      Farms live generation to generation, offering hope for tomorrow.

      You can see for miles, or in summer, only to the next row of corn stalks.

      Taking flight

      Drones are helping RCIS (Rural Community Insurance Services) put the community into insurance services. Technology is vital, but the people behind the crop insurer owned by Zurich North America make the real difference.

      “You cannot look very far through a cornfield,” says Justin Doerr, one of about 70 drone pilots working for RCIS. Zurich acquired RCIS in 2016. It is among the biggest private crop insurers in the U.S. Besides flying drones, Doerr also works for RCIS as a claims adjuster. “I’ve always had a fascination with technology, including drones. I purchased my own personal drone and began using it on my farm. It was more a hobby at first, but I soon found some uses for it.” Doerr found drones to be a great tool for assessing crops. “I’m six feet tall, ripe corn is easily much taller. So when you are standing on the ground looking through a cornfield, you’re not able to see much of anything. That’s where drones can be extremely helpful.” Besides Doerr’s drone pilot and insurance credentials, he’s a farmer growing crops, including soy, corn and alfalfa, on 300 fertile acres in the northeastern corner of Nebraska. It’s a small farm by U.S. standards, and a hard business in the best of times. But Doerr, who served in Iraq before taking over the family farm when he got out of the army, isn’t the type to complain. He just gets on with the job.

      Allaying farmers’ fears

      Great people like him are piloting technology in the sky to give customers of RCIS fast and reliable claims service. Even in tall cornfields where you can hardly see past the next stalk, drones provide detailed information on damage caused by wind or hail or floods. A drone allows assessments to be done in minutes rather than the hours that might otherwise be needed to walk a field. And drones give an extra level of confidence. Farmers typically fear the worst after they see a part of a crop damaged. Real-time drone images can allay such fears.

      Technology helps to keep tabs on crops and harvest schedules.Photo: Jon Horvath

      “It’s just human nature,” says Doerr. “You’re going to find an area that’s bad. And you’ll think, ‘oh, man, the whole field could look like this.’ But you don’t know because you can’t see everything. In my work as an assessor, you’ll come to situations where you see some wind damage. We’ll send the drone up. The customer might be standing right next to me, seeing the same thing I do on the screen. From drone images you might find that just a small area is damaged, and the rest of the field is relatively OK. That puts the customers’ minds at ease.”

      Important to communities

      Examples where drones have made a difference to RCIS’s customers include assessing the damage a tornado caused to crops: drone images not only pinpointed the damage, but also the debris left behind that could have damaged equipment. And in 2020, derecho winds, which can be as destructive as tornados, destroyed pockets of crops. Here, too, drones were used to assess how much was still harvestable.

      People who look to RCIS and its agents for insurance very often depend on what they produce to provide an income to support themselves and their families. Getting good results even when nature isn’t cooperative thus matters to families and whole communities. The corn might be as high as an elephant’s eye (up to 10 feet, or about three meters), but even those who feel short while standing next to it, stand tall when the value and importance of crops is taken into account. In 2021, Zurich’s drones flew 761 times to cover in total 113,528 acres (about 460 square kilometers). An area that large – depending on what was planted – could easily produce crops valued at well over USD 100 million.

      RCIS provides coverage for just about any type of produce. Besides corn and soy, that ranges from peanuts to avocados, and even clams. Doerr, who joined RCIS in 2015, was eager to join the drone program, which RCIS started in 2018. In 2020, RCIS rolled it out across the U.S. Claim adjusters like Doerr, trained as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified drone pilots, are, like many employees at RCIS, an integral part of their local communities. Speaking from the cab of a vehicle early one morning as he helps out on a neighbor’s farm, he admits that, at first, he just wanted a drone to have fun and take sensational photos. But it quickly proved its worth for his family’s business. As an organic farmer, he doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides. On his own farm, he uses the drone to spot weeds and destroy them before they ruin a harvest.

      RCIS’s drones rely on state-of-the-art customized software, video cameras and transmitters. Technology’s overall impact on farming is being felt across all sectors and phases of production. Some people even compare what tech brings to the table – literally – to a new green revolution. Socalled ‘precision agriculture’ can, as just one example, give farmers the ability to monitor crops from planting to harvest. Equipment and data make it faster and easier to report planted crop information to RCIS, making the process faster and simpler.

      And of course, drones also help. “Wind has been a big issue for us lately,” Doerr says. “For corn, here in the Midwest, drones have been a great tool. Seventy percent of the time I’m in the field, I’m using the drone. I can grab the drone, put it up, get some photos, which takes maybe 10 minutes, but it gives me a wealth of information on what type of damage I might be looking at, and where I need to look in the field for that damage.”

      A family tradition

      Doerr is the third generation working the farm he now owns. While he shares a love of the land with his father, unlike his dad, he has a fascination for the latest technology. And Doerr’s two young daughters are very comfortable with it, too. Their future may look quite different. They will have new technology and tools, but the sense of community and its importance are lasting values they are learning at an early age. “When we are on the farm, we try to make teachable moments for our girls,” Doerr says. “If we do that, they will find out what they want to do in life. There are just tremendous opportunities out there.”

      Bring on the boldness

      Looking for the best and brightest new ideas, the Zurich Innovation Championship was introduced in 2018. Each successive contest has attracted an increasing number of entrants from around the world. Zurich may collaborate with finalists as it seeks to develop ways to approach the big challenges affecting society and the planet.

      The 2021-22 Zurich Innovation Championship selected 12 startups as winners, out of about 2,600 entries. They will receive financial support from Zurich and gain access to mentoring by Zurich executives. They can also bring their ideas to life and see them realized on a major scale within a global business.

      Ofer Tziperman
      ANAGOG

      One of Zurich’s winners in the simplicity category, Anagog has created a way to allow companies to personalize their services to customers while protecting a customer’s privacy. Its clever solution began with a humble quest to find better parking solutions. “We ended up solving the significantly bigger problem of allowing personalization and privacy to co-exist,” says CEO Ofer Tziperman. Founded in 2010, Tel-Avivbased Anagog’s technology is protected by more than 25 patents. When Tziperman isn’t working, he likes to hike with his dog. Anagog was selected by Zurich’s businesses in Germany and Portugal.Photo: ANAGOG

      Norbert Dohmen
      CARUSO

      Founded in 2017, Caruso wants to make mobility safer, more efficient and more sustainable. Its pay-as-you-drive solution allows individual drivers to pay only for the vehicle insurance they need. Its solutions can make car sharing easier, letting individual drivers track their own usagebased costs. It can provide mechanics with information to make repairs easier and will even notify emergency services if a vehicle is involved in a crash. Norbert Dohmen, managing director since 2020, likes to spend time with family and friends and enjoys basketball as well as skiing. Caruso, which has its offices in the German city of Mannheim, was one of the winners in the insurance reimagined category, selected by Zurich’s business in Germany.Photo: CARUSO

      Gino Bustamante
      LISA INSURTECH

      Co-founder and CEO Gino Bustamante likes to mix different technologies to solve challenges. LISA Insurtech settles insurance claims with the help of artificial intelligence and also blockchain technology, simplifying and streamlining lengthy manual insurance processes. It gives insurers ways to improve efficiency and provide more customerfocused service. Bustamante, who says he drinks about 2.5 liters of coffee every day, was inspired to look for solutions after he had a bad experience related to a claims settlement after a car accident. A manager of an insurance company challenged him to improve the experience of insurance customers. LISA Insurtech was one of the winners in the simplicity category, selected by Zurich Chile.Photo: LISA Insurtech

      Sunny Sanwar
      DYNAMHEX

      For Dynamhex founder Sunny Sanwar, helping people to get better at identifying, analyzing and prioritizing effective ways to mitigate climate change was a personal mission. Born and raised in Bangladesh, he is motivated in part by seeing coastal places in his home country slowly disappear as sea levels rise. Dynamhex was a winner in the sustainability category, selected by Zurich North America.Photo: Dynamhex

      Eugene Dicker
      KEEPERS

      Keepers CEO Eugene Dicker wants to use technology to make the world a safer one for children to explore. Keepers was founded in 2016 after research found that social media platforms failed to protect children. Using technology to protect youngsters, its app tracks cyberbullying and other attacks. Keepers, a winner in the insurance reimagined category, was chosen by Zurich Life Japan, Zurich Brazil and Argentina.Photo: Keepers Child Safety

      Shruthi Rao
      ADAPT READY

      Severe fl oods in Thailand in 2011 led Shruthi Rao to explore ways to improve data used to model risks. Rao and Sandeep Chandur, Adapt Ready’s co-founders, seek to harness the power of machine learning to transform trillions of external, seemingly unrelated data points into risk insights. Their technology lets users, including insurers and re-insurers, navigate risks. As the climate changes, it is becoming increasingly important to solve gaps in data, providing better insights into complex and evolving risks. Adapt Ready was one of the winners in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Commercial Insurance and Zurich’s UK business unit.Photo: Adapt Ready

      Michele Grosso
      DEMOCRANCE

      Building on a passion for microinsurance and its impact on society, CEO Michele Grosso founded Democrance in 2015. It offers insurers technical and digital solutions to make insurance accessible for the low-income populations across emerging markets. “The low-income population’s lack of access to basic risk protection tools, such as social security, healthcare and personal savings was something that I wanted to change for the industry,” says Grosso. Apart from running a company, he enjoys travel, skiing and opera. Democrance was a winner in the simplicity category, selected by Zurich Malaysia.Photo: Democrance

      Ahmad Wani
      ONE CONCERN

      A massive flood in Kashmir was the catalyst for co-founder Ahmad Wani to find ways to improve models that predict climate-related disasters. One Concern built a digital twin of the real world to reveal hidden risks in man-made and natural environments. It allows customers to spot structural risks to buildings and networks that people rely on. Originally intended for public-sector use, One Concern has also been adopted by private-sector users. When not working, Wani loves to cook. One Concern was a winner in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Zurich North America and Zurich Commercial Insurance.Photo: One Concern

      Raymond Schmitt
      SALIENT

      Co-founder and president Raymond Schmitt is interested in how oceans affect climate. He uses his scientific knowledge to help people and organizations better understand and prepare for the impact of climate change. Salient aims to provide more accurate and longer-range forecasts, and offer insights that will help people adapt to the realities of climate change, as well as helping companies to make informed decisions. “I view Salient as a way to get my scientific discoveries to make a positive difference for society and the planet,” says Schmitt. The company’s core technology was developed through decades of research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Salient was a winner in the sustainability category, selected by Zurich Brazil.Photo: Salient Predictions

      Carmela Magno
      GARANTEASY

      Garanteasy’s technology allows consumers and companies to keep warranty information for purchased products in a private cloud and manage them throughout the products’ lifecycles. It can also notify people about warranty deadlines and product maintenance schedules. Founder and CEO Carmela Magno, a mother of two, says the inspiration came up in a bar when people were talking about warranties. “We had an ‘epic’ moment that started the business.” But the reality was much more complex, involving consultations, prototypes and testing. Begun in 2016, Garanteasy also wants to help people to buy products with good guarantees to promote long-lasting use. It was a winner in the insurance reimagined category, selected by Zurich Global Ventures and Zurich’s Italian business.Photo: Garanteasy

      Anders Åkerlund
      DEEDSTER

      “We help companies to engage their staff or customers to take positive actions – or, as we call them, ‘deeds’ – to combat climate change,” says co-founder Anders Åkerlund. Deedster’s solution includes a personal carbon footprint calculator and offers users suggestions to live more sustainably, coupled with incentives. A winner in sustainability chosen by Zurich Integrated Benefit Solutions.Photo: Deedster

      David Maman
      BINAH

      David Maman wanted to be a doctor, then discovered a passion for technology. Aware that half the world’s population lacks access to basic healthcare, he set up Binah together with two others. Its artificial-intelligencepowered, video-based monitoring solutions can turn any device with a camera into a tool to measure vital signs. Binah won in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Zurich LiveWell.Photo: binah.ai

      Action

      Whether by supporting mental health, improving the lives of children and adults, or communities, we enrich our own lives, too.

      Zurich’s Tatjana Buser having a field day on the Vita Parcours.

      Vita parcours. The outdoor fitness trails open around the clock, every day. A real zurich invention.

      Photo essay by Joël Hunn

      Each of the stops helps training flexibility, strength and endurance.

      Nature is an important element of the Zurich Vita Parcours.

      There are about 500 Vita Parcours throughout Switzerland.

      Michael J. Agovino crunching at a station.

      Brigitte Knup makes flexibility look easy.

      Rhea George enjoys time to reflect in nature.

      Equipment is provided and generally made of wood.

      The fast track

      The Vita Parcours trail, a concept Zurich introduced, offers round-the-clock, free access to fitness in beautiful surroundings. It continues to prove its value and remains relevant in a changing world.

      In Switzerland, you’re never far from a Vita Parcours. These fresh-air fitness trails include a jogging track with stations along the way inviting you to train coordination, strength and agility. The trails – there are about 500 of them in Swiss cities, towns and scenic spots – take their name from Vita, the life insurance business Zurich founded in 1922. That business is well known for many firsts. Vita, for example, was the first life insurer on the European continent to offer customers free medical checkups. It also broke new ground by paying for customers’ life-saving medical treatments. Another innovation, sensible health advice, was packaged in appealing and colorful ‘Ratgeber’ magazines, which set new standards in design. These offered tips on everything from how to improve sleep to spotting mental health issues. Today, Zurich continues to set new standards in promoting mental health, including through independent health organizations and in cooperation with the Z Zurich Foundation.

      Fresh air, breakfast cereal

      The concept of health in the early twentieth century was experiencing a revolution, based on new ideas that forests and fresh air were good for you. It came at a time when increasing industrialization was leading people to seek ways to get back to nature. The upstart science of psychology also encouraged relaxation in unspoiled outdoor settings. The ideas that emerged in this era included some bizarre ones. Germany’s FKK movement, for example, introduced the notion of healthy, mass, outdoor nudity. A less startling development but one with more far-reaching consequences was the idea of healthy eating. That included Bircher Muesli cereal popularized by Swiss doctor Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner. Coincidentally, Bircher-Benner’s former health clinic is now home to Zurich’s corporate conference facility, the Zurich Development Center (ZDC). Naturally, it serves Bircher Muesli.

      Zurich’s Rosa Sanchez getting ready to tackle the Parcours.Photo: Joël Hunn

      The first Vita Parcours opened in a wooded area near Zurich in 1968 not far from Bircher-Benner’s former clinic. The idea of the Vita Parcours, a free, public fitness track, was a sensation when it was introduced. At the time, most people had to pay to belong to sports clubs. Jogging wasn’t yet popular with the masses. Vita Parcours tracks were set up in many countries, including the U.S., Austria, France, Belgium and even Dubai. After the life business changed its name to Zurich, Vita Parcours stuck to its roots and kept its Vita name.

      Zurich continues to make advances in promoting wellbeing today. That includes the digital platform LiveWell, which Zurich launched in 2020 to promote personalized health (social, mental, physical and financial) for a digital age. Zurich also sponsors events for amateurs and elite athletes. Among them, it is the title sponsor of the Barcelona Marathon. Zurich also encourages employees to take part in sporting events to raise money for charities. The ‘Tour de Zurich,’ for example, challenged employees to ride their bicycles from Zurich’s Frankfurt office to its global headquarters, covering a distance of 400 kilometers in two days. And to mark the company’s 150-year anniversary, 150 Zurich employees competed in the Zurich City Triathlon in June 2022. Participant Matteo Capolei praised the team spirit needed to achieve a common goal. “There’s a great atmosphere,” he says.

      As Chair of the Z Zurich Foundation’s board of trustees, Gary Shaughnessy in 2022 participated in the ‘Arch to Arc Triathlon’ involving 491 kilometers (305 miles) from London’s Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. By competing, Shaughnessy raised GBP 30,000 to fund research for Parkinson’s disease, which he discovered he had in 2015. “For me, exercise has been a big part of this ‘next phase’ of life,” he says. Zurich’s employees aim to stay fit even living in big cities. Santiago Gallo swears by swimming laps at the historic Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, where Gallo’s father, grandfather, and even his great-grandfather have all been members. Bhavna Hemlani loves to hike. Even though she lives in Hong Kong, she finds that there are “really beautiful hiking trails right outside my door. It’s refreshing to be out in the open and there’s always an amazing view.”

      A sign at each stop details the exercises and number of repetitions.Photo: Joël Hunn

      A sensible approach

      In whatever way you choose to pursue good health, whether it’s taking a walk, going for a forest bath (yes, this is a thing) or embarking on training for your next ultra-marathon, use good judgment. If you’re over-heated on a very warm day, don’t jump into an icy lake. If you notice pains anywhere, make an appointment to see your physician. Check the weather report before setting out for a run, wear appropriate clothing and shoes and use sun and insect protection. And, if you’re in Switzerland, check out a local Vita Parcours, which never seem to go out of fashion. You can find a large variety and their locations online.

      What’s next for the Vita Parcours? They are still extremely popular, and relevant. After a global pandemic forced fitness clubs to close for a time, The New York Times reported in 2020 that Swiss had rediscovered the trails, which were “busier than they have been in years.” Can the Vita Parcours be improved? Perhaps. Possibly. This might involve healthy routes for commuters, new urban tracks or outdoor gyms, augmented by special apps and virtual or physical events introduced to enhance physical or mental wellbeing.

      The challenge will be to improve on a concept that for so many in Switzerland is a familiar and well-loved fixture in their exercise routines. “I like to go with my kids, ages 9 and 11, to train in a Vita Parcours. They get fresh air, and it does all of us good,” says Marc Leuenberger, a professional Swiss fitness trainer. For toughening up, he recommends the Vita Parcours in winter: “Nothing beats training in fresh snow!” Certainly, the Vita Parcours isn’t slowing down. And neither should you.

      No hard feelings

      Rugby requires almost superhuman toughness. Becoming an ambassador for mental wellbeing also means taking risks. Two worlds come together in Tackle Your Feelings, a program that encourages people to talk about mental health.

      In 2015, Zurich Ireland and the Z Zurich Foundation (ZZF) announced that they had agreed with Rugby Players Ireland to launch a campaign called Tackle Your Feelings. The campaign would see rugby players from all over Ireland becoming mental health and wellbeing ambassadors. The program was launched, with the ZZF, barely one year after Noelle Forde, a senior underwriter at Zurich Ireland, received the diagnosis of postnatal depression. If you’d told Forde that her diagnosis would lead to one of the most fulfilling journeys of her life, she wouldn’t have believed it – not at first, anyway. But in fact, her diagnosis turned out to be a positive turning point. With the Tackle Your Feelings campaign in place, Zurich invited its own employees to become ambassadors for the program. Forde saw an opportunity to help others. She became Zurich Ireland’s Tackle Your Feelings champion and a program ambassador.

      In action on and off the pitch: Ireland and Ulster Rugby player John Cooney (left) is one of the ambassadors for Tackle Your Feelings.Photo: Sport in pictures / Alamy

      Tackle Your Feelings is a multi-awardwinning awareness program run with people who have played sports, struggled with a mental health issue, or both. By using their personal and very moving stories to show that everyone faces challenges, the Tackle Your Feelings ambassadors encourage people to take action, and help themselves, or to seek help. With some of Ireland’s sporting heroes leading the way, Tackle Your Feelings is in a perfect position to inspire people to take control and look after their mental wellbeing. In 2022, the program had enlisted several Irish rugby players. When rugby players like John Cooney, James Lowe, Jack McGrath, Eimear Considine, Joey Carbery and many others share their stories, people see a vulnerable part of their life, which can be very daunting. Cooney, for example, a young professional rugby player, dislocated his right shoulder in a game. He played on through the pain for two excruciating minutes.

      John Cooney wants to encourage people to talk about mental health.Photo: Inpho Photography

      In November 2015, he faced surgery. All told, he would have three surgeries while playing for Connacht. Apart from being injured, he’d left his home of Leinster. He felt adrift. It was his sister who kick-started his journey to self-awareness. She wrote him a letter saying some honest things that led him to think more about his life and above all, led him to get professional advice. “When I was out with that right shoulder…I went to see a counselor through Rugby Players Ireland…. That set me on this path of understanding my mind and understanding what more I can get from the mental aspect rather than always just the physical,” John says.

      The idea is to inspire individuals to find the strategies that work for them and apply these in their daily life. Tackle Your Feelings serves as a bridge to engage those who never considered this topic as relevant. It can also support anyone seeking a little extra help. To provide even more support, the campaign also offers an app that helps them take a more active role in looking after their mental wellbeing.

      Being an ambassador for Tackle Your Feelings involves some courage. It means speaking out publicly. It may include participating in panel discussions, filming video content and visiting schools. In all different venues, ambassadors talk about the importance of opening up about feelings, and their own challenges that led them to seek mental and emotional support. “Having recovered and come out the other side of the depression, I was nervous of people’s reaction, and yet I was excited to share my story,” Forde recalls. She wanted to remind people that it is “OK to not be OK, and it’s OK to ask for help.”

      Forde recalls the first time she was on stage discussing her journey in front of hundreds of colleagues. She couldn’t believe that this is where her struggle with postnatal depression had led her. Who would have thought that the challenges she faced could have anything to do with rugby? But, she says, while ambassadors might have been nervous at first about talking, “the rewards far outweigh any fears.”

      When something negative turns out to be a positive: Noelle Forde, senior underwriter at Zurich Ireland, is a mother with a story that brings inspiration and hope to people. As Zurich’s Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador, she works closely with professional rugby players to help break down the stigma associated with issues related to mental health. “Tackle Your Feelings has gone from strength to strength over the years,” she says. And so has Noelle Forde.Photo: Noelle Forde

      As testimony to the program’s success, in a first for the Z Zurich Foundation, which invested in the successful program in Ireland, it transferred the idea to another country – Australia. Tackle Your Feelings Australia is a collaboration between Zurich Financial Services Australia, and the Australian Football League’s Players’ and Coaches’ Associations. It was launched in 2019. The program supports de-stigmatization and greater awareness around mental health issues and behavioral change. It was modeled on the mental health training provided at the 18 professional AFL clubs, developed and provided by accredited psychologists.

      And there is likely to be more to come in the future. “The Tackle Your Feelings campaign has gone from strength to strength over the years with programs and tools developing and expanding, always free of charge to anyone who needs them,” says Forde. As it turns out, sometimes a life challenge can turn into a life-changing opportunity. In the years after Forde became an ambassador, it was very clear to her that her journey through the negative, dark days of depression and then through the positive, empowering journey with Tackle Your Feelings “was without a doubt the most fulfilling journey so far in my life.”

      E-Game fame

      Germany has a new football legend: Fabienne Morlok. She has millions of fans – and without ever having set foot on a pitch. Meet a star in the virtual world of e-sports.

      Photo: STARK Esports, Bochum

      Fabienne Morlok trains hard. Seven hours a day. But instead of playing on a field, the 20-year-old dodges her opponents on a screen. Millions of spectators watch her and cheer her on when she sets up the ball and shoots. Morlok – player name FabienneXIII – is one of the few women playing alongside men in the digital world of e-football, or e-soccer. Morlok has been under contract as a professional with FOKUS-Clan since 2021, arguably one of the best-known and most popular teams in what is believed to be the world’s best-selling game simulations. Morlok is considered by players and coaches alike to be a natural talent. She has even beat the reigning world champion, Mohammed ‘Mo Auba’ Harkous, who is now her teammate on FOKUS-Clan, at a tryout.

      Zurich’s logo appears on FOKUS-Clan’s jerseys – both virtually and in real life – a visible reminder of the new era that began at Zurich Germany in 2019. That was the year that Zurich offered its sponsorship to the young, promising world of e-sports. According to market research provided by statista.com, e-sport-gamers totaled 436 million worldwide in 2020, and their numbers are growing rapidly.

      Despite the popularity of the sport, there are only a few hundred professional e-football players. Gaming and e-sports are still in their relative infancy. Just over a decade ago, they commonly comprised small Local Area Network (LAN) parties. People would get together, maybe in someone’s basement, with computers or gaming consoles. Today, the e-football World Cup Finals may be held in major stadiums, with thousands of spectators. Besides the spectators, the prize money that a team or an individual player can win is not to be sneezed at. While still small by professional football standards, Morlok’s teammate Mo Auba was able to celebrate winning the World Cup with the USD 250,000 first prize in 2019.

      Penalty shoot-outs and red cards

      In this universe, Morlok is in a league of her own – and the first woman to qualify for a major tournament for the FIFA Global Series – developed by the U.S. Electronic Arts company, whose brands include EA Sports.™ EA Sports’ line includes the FIFA game through a licensing agreement with football’s world governing body. The agreement is due to end soon. But that almost certainly won’t dampen the ardor among fans for one of the gaming world’s most successful franchises.

      In principle, e-football works in the same way as real football. The difference, of course, is that the games are played with a gaming console. It challenges mental fitness, requiring nimble hands and good hand-eye coordination.

      Despite its virtual nature, the electronic version of football is physically exhausting. A game may last about 20 minutes. But a tournament involving a series of group games can last one or two days. It includes penalty shoot-outs, players may be sent off and extra time added. The pressure and stress are quite high. Tactical skill and an overview of the game are also prerequisites for becoming a professional gamer. Talent alone is not enough. Morlok trains every day, just like other full-time sports professionals. The difference is that thousands of people can watch her via livestream online. These practice sessions can be quite exciting and thought-provoking.

      “I play a lot of friendly matches against other professionals and analyze them with my coaches,” says Morlok. “We look at what I could do better, watch games of the opponents and analyze them.” Her coaches, who coach the virtual German e-national team, say she has an eye for catching and correcting typical mistakes. And she knows how to recover her self-confidence after a series of defeats, a key quality that is absolutely essential in any top-echelon sport.

      What started as fun became a profession

      Morlok’s interest began when her sister brought home a borrowed game. What started as fun soon became a passion, and ultimately a profession. She also likes the real world of physical football. “I never played it myself, but I’ve always been interested in it,” she says. Whether in e-sports, or on the physical pitch, some things don’t change. “Good footballers, and fans, transfer some of their experience from the pitch to the online game. That helps you to understand key situations, key positions,” she says. Morlok has a season ticket and regularly goes to watch live matches. “It’s important to know the rules, and also to have a basic understanding of the game. Otherwise, you won’t get far.”

      And, in the end, while the glory and star status are enjoyable, winners at big e-sports events get to take home a very real trophy. Something that they can hold up and show their friends. Even in virtual sports, it seems, a real, tangible trophy still matters.

      Action for society

      Zurich brings its own expertise together with imaginative and effective programs around the world, working in local communities for the greater good.

      Reconciliation

      Zurich Australia introduced its first 12-month long ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’ (RAP) in 2020. The program to close the gap between First Nations and Torres Island people and the rest of the country includes initiatives supporting youth mentoring, creative arts, mental health and sports. Other goals include aiming to increase recruitment and supplier diversity. In Australia, Zurich is proud to work alongside the Z Zurich Foundation to support local communities with targeted investment of key community partners, including the Raise Foundation, Beyond Empathy and Tackle Your Feelings.Photo: Saltwater Festival by Emma Korhonen

      Eat right, play right

      Zurich Malaysia, with the Z Zurich Foundation, supported the Eat Right to Play Right program using Malaysia’s passion for football to educate children on the importance of nutrition, while instilling self-discipline and sportsmanship. Launched in 2015 with local charity organizations, it offered community health checks, nutrition education and community training for coaches. It even held a cup tournament. Of the thousands of children who participated since it was introduced, over a third have increased their fitness levels and over half gained better understanding of nutrition.Photo: Zurich Malaysia

      Real-time impact

      To help Zurich employees make a positive impact in their local communities, in 2021 the Z Zurich Foundation introduced MyImpact, a digital platform for volunteering and fundraising. Available initially in over a dozen countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S., it helps Zurich employees identify charitable organizations to support through fundraising and volunteering (in person or virtual). The Z Zurich Foundation also provides matching opportunities.Photo: Zurich Insurance

      Youth mental wellbeing

      In Brazil, Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation agreed in 2022 to work together on a program to support mental wellbeing in schools. It aims to overcome taboos, while giving young people together with their teachers the skills to better manage and develop their emotional and social wellbeing. Together with Instituto Ânima, a nonprofit organization that specializes in educational programs, the project provides teachers, students and schools with information and training to promote mental health. To make it even more accessible, the program offers a free, online educational platform.Photo: Ruslana Lurchenko / Shutterstock

      ‘Ready to move mountains’

      Sofyen Khalfaoui, program lead of the Z Zurich Foundation’s improving mental wellbeing pillar, talks about his work with young people.

      Sofyen Khalfaoui: Dedicated to mental wellbeing.Photo: Giuseppe Velasco

      Sofyen Khalfaoui grew up in Geneva with a global worldview, thanks in large part to his parents: his father is a psychologist and his mother worked for the United Nations. He has degrees in international relations and humanitarian affairs. He’s also a trained actor, which, as you’ll see, comes in handy! In the humanitarian sector, Sofyen led resilience building and psychosocial projects for adolescent refugees in Chad and Lebanon and served as an education and protection adviser for Save the Children in Iraq, Syria and Switzerland. At the Z Zurich Foundation – an independent charitable foundation established by members of Zurich Insurance Group – his focus is on improving mental wellbeing for all youth around the world. This includes individuals simply trying to get through the stresses of their everyday lives and others affected by humanitarian crises.

      Tell us about your dedication to mental wellbeing. Where does it come from?

      SOFYEN KHALFAOUI: I was born and raised in Switzerland and my parents are originally from Tunisia and Algeria. I had to build an identity between the Swiss and the Mediterranean cultures. As a child and adolescent, I was already curious about life’s inequalities. What does it mean to grow up in a country – and have access to certain opportunities – just because you were born somewhere in particular?

      What specifically is the Z Zurich Foundation doing for mental health?

      Our ultimate ambition is to create a global movement for youth mental wellbeing. First, we focus on the promotion and prevention of mental wellbeing conditions and give tools and resources to young people and caregivers to manage their stress and anxiety. We are collaborating with adolescents, parents, teachers, governments, athletes, the United Nations, NGOs, think tanks and other foundations all over the world to ensure that youth look after their mental wellbeing so they can live full, productive and healthy lives. It is key that we all work toward reducing the stigma around mental wellbeing and help individuals to know it’s OK not to feel OK, and to say it.

      How do you define mental wellbeing?

      Mental wellbeing can be defined in myriad ways. Simply said, mental wellbeing is not about always feeling happy and joyful. It is about going with life’s flow so that we can celebrate good moments and have the resources and knowledge to handle challenges – and ultimately realize one’s full potential over time.

      Why is it so important?

      Let’s consider this analogy: If we go running for one hour, we take 10 minutes to warm up and 10 more to stretch, right? The same mind preparation would be needed to ensure that stress can be handled in the best way possible. This awareness about emotions and feelings is very much unknown compared to the drivers of physical wellbeing. What if we could live in a world where mental wellbeing and emotional education were understood by the world’s young people? This would save lives. At the Z Zurich Foundation, and together with the Zurich Insurance Group, our ambition is to give adolescents and caregivers a chance to address mental wellbeing like any other topics and live a confident life

      You studied acting in Switzerland and the UK. How do you use that experience?

      Acting is an amazing way to build empathy to fictional lives and is effective to develop people’s emotional intelligence. In 2021, I completed a project that took years to bring to the stage. This was a one-man show about a Lebanese youth who wanted to rebuild his life after the war. It is a story about resilience and the power of the mind to overcome challenges. I’m also passionate about teaching acting and how to enhance our presence in real life, as individuals. I also resort to meditation techniques, which are part of my routines in life and prior to entering the stage.

      What does your job at the Z Zurich Foundation mean to you?

      My position today is like the convergence of the many different experiences I’ve had. In some way, the stars have aligned between my personal and professional ambitions. When I saw the ad for this position, I was really glad to see that such priority to the mental wellbeing of young people is given at a corporate foundation of a global insurance company. It all makes sense since the Z Zurich Foundation, the Zurich Insurance Group and my career path have the same vision: creating a brighter future for people.

      Tell us about the Foundation’s aid work in Ukraine.

      From day one, we were ready to move mountains! We mobilized a lot of resources right away to support the Ukrainian people. We set up several initiatives to support Ukrainian refugees all over the world. We have also supported humanitarian organizations in and around Ukraine to implement first aid initiatives and mental health projects.

      Can you describe a moment where you knew that what you were doing was worth it?

      When the crisis in Ukraine started, we realized that the Z Zurich Foundation could act very quickly in driving how Zurich and humanitarian organizations could operate to create the greatest impact possible on the ground. Our high degree of responsiveness is our strength. Within a few days, we had set up a plan, which included direct humanitarian aid and support for mental wellbeing projects.

      Prevention

      People give us strength in an uncertain world. They make new ideas possible and provide reassurance, even as things change.

      Julie Shelley enjoys looking at different structures of metals.

      A test of mettle. At Zurich’s lab in the UK, materials aretested to give customers peace of mind.

      Photo essay by Muir Vidler

      Control panel used for impact testing in the Wolverhampton lab.

      Richard Henderson working on a customer’s sample.

      Making the world just a little safer: Testing metal for customers.

      Paul Griffin with equipment used in impact testing.

      An electron microscope image showing corrosion debris on metal.

      Samples submitted for testing.

      The Zurich Technical Centre, or ‘Steelpark,’ opened in 2018.

      Guardian angels

      Without risks, there can be no progress. Choosing which risks to take, and minimizing others, is what Zurich’s risk engineers do best. Mostly working out of the spotlight, their reward comes from making the world just a little safer.

      “I’d love to make it sound a lot more exotic than it is,” says John Hartigan of his job. Perhaps modesty comes from spending most of the time looking for the world’s faults and imperfections. As head of a team of risk engineers and inspectors in the UK, the things Hartigan’s experts do can be quite impressive, and even a little scary. “Our engineers operate at height, at depth, in confined spaces and sometimes in challenging environments,” says Hartigan. And they are also at work in Zurich UK’s Zurich Technical Centre, or ‘Steelpark,’ in Wolverhampton, 30 kilometers northwest of Birmingham, testing metal for customers. Opened in 2018, this sophisticated testing facility might use various acids and liquid nitrogen to test for different elements, and why a piece of metal might have failed. Analysts there cut metal up, polish it and grind it, pull it apart, and hammer it, looking for weaknesses. In an extreme case, their work could help to save lives. And, on an average day, the lab very likely contributes to reducing many of life’s lesser annoyances.

      The dangers of a faulty elevator clog

      Take elevator cogs, for example. As part of their routine work, in Zurich’s materials lab, Hartigan’s team tested some cogs for lifts (elevators). “A customer sent one such cog to us, thinking it could have a fault. We analyzed it and found that in fact there was a problem with the cast,” says Hartigan. It might not have been a life-threatening defect. But it certainly would have been annoying if a lift had stopped working, and people had been forced to take the stairs. Not to mention if someone had gotten stuck in an elevator. Hartigan’s engineers typically identify about 300,000 defects a year. Zurich has been working to make the world a less dangerous place for well over a century. The world of factory workers was fraught with danger in the early days, as Zurich’s advice to keeping them safer testifies.

      For Alex Murphy, a good day is one filled with a variety of different work.Photo: Muir Vidler

      In 1882, it published its first manual on manufacturing safety, which likely prevented many a mishap. The pamphlet was written in simple language. After all, it was not only for insurance agents and factory owners, but also workers with only a basic education. It advised keeping children out of factories. It warned factory employees not to wear wooden clogs, which could trip them or cause feet to burn in foundries if they got near molten metal. Zurich sternly admonished employees not to stick their heads out of moving elevator cars. And if they took the stairs, “workers carrying loaded baskets should go singly.” Zurich has about 800 risk professionals operating out of about 40 countries and jurisdictions, who perform around 60,000 on-site inspections a year and an additional 150,000 desk-top reviews. “Zurich risk specialists spend more time face-to-face with customers than any other part of our group,” says Jean-Pierre Krause, Zurich’s chief risk engineering officer.

      Lowering fire risk

      Fire safety is still an ever-present concern, even today. But science is helping to find new ways to approach it. “I’ve always been interested in fire safety systems,” says Martin Nilsson, a Zurich risk engineer based in Malmö, Sweden. Lowering the oxygen concentration can keep fires from spreading and Nilsson published his first research on using reduced oxygen environments as a way to limit fire damage in warehouses in 2013. Zurich was already aware of his research findings when he joined the company in 2017, and saw the potential value to protect property and businesses. Zurich is supporting further research on reduced-oxygen fire protection. In the future, Nilsson’s research, carried out together with Lund University, could be used to reduce fire risk in fully automated warehouses, for example. Human nature being what it is, people will continue to go on vacation near the beach, and will also prefer to pay for hotel rooms that are dry. Tom Hall and Jimmy Durkin, senior risk engineers at Zurich North America, work closely with an insurance research lab in the U.S. state of South Carolina operated by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). A nonprofit research organization, it provides protection as a public service. It operates what might be the world’s largest natural disaster simulator, where full-sized buildings are subjected to high winds and rain storms, wildfire sparks and even hail. Inside its airplane-hangar-sized hall, full-scale houses and commercial structures are built and tested – and occasionally demolished by the forces of man-made nature.

      One area where Zurich was keen to reduce risk involved what experts call “water infiltration,” meaning moisture that gets into structures during rain and wind storms. “We find that, with hotels, after severe storms, the carpets tend to be soaked around the air conditioner units,” says Durkin.

      They worked with IBHS to produce a simple document aimed at helping property owners, including Zurich’s commercial customers, to make air conditioning units less leaky. They have also worked with the IBHS to make solar panels more secure and tile roofs less likely to blow off in hurricanes.

      Prevention as a daily task

      Catching problems early and nipping risks in the bud; it’s all in a day’s work for Zurich’s risk engineers. Prevention is something that they do day in, day out. They are people for whom the world is never perfect. But they are happy to keep up with trends to ensure, where possible, that the world is a little safer. “Beneath the still waters and long-term history of reliable coverage and service that Zurich has provided, risk engineers really leverage our ability to provide effective, technical, actionable guidance to those clients we serve,” says Hall.

      While they may not always talk about themselves, very likely there is a risk engineer close by who, behind the scenes, is even now looking for things that can be made better, and safer.

      When crime doesn’t pay

      Zurich’s investigators are there to support legitimate claimants, and spot the few who might try creative means to line their pockets.

      Today, investigators rely on technology rather than paper files and shoe leather. But it’s still a gut feeling that counts.Photo: Zurich Archives

      Insurance fraud costs society. And it’s very likely to be found out. In real life, fraudsters might become the subject of a television miniseries, like the man in the UK who decided to use a grandiose scheme to improve his personal finances. He faked his own death – ostensibly drowning in a canoe accident – and collected massive life payouts from insurers (which didn’t include Zurich) before he was caught. He and his wife went to prison.

      While the majority of people are honest, insurers’ job includes spotting the outliers whose fraudulent behavior costs insurers and customers billions each year. One study found that in fact, in some markets in Europe, as much as 10 percent of claims might be fraudulent. The first known case of insurance fraud involved a Greek shipping merchant caught over 2,300 years ago trying to sink an empty ship to claim the cost of a fictitious cargo of grain. Human behavior might not have changed over the centuries, but ways to detect fraud have undergone a technological revolution.

      In 2022, Zurich had about 200 professionals employed around the globe specialized in claims investigation. Their work is aided through use of data analytics tools that speed up certain types of investigations. That includes so-called ‘mass data-analysis’ – software that can spot public information that may raise concerns about certain claims. Zurich may also use technology to spot cases where information seems suspicious, like several claims using the same telephone number, purportedly for different claimants. Aided by such tools, investigators have “identified millions of pounds worth of fraud we would otherwise have paid,” says Scott Clayton, who heads Zurich’s global counter-fraud network.

      Good investigators tend to be people who have some insurance background, usually in claims. They also tend to possess a high degree of curiosity. They all like to be nosey. “The best people who work in counterfraud have a passion for asking questions, and finding out the truth. They’re not too frightened to dig deeper,” says Clayton, adding: “The whole psychology of lying is quite fascinating. The human brain is not programmed to lie.” Investigators are highly diverse, all ages and their experience might range from having served in the military to, in one case, working as a bookmaker.

      Over the years, Zurich has detected some unusual fraud cases. That includes one in 1926, when a man who was injured in a car accident filed for disability because he purportedly lost the use of some of his fingers. A Zurich investigator, pretending to be a botanist (a stroke of weird genius) befriended the man and tricked him into holding a beetle on a thread for long enough to get a photo – which showed his fingers working quite well, dangling the dead beetle. The man’s claim was refused, and he also had to pay legal costs.

      And there was the person in the UK who claimed for damage to their home. The reason? The family’s pet dog allegedly walked into a paint tray, and then, not once but repeatedly, refreshed the paint on its paws to leave prints throughout the house. “You can imagine somebody dipping their dog into a tray of paint. That was a customer who wanted Zurich to pay for redecorating their home,” Clayton says. There are also cases that aren’t so funny involving organized bands of criminals who might, for example, claim for water damage across a number of properties. Clayton’s proudest moments include the case that went all the way to the UK Supreme Court, involving a vastly exaggerated work injury claim.

      The moral? If you are considering telling a fib on your claim, take a word of advice from the wise. Don’t. You’ll be doing society, and other customers a favor. Or perhaps, you’d prefer to seek notoriety as the subject of a new miniseries?

      150 Years of Change

      A quick romp through our history

      From its humble roots as a nineteenth century start-up, Zurich has had to remain nimble and innovative as the world around it has changed. There have been wars (too many), revolutions (some good, others bad), and stock market crashes (a few but one that was really bad). In that time, humankind has moved from horse carriage to the automobile to propellered flight to the jet plane to spacecraft. We were forced to adapt, and we did. Along the way, we’ve bolstered businesses, large and small; families; and individuals. As this timeline illustrates, we’ve been there when you needed us, and we will aim to be for the next 150 years.

      Did you know that Zurich started as a marine insurer or that it insured Alpine mountain guides in 1882? Or the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago? Or that it had a CEO nicknamed ‘Reserves Meyer’? Get ready for a century-and-a-half of facts galore.
      Photos: Zurich Archives

      Publisher

      ZURICH INSURANCE GROUP
      Alessio Vinci, Group Chief Communications Officer
      Anja Heinsdorf, Project Lead

      Concept and execution

      PANDA & PINGUIN GMBH
      Andrea Bleicher
      Ruth Brüderlin
      Sabina Sturzenegger

      Design and art direction

      STUDIO STURZENEGGER GMBH
      Jürg Sturzenegger

      Texts

      Alice Ratcliffe
      Michael J. Agovino (‘We never stopped thinking about tomorrow,’ and additional editing)

      Project management

      Tatjana Buser

      Consulting

      Bernhard Weissberg

      Web

      toweb GmbH
      Demien Sokman

      We are immensely grateful to the following for their constructive support

      Thomas Inglin | Ursula Bühlmann | Christofer Stadlin | Ron Davis | Sam Arocho | Ismail Cagferoglu | Wendy Donahue | Chris Johnson | Harry Jones | Conny Kalcher | Jean-Pierre Krause | Tim Leier | Walther Ochsner | Doris Rechsteiner | Vince Santivasi | Kathleen Savio | Isabel Syed | Barbara Maria Wagner

      All the communications colleagues around the world and all those who contributed their stories.

      Contact

      group.communications@zurich.com
      Zurich Insurance Group
      Group Communications
      Mythenquai 2
      8002 Zurich, Switzerland

      Anja Heinsdorf, Alice Ratcliffe, Tatjana Buser