Zurich Insurance Group
| Zurich Insurance Group AG
|
|
|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0011075394 |
| founding | 1872/2000 (Holding) |
| Seat | Zurich , Switzerland |
| management |
Mario Greco ( CEO ), Michel Liès ( Chairman of the Board of Directors ) |
| Number of employees | 53,535 |
| sales | $ 47.18 billion (2018) |
| Branch | banks and insurance companies |
| Website | www.zurich.com |
| As of December 31, 2018 | |
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The Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) , based in Zurich, is an internationally active Swiss financial services company and the parent company of Zurich Insurance Company . Until the end of March 2012 it was called Zurich Financial Services (ZFS).
With gross premium income and policy fees of 50.998 billion US dollars, Zurich is the largest insurance group in Switzerland and ranks fifth among primary insurers worldwide. The group is active in 210 countries and territories and employs around 55,000 people worldwide. In the Forbes Global 2000 of the largest listed companies, the Zurich Insurance Group ranks 110th (as of FY 2017). The company had a market value of around USD 48 billion in mid-2018.
The Zurich Insurance Group AG is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange listed .
Company history
Zurich Insurance Company (1872–1998)
The company was founded in 1872 at the instigation of the "Schweiz" Transport-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft (which came into being on the initiative of the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt in 1869) under the name Versicherungs-Verein as reinsurance . It was founded by people who were also represented on the committees of the "Switzerland" transport insurance company.
Business began on May 1, 1873. In 1875 the field of accident insurance was entered. The company was renamed the Transport and Accident Insurance Actiengesellschaft "Zurich" . In 1880, Zurich gave up its maritime business after a heavy loss.
By 1894 she acquired licenses to do business in Austria , Prussia , Denmark , Sweden , Norway , the remaining German states, France , Belgium , the Netherlands , Spain , Poland , Russia , Italy , Luxembourg and Liechtenstein . Due to the change from transport insurance to accident and liability insurance in 1894 , it was renamed “Zurich” General Accident and Liability Insurance Company . Because of legal settlements in the area of workers' compensation , she risked entering the business in North America in 1912 , starting in the states of New York , Illinois , New Jersey and Massachusetts in the USA .
In 1915, Zurich acquired an entire company for the first time, the Hispania Compañia General de Seguros from Barcelona in Spain . Ten years later in 1922, Zurich founded Vita Lebensversicherungs-Gesellschaft as an independent subsidiary, which soon expanded into neighboring countries. In addition, a branch was established in the United Kingdom (the first foreign insurance company). A year later, another branch was established in Canada .
In 1925, Zurich became the official insurer for all Ford new vehicles in Great Britain. The Zurich Fire Insurance Company of New York was founded in 1929, the reinsurance company Turegum in 1938 , and the American Guarantee and Liability Company in New York in 1939 .
In 1950 she bought a share in Companhia de Seguros Metrõpole SA from Lisbon . Five years later, in 1955, the “Zurich” General Accident and Liability Insurance Company was renamed “Zurich” Insurance Company , a name that it still holds today.
Between 1955 and 1976 several companies were acquired, including the Commonwealth General Assurance Corporation of Sydney , the Iguazu Compañia de Seguros SA of Buenos Aires , the Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Nebraska , the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland , the Universal Underwriters from Kansas City , Anglo Americana de Seguros Gerais from São Paulo , Minerva Group from Italy , Center Reinsurance Holding from Bermuda , La Chilena Consolidada and Seguros de Vida from Chile and Seguros Chapultepec from Mexico .
On the initiative of Vita Life Insurance Company in 1968 created the first circuit training ( jogging paths ) of Switzerland and 1990 ZIM (Zurich Investment Management) was as Anlagenverwaltungs -Partner for repayment - funds established and institutional investors in Switzerland. In 1993, as part of a new brand strategy, “Vita” became the “Zurich” life insurance company, which appears on the market under the name of Zurich Life . While the name “Vita” is disappearing from the market, it lives on in the Vita Parcours Foundation, which was outsourced in 1994 . In 1994 «Zürich» took over the Zurich private bank Rüd, Blass & Cie . In the course of concentrating on the insurance business, the private bank was sold again in 2003.
In 1996, Zurich took over 80 percent of the Kemper Corporation and 97 percent of Kemper Financial Service and in 1997 acquired a majority stake in Scudder, Stevens & Clark from New York . Subsequently, Kemper was merged with Scudder to form Scudder Kemper Investments .
Zurich Financial Services (1998–2012)
In September 1998, Zurich and the financial division of British American Tobacco merged to form Zurich Financial Services . This consisted of the Swiss Zurich Allied AG , listed in the Swiss Market Index , and the British Allied Zurich plc , which was listed in the FTSE 100 ( dual-listed company ). In 2000 the structure was reorganized under a single holding company under Swiss company law. All old shares have been replaced by new shares in the newly established Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) with an initial listing on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich and a second in London .
In 2002, ZFS focused on underwriting financial products and services. Returning to profitability in 2003, ZFS announced that it had met its targets and posted a profit of $ 2.1 billion after posting a loss of $ 3.4 billion a year earlier. Operating income rose 93 percent to $ 2.3 billion; the turnaround was complete.
Zurich stayed on track in 2004 with profits of 2.5 billion and operating income of $ 3.1 billion, up 36 percent year over year.
Zurich's profits rose 30 percent to $ 3.2 billion in 2005, and operating income rose 32 percent to $ 3.9 billion.
In 2008, Zurich Financial Services posted a profit of US $ 3 billion after a record profit of 5.7 billion in the previous year.
In July 2011, Zurich announced that it had signed the definitive contracts for a long-term alliance with Banco Santander SA (Santander) for 25 years in Latin America.
Zurich Insurance Group (from 2012)
On February 15, 2012, the group announced that the company would be renamed the Zurich Insurance Group . This name change was approved at the General Meeting on March 29, 2012 with 99.4 percent approval. At the beginning of April 2012, the previously decided name change was entered in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich. CFO Pierre Wauthier committed suicide in August 2013; In his farewell letter , he incriminated the President of the Administration, Josef Ackermann , saying that he had exerted disproportionate pressure on him. Thereupon Josef Ackermann resigned. An investigation by the Swiss Financial Market Authority exonerated Ackermann, and Wauthier was not exposed to any “undue or inappropriate pressure” from Ackermann or any other decision-maker. Tom de Swaan took Ackermann's place. In December 2015, CEO Martin Senn resigned under pressure from the Board of Directors after the latest business figures had been rather disappointing. Previously, the Zurich Insurance Group had given up the plan to take over the British competitor RSA Insurance Group . In January, Mario Greco , former CEO of Generali, was appointed CEO of Zurich Insurance. Martin Senn committed suicide on May 27, 2016.
Subsidiary of the Zurich Insurance Group
In December 1991, the subsidiary Baden-Badener Versicherung AG was founded in St. Ingbert . The company specialized in insurance products for private households and then became active as a broker insurer. The company was dissolved in 2017.
Global activities
North America
The US market is mainly served by Farmers , the third largest private and liability insurance company in America . Founded in 1928, Farmers was taken over by Zurich in 1998 and today operates in 41 countries through a network of 20,000 employees. In July 2009, Zurich took over the US auto insurance division of AIG through its subsidiary Farmers .
Zurich North America Commercial, based in Chicago, is the third-largest non-life insurance provider in North America. It primarily offers solutions for small businesses, medium-sized markets and large corporate customers. In 2005, Zurich North America Commercial had gross premium income of USD 12.5 billion.
Europe
In Europe, Zurich is mainly represented in the United Kingdom , Germany ( Zurich Group ), Switzerland , Italy and Spain . Other European markets are Austria ( Zurich Insurance Austria ), Ireland , Portugal , Turkey and Russia .
International
The rest of the international business includes the regions Latin America , South Africa , Australia , Japan and the Greater People's Republic of China / Southeast Asia .
Business structure
Zurich serves customers in more than 170 countries and has divisions in Europe , North America , the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America .
Zurich Insurance Group AG is divided into three core business areas:
General insurance business
Zurich's General Insurance serves private individuals, small and medium-sized companies and major multinational corporations with products and services in the automotive, home and retail sectors.
Global Life
As part of Global Life, Zurich offers its customers products in the areas of life insurance, savings, investments and company pensions.
Farmers
The Farmers segment comprises an agricultural administration service, which provides non-claims-related administration services for the (non- Zurich ) Farmers Exchanges, and the Farmers RE business, which comprises reinsurance assumed by the group from the Farmers Exchanges. Zurichs Farmers Insurance Group is the third largest insurance group in the United States.
Products
Zurich Insurance Group AG offers general insurance products and life insurance products for private individuals, small and medium-sized companies and multinational corporations, among others. a. Motor vehicle, building, general liability, life and critical illness insurance as well as savings, capital investment, pension and retirement plans.
Financial performance and information
The Zurich Insurance Group AG ( Zurich ) is on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker ZURN listed . On December 31, 2012, 148,300,123 fully paid registered shares were in circulation, which were held by 124,847 shareholders. 24.7% of these registered shares were held by private individuals (15.3% of all shares issued), 7.2% by foundations and pension funds (4.5% of all shares issued) and 68.1% by other legal entities (42.3% % of all shares issued).
For the full year 2012, Zurich had net income after tax (attributable to shareholders) of $ 3.878 billion, an increase of 3% over the previous year, and operating income of $ 4.075 billion. For the full year, the company announced a dividend of CHF 17.00, which will be paid out in April 2013.
On December 31, 2012, the company had a solid equity base with a Solvency 1 ratio of 278% and a Swiss Solvency Test Ratio of 178% on July 1, 2012, which is well above the minimum capital requirements. The strength of Zurich's record is reflected in the reports from the rating agencies. As of December 31, 2012, Zurich Insurance Company AG was rated AA- / stable by Standard and Poor's , Aa3 / stable by Moody's and A + / stable by AM Best .
Unless otherwise stated, all figures below are for the year ended December 31, and are in the millions.
| Fiscal year ended December 31 | Sales (in USD million) | Profit before tax (in USD million) | Profit after tax (in USD million) | Adjusted earnings per share (in CHF) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 70.414 | 4.075 | 3.878 | 24.79 |
| 2011 | 52.983 | 4.243 | 3,750 | 22.69 |
| 2010 | 67.857 | 4.862 | 3.507 | 23.59 |
| 2009 | 70.272 | 4,531 | 3.236 | 24.39 |
| 2008 | 32,349 | 2,663 | 3.116 | 23.53 |
See also
Web links
- Zurich Insurance Group website
- Interactive timeline on the company's history at zurich.com : Accessed on May 20, 2012
- Elena Folini: Zurich Insurance. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Commercial Register of the Canton of Zurich. Internet excerpt . Retrieved April 27, 2012.
- ↑ Mario Greco takes over the management of Zurich
- ↑ Michel M. Liès Chairman of the Board of Directors
- ↑ a b Annual Report 2018
- ↑ Disclaimer & Cautionary Statement - Zurich Annual Report 2015. In: annualreports.zurich.com. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ^ The World's Largest Public Companies . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed July 17, 2018]).
- ↑ 75 years of Zurich. The rise and development of society 1872–1947, Orell Füssli publishing house, 1948
- ↑ The quotation marks were omitted in 2009.
- ↑ Milestones in Zurich's history ( Memento of the original from January 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Josef Ackermann on the presidential chair of the «Zurich». In: NZZ Online , March 29, 2012, accessed on April 26, 2012.
- ↑ Change of name from Zurich Financial Services Group to Zurich Insurance Group. ( Memento of April 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Zurich Insurance Group press release of April 4, 2012, accessed on April 26, 2012.
- ^ Zurich mourns the death of Pierre Wauthier. In: Zurich Insurance Group. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ^ Corinne Gretler, Carolyn B, el, Elena Logutenkova: Wauthier's Life Is in Spotlight After Ackermann Exits. In: Bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Zurich announces the resignation of Josef Ackermann from the Board of Directors - Tom de Swaan takes over the function of the acting Chairman of the Board of Directors. In: Zurich Insurance Group. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ NZZ. 4th November 2013.
- ↑ Tom de Swaan: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek. In: www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Martin Senn resigns - Tom de Swaan appointed interim CEO. In: Zurich Insurance Group. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Zurich cancels the RSA takeover. In: tagesanzeiger.ch/. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Zurich appoints Mario Greco as Chief Executive Officer. In: Zurich Insurance Group. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Martin Senn, 1957 - 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Zurich closes Baden-Baden Insurance at versicherungsbote.de
- ↑ About us ( Memento from May 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Zurich.com. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
- ↑ Investors' Day - Focus on Execution p34 ( Memento of March 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ). Zurich.com. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
- ↑ About Farmers . Farmers.com. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d e Annual Report 2012 ( Memento from March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF). Zurich Insurance Group.
- ↑ Investors . Zurich.com. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '43.7 " N , 8 ° 32' 5.6" E ; CH1903: six hundred eighty-two thousand eight hundred and thirteen / 246278