Zurich sees best-ever H1 operating profit of $4bn

Zurich has announced that its group business operating profit (BOP) climbed to a record $4 billion in H1 of 2024, marking an increase of 7% compared to the same period of 2023.

The firm’s net income attributable to shareholders also increased in H1 of 2024, rising 21% to $3 billion.

Zurich’s P&C business segment delivered a strong BOP of $2.2 billion in H1 2024, underpinned by increased insurance revenue of 6% to $21.4 billion, and improved investment results.

However, the higher insurance revenue and a strong investment result in this segment were partially offset by a higher combined ratio, which increased 0.7 percentage points year over year to 93.6%, mainly driven by catastrophe losses.

P&C gross written premiums and policy fees in H1 2024 were $25.3 billion up 3% from the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, Zurich’s Commercial Insurance business maintained its high level of profitability with a combined ratio of 91.4% in H1 2024, including catastrophe losses of 3 percentage points. The Commercial Insurance segment’s BOP contribution was $1.8 billion.

Turning to the Retail segment, Zurich revealed that gross written premiums grew 10% in H1 2024, with continued rate increases and strong new business sales in EMEA, greater travel business in Asia Pacific, and higher property, affinities, and motor sales in Latin America.

Retail’s combined ratio in H1 was 96.4%, up 0.6 percentage points compared to the same period of 2023, reflecting higher weather and catastrophe losses.

At the same time, Zurich’s Life business segment reported a record performance, achieving the highest-ever BOP for an H1, up 12% to $1 billion, with a strong contribution from EMEA.

According to Zurich, this performance benefited from a higher contractual service margin, increased assets under management, and growth in short-term protection.

The firm’s Farmers segment also reported the highest-ever BOP of $1.1 billion for an H1 in 2024, a 12% increase compared with the prior-year period.

The combined ratio of 95.2% for H1 2024 in this segment was 16.4 percentage points lower than the prior year, driven by the earn-through of higher premium rates and lower expenses, despite significant catastrophe losses.

Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer at Zurich, commented, “I am very pleased with these results, which reflect excellent performance across all our businesses. This will continue to enable us to deliver strong returns for our shareholders.

“Market conditions have remained more favourable than anticipated, and we observe today many opportunities to profitably grow the business.”

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