The Swiss insurer
reveals plan to move forward in the US and the UK, but slips
backwards in Spain.
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In flurry of activity,
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) has announced significant
changes to its operation in three countries: the US, the UK and
Spain.
In the US, after an absence
of seven years, the Swiss insurer is to re-enter the country’s life
market, a move Zurich Global Life CEO Kevin Hogan said is a
“logical and natural progression” that will balance Zurich’s strong
presence in the US general insurance business market.
Initially, Zurich will focus
on two market segments in the US life market: corporate life and
pensions, and affluent markets.
In the corporate life and
pensions market, Zurich said that in addition to traditional life
and disability insurance, it will offer additional benefit
programmes “tailored to meet the specific needs” of domestic and
international employees through additional services, such as
emergency evacuation and repatriation.
In the affluent market,
Zurich will offer specialised life insurance products that will be
used in customised wealth transfer planning and business insurance
continuity solutions, including buy-sell agreements and key
executive coverage for collateralising business loans.
Across the Atlantic in the
UK, Zurich UK Life (ZUK) is to launch a retail platform aimed at
the adviser market, a move that follows ZUK’s recent announcement
that it is to establish as corporate savings platform aimed at
employers and occupational scheme members.
For its retail platform, ZUK
said it will use the core infrastructure being developed for its
corporate savings platform and adapt it to the specific needs of
independent financial advisers serving the retail
market.
ZUK also announced that it is
partnering with platform provider FNZ to launch its corporate
savings platform in 2011. ZUK represents another important client
gain for FNZ which commenced operations as a start-up company in
New Zealand in 2004.
FNZ now administers some
£14bn ($22bn) of assets on behalf of over 300,000 end-customers in
the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
ZUK currently operates
primarily through two entities, Zurich Assurance and Sterling ISA
Managers, and employs a staff of 1,324 in 17 locations.
Notable
moves
In the third of its latest
notable moves, Zurich is to end a short relationship with a
proposed sale of its 50% stakes in its Spanish life and general
insurance joint venture (JV) to its partner, recently-created
Spanish bancassurer Unnim. Under the agreement, Zurich will receive
$388m in cash from Unnim.
The JV dates back to only
April 2008 when Zurich acquired 50% stakes in Spanish bank Caixa
Sabadell’s life and general insurance company CaixaSabadell Vida
and general insurer CaixaSabadell for $360m, plus a
performance-linked earn-out component of up to $150m.
Unnim was created in July
2010 following the merger of Caixa Sabadell and two other Spanish
banks, Caixa Terrassa and Caixa Manlleu.
Indicating that it is a
notable setback for Zurich’s ambitions in Spain, the insurer said
in a statement at the time of the deal with Caixa Sabadell in 2008:
“The transaction represents a high potential growth opportunity for
us to expand in one of our key growth areas.”
The deal gave Zurich access
to the bank’s 620,000 customers and network of 366
branches.
In a statement following the announcement of the
termination of it’s JV with Unnim Zurich, said it remains fully
committed to the life and general insurance markets in Spain and to
its other bancassurance partners in the country.
