Zurich continues to grow in most attractive market segments for P&C Commercial. Life and Farmers further accelerate Donnerstag, 12. November 2026 - 06:47
Zurich continues to grow in most attractive market segments for P&C Commercial. Life and Farmers further accelerate
Unless otherwise stated, all premium and revenue growth figures in this media release are on a like-for-like1 basis.
- Property and Casualty (P&C) gross written premiums (GWP) increased 7% to a record of USD 42.1 billion.
- Building on years of targeted investments, Commercial Insurance continues to deliver profitable growth in Global Specialty (+9%) and Middle Market (+6%), while growing selectively in other areas. Retail continues to perform strongly, with GWP up 9%.
- Life GWP2 increased 3% to USD 28.6 billion with Protection GWP2 up 11%.
- Farmers Exchanges3 GWP up 4% with policy count increasing by 342,000 and momentum across all distribution channels and lines of business.
- Zurich remains strongly capitalized, with an estimated Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio of 271%4.
- Beazley acquisition completed on October 2, creating the world’s leading specialty insurer.
Zurich continues to achieve strong growth, focused on areas where we see attractive returns, including Global Specialty, Middle Market and Life Protection. The combination of Zurich and Beazley creates the world’s leading specialty insurer and positions the Group for further attractive growth. Our diversified business model and disciplined approach allow us to navigate evolving market conditions and confirm our confidence that we will exceed all our targets.
Claudia Cordioli, Group Chief Financial Officer
In USD billions, for the nine months ended September 30, 2026
(For a more comprehensive set of financial highlights see full media release in PDF)
P&C: Delivering targeted growth in areas with attractive returns
Zurich’s P&C business grew strongly, with GWP up 7% to a record of USD 42.1 billion. This was driven by continued growth in areas such as Global Specialty and Middle Market, which offer attractive profitability and where Zurich builds on its leading position, while growing selectively in other areas. This was supported by further momentum in Retail. Overall P&C rates are up 1%. Retail rates increased 4%, continuing the positive momentum observed in the first half of the year. Commercial Insurance rates were broadly in line with prior quarters, with initial indications of slower decline in certain lines in the U.S., such as cyber and financial lines.
Commercial Insurance GWP rose 5%. Global Specialty saw GWP increase by 9%, led by continued strong performance in U.S. Construction which grew 17%, driven by structural trends in technology and sustained investment in infrastructure. GWP for other U.S. Commercial lines increased 2%, with good traction in Crop and Captives. International Commercial5 GWP grew 3%, supported by strong performance in Canada, Italy, Spain and Australia.
The Middle Market customer segment maintained strong growth, GWP up 6%. EMEA grew 8%, while the U.S. outside the Programs business, Latin America and Asia Pacific delivered double digit growth. Growth reflects Zurich’s ongoing expansion in capabilities and focus on target industries such as life sciences.
Retail GWP were up 9%, supported by new business and positive rate development of 4%. Growth was across all regions, with Motor, up 14%, remaining a key driver. EMEA GWP were up 8%, Latin America 18% and Asia Pacific 12%. EMEA was impacted by elevated weather losses in the third quarter, following severe storms across Switzerland, Germany and Italy. Excluding these losses, underlying profitability in Retail improved further, reflecting ongoing investments in pricing, claims and technology.
Life: Building on strong performance, confidence in the outlook and targets
Life GWP2 increased 3% to USD 28.6 billion, driven by the capital-efficient Protection and Unit-linked businesses, partly offset by reduced sales of lower-margin savings products following exceptionally high sales in Spain in the prior year.
Growth in Protection GWP2 further accelerated, rising 11%, with a strong performance across both individual and group products. This was driven by higher volumes and improved retention across bank partnerships, strong renewals and new corporate protection wins, while the acquisition of ClearView further strengthened Zurich’s offering in Australia.
Unit-linked GWP2 climbed 8%, driven by higher inflows and a strong performance across established EMEA markets, including higher sales through bank distribution in Germany and Italy. Zurich also renewed its long-term distribution partnerships with Deutsche Bank in Germany and HSBC in the Middle East, reinforcing its strong bancassurance capabilities.
Farmers: Sustained momentum in a competitive market
Farmers Management Services increased underlying fee income by 5%, driven by growth at the Farmers Exchanges3 and brokerage business.
The Farmers Exchanges3, which are owned by their policyholders, grew GWP 4%. Healthy new business volumes, improved retention and higher policy count supported an acceleration of premium growth in the third quarter, compared with the first half of the year. Policy count further expanded, with 127,000 policies added in the third quarter. Year-to-date growth spanned across all distribution channels and lines of business, as initiatives to enhance product competitiveness, strengthen distribution, raise brand awareness and deepen customer engagement continued to take hold. An outstanding underlying underwriting performance allowed the Farmers Exchanges3 to achieve an excellent surplus ratio of 61.5% as of September 30, 2026.
Investor update
On November 17, 2026, Zurich will host an Investor Day in Zurich, Switzerland, featuring presentations on key business growth areas such as Life and Global Specialty, including an update on the integration of Beazley. A live stream of the event will be available on Zurich’s website.
This is only an excerpt. Please read the full media release here.
Media release (Download PDF)1 Like-for-like comparisons represent the change in local currencies after adjusting for acquisitions, disposals, transfers and methodological changes.
2 Gross written premiums for Protection, gross policyholder inflows (incl. deposits) for all other lines of business (including investment and asset management contracts).
3 Zurich Insurance Group has no ownership interest in the Farmers Exchanges. Farmers Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, and certain of its subsidiaries, provide certain non-claims and ancillary services to the Farmers Exchanges as their attorney-in-fact and receive fees for their services.
4 Estimated Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio as of September 30, 2026, calculated based on the Group’s internal model approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA. The SST ratio as of December 31 has to be filed with FINMA by end of April in the subsequent year and is subject to review by FINMA.
5 International Commercial refers to all markets except the U.S. and excludes Global Specialty.
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Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading global multi-line insurer founded more than 150 years ago, which has grown into a business serving more than 82 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories, while delivering industry-leading total shareholder returns..
Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together,’ Zurich offers protection services that go beyond traditional insurance, to support its customers in building resilience. Since 2020, the Zurich Forest project has been supporting reforestation and biodiversity restoration in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
The Group has more than 65,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN) is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information is available at www.zurich.com.
Disclaimer und cautionary statement
Certain statements in this document are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans or objectives of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd or the Zurich Insurance Group (the Group). Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Group’s targeted profit, return on equity targets, expenses, pricing conditions, dividend policy, underwriting and claims results, business initiatives (including, but not limited to, sustainability matters), as well as statements regarding the Group’s understanding of general economic, financial and insurance market conditions and expected developments. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results and plans, policies, initiatives and objectives of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd or the Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements (or from past results). Factors such as (i) general economic conditions and competitive factors, particularly in key markets; (ii) the risk of a global economic downturn, in the financial services industries in particular; (iii) performance of financial markets; (iv) levels of interest rates and currency exchange rates; (v) frequency, severity and development of insured claims events; (vi) mortality and morbidity experience; (vii) policy renewal and lapse rates; (viii) increased litigation activity and regulatory actions; and (ix) changes in laws and regulations and in the policies of regulators, and the possibility of conflict between different governmental standards and regulatory regimes may have a direct bearing on the results of operations of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd and the Group and on whether the targets will be achieved. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
All references to ‘Farmers Exchanges’ mean Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange and their subsidiaries and affiliates. The three Exchanges are California domiciled interinsurance exchanges owned by their policyholders with governance oversight by their Boards of Governors. Farmers Group, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries are appointed as the attorneys-in-fact for the three Exchanges and in that capacity provide certain non-claims services and ancillary services to the Farmers Exchanges. Neither Farmers Group, Inc., nor its parent companies, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, have any ownership interest in the Farmers Exchanges. Financial information about the Farmers Exchanges is proprietary to the Farmers Exchanges but is provided to support an understanding of the performance of Farmers Group, Inc. and Farmers Reinsurance Company.
It should be noted that past performance is not a guide to future performance. Please also note that interim results are not necessarily indicative of full year results.
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