Zurich Financial Services
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Case Code: BSTR113 Case Length: 24 Pages Period: 1990 - 2002 Pub Date: 2002 Teaching Note: Not Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization: Zurich Financial Services Industry: Financial Services Countries : Switzerland Themes: Corporate Strategy |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
Market Segments
Zurich offered a wide range of products and services in financial protection, insurance, risk management and asset management. The company served its customers through five broad market segments. These market segments were:
CONSUMER
Zurich targeted private individuals to whom it offered asset protection services such as auto, home and property insurance as well as wealth accumulation solutions, such as retirement and saving products. Zurich offered a comprehensive range of products for individuals, including non-life (property & casualty) and life insurance.
CORPORATE
This market segment included large corporate businesses, which required tailored global and/or domestic solutions in the areas of non-life and life insurance as well as wealth accumulation.
COMMERCIAL
Zurich also targeted medium-sized commercial enterprises. This segment comprised employees of manufacturing, services and public companies...
Geographic Segments
Zurich's entire operations were divided into five geographic segments. These were Continental Europe, UKISA, Asia Pacific/Latin America, North America Consumer and North America Corporate.
CONTINENTAL EUROPE
This geographic segment included ten core business units in Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. The other business units in this division included Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Middle East, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. Gross written premiums, policy fees and insurance deposits in the life and non-life insurance business in this region rose from $10,273 million in 2000 to $10,883 million in 2001, an increase of 6 percent. However, the net income decreased from $704 million in 2000 to $255 million in 2001 recording a decrease of 64 percent...
North America Consumer
In 2001, the gross written premiums, policy fees and insurance deposits in the life and non-life insurance business in this region increased from $4,996 million in 2000 to $5,682 million, an increase of 14 percent. However, the net income decreased by 14 percent from $869 million in 2000 to $750 million in 2001 (Refer Table IV). The North American Consumer segment included only individual customers in the US and Canada...
Human Resources
Zurich had introduced several employee friendly policies and programs. The company encouraged its employees to join health and fitness programs and participate in sport events. The company reimbursed the fee for participating in such programs and events. Zurich believed that to maintain the health of its employees, it should provide for thier safety and therefore introduced a 'health and safety management' program in the UK. To encourage employees to actively participate in the relevant program, the CEO nominated a director or senior manager for each unit. Members took up the responsibility of implementing the program in their business areas, and invited views and suggestions from other employees...
Social Responsibility
Zurich believed that good corporate performance could be achieved by giving utmost priority to the interests of customers, employees and society. This could help maximize returns to its shareholders. Zurich's companies and employees were engaged in a diverse range of projects and activities in support of corporate citizenship. The company served several community interests through the Zurich Community Trust. The key element of Zurich's community programs was the involvement and commitment of its employees...
Finance
In 2001, Zurich generated revenues amounting to $38.48 billion recording a marginal increase of 2.85 percent (the revenues in the financial year 2000 were $37.41 billion). However, Zurich recorded a net loss of $387 million in 2001 as compared to a net profit of $2.32 billion in 2000. The normalized net income was $348 million in 2001 as compared to $2.067 billion in 2000. Zurich recorded a premium growth of 12 percent in Swiss currency, with the total premium volume amounting to $56.2 billion (Refer Table VII). The shareholders' equity at the end of 2001 was $17.7 billion. In 2001, Zurich had made several changes in its reporting structure for financial statements. The company introduced a new corporate segment, which incorporated Group holding companies, central financing operations and Group Head Office entities...
Future Outlook
During his tenure as chairman, Hüppi had seen Zurich's premium income rise almost three times. Till the late 1990s, there was a significant growth in Zurich's share price as Hüppi adopted a strategy of mergers and acquisitions deals. This led to the expansion of Zurich's business. The company also witnessed higher returns on equity and profits year after year. However, by the late 1990s this growth became stagnant due to the slowdown in the global economy and fierce competition among insurance companies...
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Zurich Financial Services: Consolidated Statements of Income
Exhibit II: Zurich Financial Services: Consolidated Balance Sheets
Exhibit III: Zurich Financial Services: Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Exhibit IV: Zurich Financial Services - Registered Shares
Exhibit V: Zurich Financial Services - Stock Listings
Exhibit VI: Zurich Financial Services - Stock Price Chart
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