The group in 2025 and 2026

The figures for 2025

The annual report for 2025, the latest published at the time of writing, shows Zurich at the strongest point in its history. The group reported a business operating profit of 8.9 billion US dollars, 14 per cent more than the 7.8 billion of 2024, and net income attributable to shareholders of 6.8 billion dollars. Its core return on equity reached 26.9 per cent. Property and casualty business produced a business operating profit of 5.1 billion dollars, with gross written premiums of 50.4 billion dollars, which exceeded 50 billion for the first time, and a combined ratio of 92.6 per cent. Within property and casualty, the commercial insurance business earned a business operating profit of 3.8 billion dollars. The life business contributed 2.3 billion dollars and Farmers 2.4 billion dollars. The board proposed to raise the dividend by seven per cent to 30 francs per share. The group estimated its Swiss Solvency Test ratio at 259 per cent, subject to review by FINMA, and reported more than 65,000 employees.¹

These figures place commercial insurance at the heart of the group’s earnings. Three quarters of the property and casualty operating profit came from business with companies, from small enterprises to the largest multinational groups. The general meeting of 8 April 2026 approved the dividend, re-elected Michel M. Liès, a former chief executive of Swiss Re, as chairman and confirmed a board that includes Thomas Jordan, the former chairman of the governing board of the Swiss National Bank.² The presence of a former Swiss central banker and of a former Swiss Re chief executive on the board shows how closely the leadership of the large Zurich financial institutions remains interwoven.

The acquisition of Beazley

The most important transaction of 2026 returns Zurich to the London market in which its Turegum subsidiary had once come to grief. On 2 March 2026 the boards of Zurich and Beazley plc, a specialty insurer operating through a Lloyd’s platform, announced an agreed all-cash acquisition valued at about 10.9 billion dollars. Beazley’s board accepted the offer after rejecting several earlier approaches. The combined business was described as a global leader in specialty insurance, headquartered in the United Kingdom and using Beazley’s Lloyd’s presence, with about 15 billion dollars of specialty gross written premiums on the basis of the figures at the end of 2024.³

The price of 1,310 pence per Beazley share valued the company at 8.1 billion pounds. Beazley’s shareholders approved the scheme of arrangement on 22 April 2026. Zurich raised 3.9 billion francs through a share placement in March 2026 to finance part of the price and reported a Swiss Solvency Test ratio of 266 per cent at mid-year. For the first half of 2026 the group reported a business operating profit of 4.8 billion dollars and net income of 3.5 billion dollars.⁴ As at the date of writing, all regulatory approvals have been obtained. The court hearing to sanction the scheme was set for 22 September 2026, and completion is scheduled for 1 October 2026.⁵

For the Zurich financial centre the transaction has a double meaning. It confirms that the group’s decision-making and capital remain in Zurich, where the holding company that issued the new shares is domiciled and listed. At the same time, the specialty business in cyber, professional and management liability, marine and property will be led from London, the global centre of the specialty market. The pattern is familiar from the history of the company: capital and control in Zurich, underwriting where the market is.

Notes

1. Zurich Insurance Group, news release “Zurich delivers USD 8.9bn operating profit, raises dividend to CHF 30, strong progress toward 2027 targets”, 19 February 2026, https://www.zurich.com/media/news-releases/2026/2026-0219-01. ↩
2. Zurich Insurance Group, news release “Zurich shareholders approve all Board proposals at Annual General Meeting 2026”, 8 April 2026, https://www.zurich.com/media/news-releases/2026/2026-0408-01. Liès’s earlier role at Swiss Re is standard knowledge. ↩
3. Insurance Journal, “Zurich Insurance and Beazley Agree to $10.9B Cash Acquisition”, 2 March 2026, https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2026/03/02/860121.htm. The article describes the financing through existing cash of about USD 3.0 billion, new debt facilities of about USD 2.9 billion and a share placement of about USD 5.0 billion. ↩
4. Insurance Business, “Zurich posts $3.5bn net income in H1 2026 as Beazley acquisition moves to final straight”, 6 August 2026, https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/uk/news/breaking-news/zurich-posts-3-5bn-net-income-in-h1-2026-as-beazley-acquisition-moves-to-final-straight-585150.aspx. ↩
5. Reinsurance News, “Zurich’s £8.1bn Beazley acquisition to complete October 1 following regulatory clearance”, 14 September 2026, https://www.reinsurancene.ws/zurichs-8-1bn-beazley-acquisition-to-complete-october-1-following-regulatory-clearance/. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.