Zurich names new chief life actuary
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich names new chief life actuary
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Bill Robertson to the position of chief life actuary.
He leaves behind his present position as Aegon UK’s finance director to join Zurich, having spent a decade occupying a range of senior posts with Aegon.
Earlier in his career he worked for Scottish Equitable at head of Actuarial.
Robertson [...]
L&G shares rise on Zurich bid speculation
by Gill Montia
Story link: L&G shares rise on Zurich bid speculation
Shares in Legal & General rose almost 3% yesterday, alongside reports that Zurich Financial Services could be preparing a bid.
The news comes in the same week that Aviva officially rejected a £5 billion proposal from RSA to acquire its general insurance businesses in the UK, Ireland and Canada.
Despite the rebuff, AXA and Resolution Ltd are [...]
Zurich appoints chief claims officer
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich appoints chief claims officer
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Thomas Sepp as chief claims officer, with effect from 1 September.
He joined Zurich last year as chief operating officer of Europe General Insurance, prior to which he led the UK Insurance Practice of McKinsey & Co.
Sepp will replace Christian Orator, who has been appointed chief administrative [...]
Zurich appoints chief information technology officer
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich appoints chief information technology officer
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Markus Nordlin to the post of chief information technology officer, with effect from 1 September.
He joined the firm 11 years ago, leaving behind Accenture, and since 2004 has been group IT key account executive for the Farmers Insurance Group.
Nordlin, who also acquires a seat on the [...]
Zurich appoints chief administrative officer
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich appoints chief administrative officer
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Christian Orator to the position of chief administrative officer.
Orator will assume a seat on the Group Executive Committee when he takes up his new post, his appointment being effective from 1 September of this year.
He will succeed Richard P. Kearns, who is set for early retirement [...]
Zurich appoints global regional CEOs
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich appoints global regional CEOs
Zurich has appointed four regional chief executive officers within Global Life, Europe, Asia Pacific & Middle East, North America and Latin America.
David Sims, currently chief executive officer Global Life Emerging Markets, has been appointed to the newly created position of chief executive officer Global Life Europe, effective 1st August 2010.
Based in Dublin, Mr. Sims [...]
Zurich enhances level protection range
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich enhances level protection range
Zurich UK Life has enhanced its level protection range to help clients who may need to make changes to their existing life cover when their circumstances change.
Renewable and convertible options are now available, allowing customers to either renew or convert their policies at a later date, without the need for further medical evidence.
The [...]
Comprehensive car insurance costs up 14%
by Gill Montia
Story link: Comprehensive car insurance costs up 14%
The average cost of comprehensive car insurance rose by 14.2% in the second quarter of 2010, compared with increases of 4.3% and 6.3% in the two previous quarters.
According to the Confused.com/EMB Car Insurance Price Index, £74 was added to the average premium in the three months to the end of June, with an annual increase [...]
Zurich considers relocating HQ to Dublin
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich considers relocating HQ to Dublin
Zurich is reported to be talking to the Financial Services Authority over plans to relocate its European life assurance headquarters to Dublin.
The group is said to be weighing up the tax benefits of such a move and according to The Independent, its operations in Swindon and Cheltenham would not be affected.
In other Zurich UK [...]
Zurich enters Indonesian life assurance market
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich enters Indonesian life assurance market
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd has agreed to acquire 80% of PT Mayapada Life, an Indonesian life assurer focused on the distribution of group and individual life and health plans.
The purchase is being made from the Mayapada Group, which operates across various sectors including financial services, healthcare, media and energy, and will continue to hold [...]
Zurich launches Technology and Telecoms policy
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich launches Technology and Telecoms policy
Zurich has launched a Technology and Telecommunications product in the hope of winning customers within the fast-growing technology sector.
The group’s UK Professional and Financial Lines team, which specialises in cover for breaches of professional duties, says the new offering can provide tailored cover for professional indemnity risks, including cover for privacy, network security and information [...]
Zurich UK Life enhances protection proposition
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich UK Life enhances protection proposition
Zurich UK Life has announced a range of new improvements to its mortgage and family protection proposition, aimed to appeal to a broad spectrum of advisers and their clients who want life and critical illness cover.
Zurich has increased the maximum eligibility age for term assurance applications from 65 to 83, and has expanded the upper [...]
Zurich names new CIO
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich names new CIO
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Cecilia Reyes as chief investment officer, effective from 1 April, with a seat on the Group Executive Committee.
For the last four years she has worked for Zurich leading the firm’s Investment Strategy Implementation, having joined the firm in 2001 as regional manager for Group Investments with [...]
Zurich in breach of Data Protection Act
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich in breach of Data Protection Act
Zurich Insurance has been obliged to sign an undertaking with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) agreeing to improve security.
The insurer lost an unencrypted back-up tape containing personal financial information belonging to over 46,000 of its policyholders, and has been found breach of the Data Protection Act.
Customers of Zurich Private Client, Zurich Special Risk and Zurich [...]
Zurich launches protection microsite
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich launches protection microsite
Zurich UK Life has announced the launch of new microsite Zurich4protection.com, following the firm’s recent protection campaign to support advisers and help them grow their business.
The new microsite is dedicated to such protection and aims to offer a single port of call for advisers seeking a complete and professional service to offer to customers.
The microsite [...]
Zurich appoints global head of Corporate Communications
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich appoints global head of Corporate Communications
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced that its new global head of Corporate Communications is to be Pierre Goad.
He joins Zurich from HSBC, where he presently works as head of Corporate Development for the investment banking and asset management divisions.
Earlier in his time at HSBC he held a number of other communications positions in both [...]
Zurich appoints APME CFO
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich appoints APME CFO
Zurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Pascal Perritaz as the new chief financial officer of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East (APME) region.
He has been with the firm for the last 14 years, and has held a number of senior posts within the global corporate business in Europe.
Since 2008 he has worked as [...]
Zurich Global launches Product Safety and Recall proposition
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich Global launches Product Safety and Recall proposition
Zurich Global Corporate UK (ZGCUK) has announced the launch of a new Product Safety and Recall proposition.
According to the insurer, the move is in response to increasing customer demand and the offering should compete strongly against the more standardised solutions currently available in the market.
The proposition combines globally compliant insurance protection with a [...]
Zurich promotes critical illness cover for children
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich promotes critical illness cover for children
Zurich UK Life is highlighting the advantages of critical illness cover for children today, which is also International Child Cancer day.
The insurance industry has paid out millions to adults suffering from cancer, yet there is relatively little attention paid to the impact on families with children who suffer the illness.
According to the ONS 2007 saw [...]
Zurich UK Life launches protection plan guide
by Gill Montia
Story link: Zurich UK Life launches protection plan guide
Zurich UK Life has launched a new guide to help advisers explain its protection plans to their customers.
“Here to help at every step” aims to ensure the correct level of cover is provided and that claims are paid out swiftly.
The guide covers application and underwriting processes, emphasising the importance of disclosing accurate personal information [...]
