Group strategy

Zurich is a profitable, well capitalized and resilient global insurance provider. Our success is built on the dedication of our people and a combination of financial and underwriting discipline, customer centricity and operational excellence. But to maintain our momentum in an increasingly volatile economic and social environment, we must do more.

Our Group strategy is designed to deliver profitable growth by leveraging the strength of our global business, making the best use of our resources and building our reputation as a trusted brand. This strategy is based on three simple concepts: ‘who we are, what we do and how we do it’.

Group Strategy logo

Who we are
Who we are

The Zurich Story

We are Zurich, one global company, with one mission, one ambition, one set of shared values and a clearly articulated commitment to our stakeholders: our customers, our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work.

  • Our Mission is to help our customers understand and protect themselves from risk.
  • Our Ambition is to be the best global insurer as measured by our customers, employees and shareholders.
  • Our Values, as defined by our code of conduct, Zurich Basics, shape our culture and define our behaviors. They are: integrity, customer centricity, excellence, sustainable value creation and teamwork.

The Zurich Commitment

  • We care about our Customers. Our customers are the individuals, families, businesses and institutions that face risk every day. We must earn their trust – and the commitment of the agents, brokers and others that help us serve them. We must deliver the insights, products and services that empower them to understand and protect themselves from those risks. As One Zurich, we can and must exceed their expectations. And when adversity strikes, we must be there for each of them with the solutions and financial strength to deliver on our promise.
  • We care about our People. Our people are the diverse women and men who together strive to make Zurich the best global insurer. We value their passion and personal integrity, and recognize those as a basis of our strength. We must invest in their capabilities and expertise so that each may fulfill his or her individual potential. We must celebrate success, and learn from mistakes. We must live up to our common set of values, and hold each other accountable.
  • We care about our Shareholders. Our shareholders are the individuals and institutions that provide the financial strength that backs our promises. We must deliver a fair, reliable and sustainable return on their investment. We must do so with a clear focus on our core business of insurance, an uncompromising commitment to financial and portfolio discipline, and investing in our future.
  • We care about our Communities. Our communities are where our customers, our people and our shareholders live and work. While we can be proud of the contribution to society Zurich makes through our core business of insurance, we must also give back to our communities through our talent, time and resources.

Zurich Insurance Group

What we do
What we do

We want to become a more customer-driven organization. That means we must focus on specific markets and customer segments, create competitive propositions and provide a superior experience for our customers.

 

Building a profitable portfolio for the long term

We aim:

  • to grow our business organically where we can do so profitably;
  • to make use of our capital strength in order to grow through selective acquisitions, joint-ventures and alliances in mature markets, and accessible high-potential growth markets.

To do this we are enhancing in-house capabilities that will enable us to identify and capture new opportunities as they arise.

Becoming more customer-driven

We aim:

  • to create more value from our existing portfolio by expanding the opportunities for cross-selling and by increasing customer loyalty;
  • to win new business by improving our visibility and attractiveness to customers.

In order to reach this goal, we are upgrading our service infrastructure and adopting tools and techniques that will give us more insight into our customers’ needs.

Excelling in products and service

We aim:

  • to expand our product and service offerings;
  • to identify profitable opportunities within the industry and to redefine the value chain.

This will involve taking a more customer-centric approach to product development and tailoring our offering to the individual stages of our customers’ lives.

How we do it
How we do it

We know what it takes to achieve our goals. We need the best and most skilled people in the industry and a culture that enables them to perform at their best. We need to develop and leverage best practices and provide support for Zurich’s transformation into a more customer-driven organization.

Attracting, retaining and developing the best people

We aim:

  • to develop industry leading people management capabilities in order to attract, retain and develop the best people in our industry;
  • to foster a culture of excellence in which all employees are challenged, motivated and proud to be part of Zurich.

We will progress towards these goals by introducing a global approach to people management and talent acquisition while improving workplace diversity and career development.

Simplifying and improving our processes and systems

We aim:

  • to upgrade or reinvent our processes and systems in order to reduce complexity and satisfy changing customer expectations effectively;
  • to enhance our technical capabilities continuously and establish value-adding shared services to support new business initiatives.

Our next generation operating landscape will recognize distinct customer needs while leveraging global scale.

Creating a competitive edge by enhancing our global capabilities

We aim:

  • to leverage The Zurich Way (TZW) in its original intention to select, improve and systematically roll out core target capabilities across the Group;
  • to create global standards that all our employees can embrace: standards that represent the way we do business at Zurich.

We are developing and piloting global capabilities that will provide uniform work practices across Zurich.