Welcome to Zurich

Zurich is 150. They say you’re only as old as you feel, and Zurich still feels like a startup. We’ve stayed nimble, adapting to whatever history has thrown our way – from world wars to natural disasters to pandemics – and we’ve grown stronger along the way.

But in one important way we are unlike a startup: Zurich is, first and foremost, a beacon of stability. Throughout our long history we have managed to shape our industry, and have earned the trust of our customers, communities and families worldwide.

All the credit for our achievements goes to the people of Zurich, where – who knows? – an apprentice can rise to become a business leader. After all, our trust in people drives them to become better and better.

The stories in these pages illustrate how we care for our customers – and for one another. Our Zurich Forest, for instance, has become a symbol of how much we care for the planet.

We’re proud of what Zurich stands for, and we’re looking forward to our next 150 years with the same confidence that we had when we started all the way back in 1872.

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In an ideal world, nobody leads, and no one follows. Working together, trusting each other, we accomplish what no one can do alone.

EJ Crespo likes the program’s freedom and flexibility.

Learn and earn. A swiss apprenticeship program in the U.S.? Meet those putting it to the test.

Photo essay by Clarissa Bonet

Lizeth Torres joined the program right after finishing high school.

Lydia Arthurs enjoyed learning while on the job, and in class.

Jesse Buss balanced fatherhood and an apprenticeship.

Sabrina Wilks, workers’ compensation apprentice.

Brandon Quarles is focusing on information technology (IT).

Kareena Deol has found her passion in underwriting.

Will Banks managed an ice cream shop before becoming an apprentice.

A Swiss soul

Zurich’s apprenticeship program incorporates a successful, traditional and time-tested way to pass on skills and knowledge. The ‘earn and learn’ approach can transform lives. It’s a Swiss thing, and ‘Swissness’ is part of Zurich’s soul.

Dayanna Chavez Carranza will never forget the day she learned about Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program. “It seemed almost too good to be true!” she recalls. A mother with a young son, she was holding down two jobs when she applied for Zurich’s program. The approach was perfected in Switzerland, by Swiss, who believe that their apprenticeship system is second to none. And it might well be. It combines classes with real-life work experience in a way that brings together the best of both worlds. Apprentices accepted to the U.S. program earn a salary and upon completion, receive an associate degree, a Labor Department certificate of apprenticeship and a full-time position with Zurich. Carranza is an enthusiastic fan of the program, and Zurich. She’s planning to grow her career while “contributing to the team’s and company’s goals.”

It is just one of many success stories since Zurich North America launched its insurance apprenticeship program in 2016, the first of its kind to be certified by the U.S. Labor Department. It gets at the heart of what Zurich believes in. It helps to shape its success by helping to cultivate and bring together diverse talent. It has won awards and hired 145 participants (which could jump to about 220 with its latest cohort). The majority of graduates stay with Zurich after the two-year program ends.

Gold standard

The U.S. program is similar to many in European countries with dual vocational education and training systems. Swiss and even some international educators believe the Swiss system is the gold standard. It is also extremely popular, with about two thirds of Swiss choosing an apprenticeship, rather than a university education. Sameen Pasha joined Zurich’s U.S. program in 2019 and graduated in 2021. She liked Zurich’s model. “Why land in a situation where you might have literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt after you finish your degree?” says Pasha. Some apprentice alumni have also gone on to do further studies, using Zurich’s tuition reimbursement benefits to help defray the cost. Pasha graduated from the North America program in 2022, and is studying for a bachelor’s degree in operations management.

Zurich has had apprentices since its earliest years. Board minutes from 1883 note the salary of an apprentice, Otto Hardy, were raised to CHF 30 from CHF 20 a month. Apprentices even in those days looked forward to earning much more when they got a regular position.

Professional knowledge that only comes with working in a company is an added attraction. Michelle Hristozova, who completed Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program in 2019, and went on to get a bachelor’s degree, has already achieved her goal to become an underwriter at Zurich.

Other apprentices praise Zurich’s diversity and inclusion. Justin Peters, who began as an apprentice in Zurich North America in 2021, is African-American. He learned about Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program when he was working for a pest control business. He mentioned to one of his clients back then that his father was an underwriter. “When I said that, the customer’s face lit up. She told me I absolutely had to look into Zurich’s apprenticeship program.” Peters did so, and liked what he saw. “Zurich took the initiative to show that they wanted to see change in the demographics,” says Peters.

Of course, insurance doesn’t always sound very exciting to young people. It sometimes took convincing to attract suitable candidates. Zurich’s Swiss apprenticeship ads in the 1960s emphasized the excitement of a business that offered a chance to work abroad. Zurich North America’s apprentices can look forward to a varied experience. They may be assigned to traditional areas like claims, but also information technology, human resources, crop insurance, sales and communications. In the UK, Zurich has also expanded its apprenticeship program to include data analytics, even offering an opportunity to study for a degree in data science.

Zurich North America’s apprentices praise the work-life balance. “There aren’t many programs that allow you to have dedicated time for school and work, while still having the time to do what you love outside of work,” says EJ Crespo, who joined Zurich North America’s program in 2021. His hobbies include video editing and photography.

From apprentice to CEO

Angel Rosario, who dreams of one day being the head of a team, or even starting his own business, has no regrets about choosing Zurich North America’s apprenticeship program. “No scholarship can compete with the value this program offers. You learn from industry professionals. And having colleagues that lend a hand and take time out to make sure you grasp the concepts helps quite a lot.”

Apprentices can rise to the top. Several Swiss who began as apprentices in various occupations have become Swiss cabinet members. In Zurich, too, the sky’s the limit. Lupus Tin began as an apprentice in Hong Kong, later becoming part of the general insurance executive team. Eric Hui, who started as a trainee, is Zurich Hong Kong’s chief executive officer.

Anthony Brennan joined Zurich as a trainee actuary, and is today CEO Zurich Ireland. “I could have become an actuary by going to university, but that would have delayed me by a few years and would have a cost attached to it. With the Zurich trainee program, I was able to start right away. It allowed me to have a great career with Zurich,” says Brennan.

“As a former Zurich apprentice, I’m delighted to see the Group exporting a model that has proved its value in Switzerland. We are highly committed to giving people options to build a strong foundation and pursue opportunities. It’s also key to Zurich remaining an employer of choice,” says Juan Beer, today CEO of Zurich Switzerland.

A startup mindset

The youngest of Zurich’s founders were only in their thirties when they signed the new enterprise into life. They were busy men who contributed their energy and idealistic fervor to a changing society.

On October 22, 1872, 10 men met in the city of Zurich to found a corporate entity with the name Versicherungs-Verein (Insurance Association). The new company would become what we know today as Zurich, the global insurer. It was initially set up as a subsidiary of another marine insurance company that these same men had founded in 1869. In the Zurich region back then, the real money was in textiles. Insurance was, and still, is important for the textile industry. The many textile factories that had sprung up in eastern Switzerland, a region that includes Zurich, relied on cotton from America, India and Egypt, and imported raw silk, sending finished goods abroad. Transport and shipping were their lifelines.

It’s no surprise then that four of Zurich’s youngest founders, Heinrich Emil Streuli- Hüni, Adolf Guyer-Zeller, Carl Abegg-Arter and Robert Schwarzenbach, were running private textile businesses. With the exception of Guyer-Zeller, they took over the family-owned business when they signed Zurich into life. The latest venture was just one of many going concerns. They also engaged in politics, served on boards of several Swiss companies and took speculative bets on the risky growth industry of the age – railroads. The Northern Railway completed its first line between Zurich and Baden in 1847.

But while railroads still represented a comparatively new industry in 1872, Switzerland was already a major textile superpower. Family-owned textile factories had introduced automated looms in the nineteenth century which revolutionized the industry.

Adolf Guyer-Zeller’s travels inspired him to invest in the railway industry.Photo: Privatarchiv W. Wahl-Guyer

Robert Schwarzenbach was only 22 in 1861 when he took over the family silk manufacturing and trade. He succeeded in expanding the family business into an international enterprise. The business he set up in New York was later taken over by his son who ran it from the Schwarzenbach building on Park Avenue.

The U.S. exerted a strong draw for ambitious, curious young Europeans, including Zurich’s Swiss founders. Heinrich Emil Streuli-Hüni spent over two years in the U.S., even becoming a U.S. citizen. He recorded his impressions, including of a dubious investment in a U.S. coal-burning cooking stove invention to produce gas for home lighting. Like many tech adventures, it turned out to be unfeasible and took much of his time and money. His distraction is evident in his complaints about losing his bonus from his day job at the New York silk trading company where he worked for a time, before returning to Switzerland.

Inspiring travels

Streuli-Hüni left the U.S. to return to Switzerland in 1861, the same year Guyer- Zeller and Schwarzenbach also visited America. Guyer-Zeller’s journeys through the North American continent, ostensibly to learn more about the textile production and trade, but seen in retrospect more like a homage to the travel industry. He took steamships on the Great Lakes, journeyed by boat, and rail, visiting many cities, and making it as far as New Orleans, and even Cuba before he returned home to Switzerland. His travels left him itching to build a Swiss rail network.

Carl Abegg-Arter was also on the board of a major Swiss bank.Photo: Portrait of Carl Abegg-Arter, oil on Canvas, Léon Bonnat, 1906

Like many successful entrepreneurs, Guyer-Zeller was a dreamer who translated visions into reality. Along with running the family cotton business, he also invested in Swiss rail companies and took an active role in the growing industry. He is best remembered for engineering the rail line taking visitors to the top of the Jungfrau peak in the Bernese Alps.

The most prominent of Zurich’s board members is probably Carl Abegg-Arter. He was just 32 in 1868 when he was called to serve on the board of what became Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland’s largest banks, at the behest of another notable Swiss, Alfred Escher. Escher is still celebrated for his monumental engineering feat, the Gotthard rail line. Having Abegg-Arter on the insurer’s board likely allowed Escher to keep an eye on what was going on there, while he dealt with other projects, including serving as chairman of Credit Suisse for over two decades. Abegg-Arter became the bank’s chairman after Escher died in 1882 and Credit Suisse’s longest-serving chairman. He served on both boards until 1912, the year he died.

Streuli-Hüni became the longest-serving board member at Zurich. He was on the board for 43 years, served as chairman for 14 years and retired and died in 1915. During that time, he also served on the boards of railways, banks and a condensed milk company that later merged to form Nestlé Group. He even served for a time as Nestlé’s deputy chairman.

Heinrich Emil Streuli-Hüni worked in New York and became a U.S. citizen.Photo: Schulthess Familien-Archiv, Horgen

Close shaves

Zurich’s younger founders embraced the entrepreneurial mindset and weren’t afraid to imagine the future. They seized opportunities and tested ideas. They took calculated risks. They idealized the prospects of what progress would bring. They embraced new technology and ideas. Fully half of the 10 men who set up Zurich were still in their thirties when they signed the charter in 1872. Well-traveled, from a background that valued work and common business sense, their experience and knowledge served them well. Their ideas about progress were also tied to self-interest, but that included an idealistic mindset. Their long-term thinking really did reflect a vision for the future. In some cases, they were a bridge, coming from old, family-owned companies, but presaging a global shift toward modern, capital-intensive companies owned by shareholders.

There is one aspect that has changed since Zurich’s founders were active. Visionaries still abound, but today’s entrepreneurs come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Founders of successful companies are also often as likely to be women as men. They may lack the impressive mustaches of early founders but certainly also have a lot of great ideas.

Robert Schwarzenbach was only 22 when he took over the family business.Photo: Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Graphische Sammlung und Fotoarchiv

We never stopped thinking about tomorrow

Seven decades at Zurich, through the eyes of those who have worked with us for over 40 years. Get ready for riots, earthquakes, men in Bermuda shorts, ‘Jaws,’ flip phones, cigarettes (lots of them), overhead projectors, and yes, Fleetwood Mac!

Claims office of the Zurich subsidiary Danubio in Italy (1974).Photo: Zurich Archives

Prologue
1969

It was November of 1969, and Mike Berrenson was in limbo. He was 18, just out of high school in Baltimore, Maryland, and, like most American men at the time, eligible for the draft – with the Vietnam War still raging. When he failed his physical because of a bad arm, he enrolled in a local community college, but it left him uninspired.

Not only was the year coming to an end, but the decade and an era – the Sixties. Woodstock, and all that it represented, was in the rearview mirror, and anyway Mike had always been more pool hall than flower power, more in tune with his hometown of Charm City than Haight-Ashbury. He needed to do something with his life, but what?

Besides eight-ball, he was also good at math, so when he heard Maryland Casualty Company (which would eventually become part of Zurich) needed an audit reviewer, he applied. The interview process, as it were, consisted of 10 math questions. “That was the extent of it,” Berrenson says now. He got the job, and today, at 70, is the longest-serving Zurich employee worldwide. “Who knows what would have happened had I been drafted?”

“Hey, start adding these field audits, kid.”

It may have been over 50 years ago, but he remembers his first day like it was yesterday: cigarettes, ashtrays and smoke everywhere; single file desks, no cubicles, most with no phones; and men were required to wear ties. He was given a huge, analog calculator from, like, the last century, and as he recalls, was told something along the lines of, “Hey, start adding these field audits, kid.”

“It weighed a ton, that thing,” Berrenson says. “You punched in the numbers as hard as you could, pulled the handle, the tape came out, and that was your answer.”

And then there was his first pay stub. “A hundred and seven bucks a week,” he says. “And no overtime back then.” Not a lot, but not bad for a teenager. “Every Friday, you were handed your paycheck, walked across the street to the bank, cashed it, and that was your money for the week,” he says.

Soon after, he dropped out of community college and just continued to show up for work. And show up and show up. “And all these years later,” he says, “it hasn’t stopped.”

Big data? Big computers! Zurich data center (1977).Photo: Zurich Archives

Part I
The 1970s

Antonio Bico was a year younger than Mike Berrenson when he joined Metrópole in Portugal on March 2, 1970. There were no marches on the capital, no social revolution in Lisbon at the time – not yet anyway. The Carnation Revolution – the peaceful overthrow of the Estado Novo regime – would come in 1974, but there were armed conflicts in the former Portuguese colonies, Angola and Mozambique among them.

Young Antonio was still a few years from his compulsory military service, though, and could immerse himself in all matters of Metrópole, which was owned 95 percent by Zurich. The 17-year-old was introduced to a formal but welcoming group – with cigarettes, ashtrays and smoke everywhere. Men wore jackets and ties, women dresses and skirts. It was very hierarchical but there were also a lot of young people who played on the Metrópole sports teams – football, basketball, volleyball, you name it – that competed against other companies in Lisbon. That was a nice icebreaker.

If 17 seems young, consider that Manuel Duarte was hired as a paquete, a kind of bellhop, at Metrópole on July 21, 1970, a few days before his 14th birthday – and six days before the death of longtime dictator Antonio Salazar – which sounds like something out of a Wes Anderson film. “I still see myself walking through the door of the headquarters for the first time on Rua Barata Salgueiro, where it remains.” He has stayed with Zurich in a variety of roles, because, he says, “my job still gives me a lot of pleasure – I still feel motivated.”

Antonio, meanwhile, started in claims, where he wrote and received letters on mountains of paper. When he returned from his compulsory two-year military service in 1976 – fortunately he avoided war-time action – he continued to learn about every nook and cranny of the business. “I grew up in the company,” he says. Indeed he grew all the way up to CEO of Portugal in 2007. He only recently stepped down as CEO, but is staying on to consult, because, he says, “I love what I do. It’s part of my life.”

“I never saw an electric typewriter before. I didn’t even know how to turn it on.”

The Zurich office in Chicago was 4,000 miles from Lisbon, and 700 from Baltimore, but it had at least one thing in common in 1970: cigarettes, ashtrays and smoke. On June 25, 1970, another 17-year-old, Carol McArdle, commuted to the Zurich office in downtown Chicago – 111 W. Jackson Boulevard – for her first day as a claims draft typist. She was two weeks out of high school when she answered a job ad in the newspaper and was understandably nervous. She had never even gone into the city by herself.

“I didn’t want to go to college,” she says, “and back then you didn’t need a degree. I didn’t like typing – I hated typing in school – but I passed their test. They didn’t want speed, they wanted accuracy. But you couldn’t make a mistake, so it was very intimidating. And though the people were nice, they were all a lot older than me. I think the next youngest person was probably in their 40s.”

There were plenty of other women in the office, but they weren’t allowed to wear pants, just skirts and dresses. Men were in jackets and ties. Phones were only on supervisors’ desks. What was new were the typewriters. Gone were the big old manual typewriters. In were the big electric typewriters. “I never saw an electric typewriter before,” she says. “I didn’t even know how to turn it on.”

After three months, Carol found typing monotonous, so she went to her boss and asked if there was anything else. He said no. But that weekend she saw more job ads at Zurich for all kinds of positions, so, with the encouragement of her father, she went back to the boss and was like, hey what gives? He relented and she was transferred to the accounting department processing cancellation credits for three months. Then she moved into the rating and coding department, where there were more young women her age.

“That first year, I did this for three months, then moved over there for three months, and started learning new things. My dad said at the time, ‘Don’t give up.’ And it ended up all working out.”

Like Carol, Kathie Grierson was nervous, petrified, on her first day. It was September 1, 1975, and the 20-year old Australian, like so many at the time, loved Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie and had Fleetwood Mac playing in her head, especially ‘Rhiannon’ and ‘Landslide.’ She also loved the Eagles, ‘One of These Nights’ and ‘Lyin’ Eyes.’ It’s no wonder she was attuned to the pop sounds of the day; she had, after all, come to Melbourne from Perth in Western Australia three years earlier to take up a career in dance but thought it might be time to find a day job. She had gone to night school to be a secretary and, through the government employment service, applied to Guardian Royal Exchange (which would be acquired by Zurich).

She sat in on reception, helped in the mail room, ordered stationery and filled the copy machine with toner and paper. “I hated doing the toner,” she says. “It got all over me.” If she hated the toner, she loved her managers: Mr. Lush and Mr. Cohen. No first names were ever used, and if you didn’t know their last name, you called them Sir. “To this day,” Kathie says, “I still find it hard to call them by their first names when talking about them.”

“A lot of deals were signed on a drink coaster, or so I was told.”

Certain things were the same Down Under – smoking, of course – but miniskirts were allowed in the office, as were bellbottoms and platform shoes. This being Australia – and the 1970s – men would often come to work in safari suits or (heaven help us) Bermuda shorts with socks to their knees. Supervisors had their own room in the canteen and could also have beer and wine. On Fridays, everyone went to the pub for lunch.

“A lot of deals,” she says, “were signed on a drink coaster, or so I was told.” There was also a ‘tea lady’ that came around with tea and biscuits – savory in the morning, sweet in the afternoon. “Mary was her name – I can’t believe I remember.” And there was a ping-pong table – long before they became de rigueur at hip tech start-ups.

At the end of 1975, Kathie went back home to Perth for Christmas to see her family. They saw ‘Jaws,’ which had just opened in Australia – “between you and me, I had my feet up on the seat screaming when the shark came up to the boat” – and had a great holiday. They were happy she got that day job, one with a future. “Little did they know I would still be here nearly 47 years later.” Or, put another way, in the words of her beloved Fleetwood Mac: ‘Don't stop ...’ well, you know the rest.

Plant friendly: Open plan office at Austrasse in Zurich (1980s).Photo: Zurich Archives

Part II
The 1980s

Zurich, the city and the company, is often known in clichés by those on the outside. Staid, reserved, orderly. As Zurich employees, we know this isn’t true, right? And Zurich, the city, was in an irascible mood in the early 1980s. In fact, the city was burning, or as those years are known locally from a well-known documentary, ‘Züri brännt.’ Students and young people battled with police over funding for alternative arts spaces. It started outside the opera house on May 30, 1980, and spread to the other main thoroughfares around town over the coming months: Bellevue, Limmatquai, Bahnhofstrasse. Windows were shattered, cars burned, tear gas was used by the police, scores were injured, one person was killed, and thousands were arrested.

Bruno Pfister was caught in the middle, metaphorically but also literally. In November of 1979, the 21-year-old started at Altstadt (acquired by Zurich three years later) in customer service, but before that he had considered a career in the police force.

“It was a different culture back then.”

On his first day, the general conditions guidelines were dumped on his desk, and he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. “Is this job right for me?” he wondered. The people seemed nice enough, he recalls – and yes, they smoked in the office – but it was all Sie (you, formal) not du (informal). “It was a different culture back then,” says Pfister, now a senior product manager. “Today in the Oerlikon office, it’s always du.”

Out in the streets in 1980 and ’81, the language wasn’t formal or informal, just angry. While driving home after work one evening, Pfister was confronted by a police water cannon on Quai Bridge, one of the most beautiful spots in Zurich. He had to swerve into the tram lane, and then had to be careful not to run over the large stones that were scattered everywhere.

A few weeks later, while heading to a movie, he was faced with police on his left and protesters on the right. He ducked into the theater just in time. “It was better for my health,” he says. “I knew people in the youth scene, and it was not so nice to hear what our police were doing.” At the same time, he didn’t like the approach of the protesters. “I don’t think that’s the way to solve problems.”

Anita Blom-Pozdnik steered clear of the riots altogether. She may have started her apprenticeship at Zurich, in the main Mythenquai office, on April 21, 1980, nine days before the movement began, but she was a mere 14 years old. Plus, she had protective parents, especially her mother, who “had a lot of fear about everything.” They told her the protesters were up to no good and that she should come straight home to Thalwil, a few towns outside the city limits. “It was a conservative environment,” she says.

The young Anita was happy Zurich took her aboard. A prominent Swiss bank wouldn’t on the basis that she was an Austrian citizen. And although she didn’t know much about the company, her father had insurance with Zurich and a sales agent named Ernst Blättler would visit their home once or twice a year. “He was friendly and helpful and knowledgeable,” Anita, now a business performance analyst, remembers. “My father trusted him so much that he told us if something should happen to him, we should get in touch with Mr. Ernst Blättler and ask him for support. I can still picture him.”

She was, like many 14-year-olds, shy and nervous. “I was in awe, like ‘Wow, everything is so big.’ ” With that, she noticed, came hierarchical distinctions within the office – and mostly in the hands of men. In titles, but even in signs and gestures. Normal workers, in her recollection, had chairs without armrests, while managers had armrests – and their own canteen. Different desks, curtains and carpets also conveyed levels of importance.

When Anita turned 15, she committed a gaffe. Her boss asked her to bring a paper to a director for a translation and then added, “Tell him to improve his handwriting so I can read it.” So Anita handed the director the paper and relayed the message. He looked at her aghast. “Did she really say that?” he asked Anita. Yes, she said, and when Anita got back to her boss’s office, she was proud to tell her that she passed on the message. “No, please tell me you didn’t. That was just a joke.” Her boss thought it could have severe consequences. It didn’t. “And his handwriting was better from that day on.”

In the following years, there were odd comments and ‘jokes’ along the lines of, “Oh, I’m sick, but if you were laying at my side, I’d feel so much better.” She says, “It was nicely meant in a way, but misguided.”

“He couldn’t believe that a woman could program.”

What was even worse, in her opinion, was always being considered a secretary – even if she was one of the best apprentices, with the highest scores – while the young men had more interesting opportunities. Finally, she said, “ ‘I’m sorry, but I’m much better than this. I’ll be wasted in this job.’ They said, ‘That’s all we have,’ and I said, ‘I don’t believe that.’ I was appalled.” And when word got out, other departments did want her, since she had developed a reputation as a good worker. Even later in the mid-1980s, when she was 19 and met with someone to discuss a new task she was supposed to program, he asked her several times if she was really the programmer and not the secretary. “He couldn’t believe that a woman could program,” she says. When she originally wanted to cut back to 80 percent, she was questioned whether she could still lead her small team. She remembers company parties where male employees could bring their partners, but women couldn’t.

Things have changed a lot since then, Anita says. And she’ll always fondly remember how Zurich supported her during her advanced education. She went to school full-time and was still able to work for the company at 50 percent, putting in those hours on semester breaks and weekends. The company was also supportive when she had children and worked part-time. “Zurich offered me possibilities to combine my education and my family life,” she says. “Plus, I had really good bosses, and I liked my work so it made it easy to stay.”

Dublin wasn’t burning on June 8, 1981, Paul Croghan’s first day at Irish National, which would eventually be absorbed into Zurich, but there was unrest. The previous year saw 350,000 stream into the streets of the Irish capital to protest high taxation rates. There were strikes, high unemployment and a ‘brain drain’ among young people.

The 20-year-old Paul had been working, but he still felt particularly lucky to get this job, which appeared secure. “And wasn’t I right,” he says today. He was, and still is, in reinsurance underwriting, but back in 1981, his direct colleagues all had worked together since 1952. “So you had to break into this very settled circle,” he says. “People had a very different attitude toward their colleagues back then. They were more like family. Sometimes they actually were family. There was a culture, at least in Ireland, of people getting their family into the company. That doesn’t happen so much today.”

His first salary was 48 pounds a week, but his rent was 25 pounds. Do the math: He had 23 pounds a week to live on. So he’d go to the local pub – Horse Show House – rather than put the heat on in the apartment. “It was my sitting room.” And one that was popular with colleagues.

It added to the familiarity in the office. One woman was known as Ms. Tipp-Ex because she used the correction fluid to fix typing mistakes. “It wasn’t in any way insulting, and she embraced the name,” according to Paul. “Another colleague whose real name was Eamon was always called Benjy because he looked like a popular TV soap opera character, and he wasn’t insulted because many of us were better known by our work nickname. But now if I told a colleague that I was going to call them something that’s not their name, I don’t know how they’d respond. Now it’s more businesslike and formal.”

“You know what, if that car crashes, and they all get killed, I’m the manager tomorrow.”

In his early days, senior staffers would take off during the day for Leopardstown Racecourse to bet on the horses. They didn’t appear worried that there was no one in the office to cover. One day, Paul was standing outside the office when a carload of them left for the track. His young co-worker, with a bit of macabre humor, said, “You know what, if that car crashes, and they all get killed, I’m the manager tomorrow.”

The combination of familiar and formal showed up in other ways. Shirt and ties weren’t enough for men; you had to wear a jacket as well. And even shoes had to conform. “Sometimes men would wear shoes other than black,” Paul says, “and, I’ll never forget, they would get a tap on the shoulder from their manager who would say ‘Never brown in town.’ In other words, you should be wearing black shoes.”

Barbara Knost in Germany remembers a casual and collegial workplace in the 1980s – and, she says, one that was “unbearably hot in the summer since we were on the fourth floor under a copper roof in the old building on Bonn’s Talweg.” There was never a dress code and, she adds, “It was like a big family with the trainees integrated directly….The annual company party was always good and contributed to the working atmosphere. On Friday afternoons, we ended work early and ate and drank together.”

The ’80s ended with two earthquakes, a literal one and another of the geopolitical variety. At 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 1989, Vicki Trindade was driving home from the Farmers Insurance office in Pleasanton, California – east of the Bay Area – to her home in Tracy over the Altamont Pass.

Traffic was light that night since it was about a half hour before the start of Game 3 of baseball’s World Series, which was being played, coincidentally, between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s for the first time ever. In fact, live coverage of Game 3 from Candlestick Park had just gotten underway on national TV. At 5:04, the video on ABC began to break up and the legendary announcer Al Michaels, losing his famous cool, said “I’ll tell you what, we’re having an earth….” And the signal went off. When the audio portion of the broadcast returned shortly thereafter, he said, in typical California showtime-style, “Well, folks, that’s the greatest open in the history of television, bar none!”

Vicki wasn’t a baseball fan, not at all, and during her drive home she didn’t feel the magnitude 6.9 quake centered to the southwest in Santa Cruz that killed 63 people, injured over 3,000 others, and caused widespread damage. But when she heard about it on the car radio, she says, “I was terrified something might have happened to my baby daughter back home.” It didn’t. “The next day at work was unusual,” says the senior commercial underwriter who started in 1971. “We had to pick up hundreds of files that fell off the shelves and rearrange the items on our desks. Luckily, no one was hurt and damage was very minimal in the office. But it was really strange. We never experienced such a strong earthquake.”

“I could not have imagined that the Wall would fall 10 years later.”

Three weeks later, on Thursday, November 9, there was a tectonic shift geopolitically: the Berlin Wall came down. “I can’t remember what was said between my colleagues,” says Angelika Metternich of the Köln office, “but at the beginning of my training in 1980 at Deutscher Herold [soon part of Zurich] I could not have imagined that the Wall would fall 10 years later.”

“Everyone was surprised that the opening of the border took place so quickly,” says Klaus Baldeweg, an international service team leader who started in 1980 in the Frankfurt office, which at the time was beside the old opera house. “We were all happy about the ‘new’ Germany but were aware that reunification meant a huge financial effort. Nevertheless, the euphoria among the population was very great.”

“I had a flexiday on November 10, and so was only able to speak to my colleagues the following week,” says Ute Stammel, who started in the Köln office in 1977. “Most thought it was good, but of course there were also naysayers.” If not everyone was moved at the time, the aftershocks are still being felt today, more then 30 years later.

Overhead projector in use at the auditorium at Mythenquai (1996).Photo: Zurich Archives

Part III
The 1990s

In 1990, the ‘typing pool’ was disbanded in Paul’s Dublin office. Up until then, his colleagues never had to type their own letters; they would write them out longhand and give them to a full-time typist. That was over now. Everyone had to type their own letters themselves on computers while the typists were re-allocated within the company. “That was a big change,” he says.

In fact, a lot was changing. When Paul started back in 1981, he relied heavily on the telex machine. “That was how we did business,” he says. “It was my lifeline with the rest of the world.” So much so that he continually had ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ – The Boomtown Rats hit from a couple of years before – in his head. The song references the once-essential office tool and the lyrics spoke to him.

Gone, too, were the other stone-age tools, such as the punch-card machines and the mainframe computers Anita used in the headquarters. Even in the 1980s, she remembers, “you couldn’t even make a phone call to another canton, you had to ask the switchboard operator for a line. When eventually, we could call anywhere within the country, we were like, ‘Wow, we can call anywhere in Switzerland now.’”

“That’s one of the things that I have to say about my 40 years here,” Paul says. “The technological developments have made the biggest change to the way life was on day one. Just the fact that we’re talking here today on Teams couldn’t have been dreamt of in 1981.”

There’s a photo from 1992 of Antonio Bico, who at this point worked his way up to upper management in the Lisbon office, making a presentation with – gasp! – an overhead projector. Antonio had also worked in Zurich’s Mythenquai office and spent a period of time in Munich studying engineering lines insurance. So he’d been involved in plenty of presentations. “We used those a lot,” he says, laughing. “They seem so far away from us now, but they aren’t really. It’s not so long ago. I remember blackboards in conference rooms. So the acceleration of technology has been impressive.”

And it really ramped up in the 1990s. By the early part of the decade, along with ripped jeans and denim shorts, desktop computers became the norm followed soon by the internet and email. By the late ’90s, cell phones became ubiquitous.

“You really had to think before you sent a mail to someone.”

“In the ’80s, fax machines were revolutionary in the way we could keep in touch with colleagues and customers,” says Antonella Bernasconi-Ravasi, who started in the Lugano office on October 13, 1980, dressed, she still recalls, in blue, the company color. “But by the ’90s, everything sped up so fast, it’s difficult to remember it all.”

“It’s been a huge journey on the tech side,” says Paul, “and I think everyone would agree that it’s made us more efficient.”

Maybe not everyone. Ute in Germany, says, “I think it worked great without email. Much more social contact was maintained. Today you get an email for and from everyone.”

Werner Rietmann, a network service delivery manager who started at Zurich’s first data center in Altstetten in April 1980, admits many things got easier with the 1990s’ technology, but that before email, you only got what was essential. “You really had to think before you sent a mail to someone,” says Werner, who in the 1990s finally stopped referring to his manager as the formal Herr, or Mr. “You had to write it, type it or print it, put it in an envelope, either internal or external, then write the address, and make copies for everyone cc’d. You would just prepare it for those who really needed it, so you received less. Today, you have tons of emails, but back then you got what you needed.”

Technology sped up so fast that there was this little kink – or potential apocalypse – to deal with before the year, decade, and millennium came to a close: Y2K, the computer bug that was thought would wreak havoc. “Today, we look at it as if we were paranoid,” Antonio says, “but we did everything we had to do. We fulfilled all the rules in the Zurich guidelines, so we were prepared.”

Australia would be the first country to ring in the new year, decade, millennium. “The talk was that everything may stop – our server, our computers, our telephone system, all communication, the traffic lights in the city,” Kathie Grierson says. “We were all waiting for something to go wrong, but with all the hype there were no issues. We were relieved. Very relieved.”

Real office life at the former Zurich office at Thurgauerstrasse in Zürich (2003).Photo: Zurich Archives

Part IV
The 21st Century

On September 11, 2001, Mike Berrenson – who, remember, started back in 1969 – was in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Premium Audit National Meeting, an annual event attended, on this occasion, mostly by Zurich employees.

When they came down for a very early breakfast, the coordinator of the meeting said a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. They thought, as many did when they first heard the news, that it was a small two-seater. Then they saw the images on TV. All planes were grounded. He and three other colleagues had to drive back East.

“We were lucky to get the car, first of all, because there weren’t many available,” Mike says. They left the next morning, spent a night in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a second night in Terre Haute, Indiana. “There wasn’t much conversation during the trip as we really didn’t know what to say to one another about what happened. When we did stop for food and gas, we saw other travelers who were also trying to reach their homes. Some were heading East and some heading as far West as California.”

As a field auditor in the 1980s, he, as did Carol in the Chicago office, had a bag phone in his company car – think Michael Douglas in ‘Wall Street’ – but by now he was in touch with his family with a proper turn-of-the-century flip phone. They arrived back on Friday evening.

“The crisis was severe for us.”

Only about a week later did he find out that Zurich lost four employees: John Keohane, Peggy Alario, Kathy Moran and Lud Picarro. “Needless to say, it was quite sobering,” he says. The following year, Zurich established the annual KAMP Leadership Award given to team members within the company who demonstrate the leadership qualities of the four colleagues who were lost that tragic day. KAMP – an acronym made from the first letter of their four last names – also serves as a reminder about Keeping A Meaningful Perspective.

Antonio Bico became CEO of Portugal on April 1, 2007 – April Fool’s Day – but the economic storm clouds beginning to gather were anything but funny. It may have been a dream come true for Antonio, who started out as that eager, wide-eyed teenager in 1970, but soon he was faced with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. “The crisis was severe for us,” he says. “The unemployment rate went up to about 17 percent. The toughest thing I did was the restructuring of the company. We had to do a lot of difficult things, and we did.”

After the recovery, he says, “we started to see the sun come out in Portugal again,” only to face the Covid pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. “My 15 years as CEO has been full of cycles, difficult cycles, complex cycles. But as a company, working collectively, we always overcame these things, and had success. So we’re a great team, and I’m very proud of this.”

“I haven’t seen midday drinking in a good while, but it was typical in the ’80s and ’90s.”

What vanished in the new century across Zurich, at long last, was smoking. In many of Zurich’s offices around the world it was phased out in the late 1990s, but it was Ireland that led the way globally by passing legislation that banned smoking in the workplace – bars and restaurants included. In Paul’s office, that just meant the smokers went down to a specially designated spot in the basement garage. “If anything, since they wouldn’t have met people from other departments, it created new friendships,” he says, “and even a number of marriages.” Drinking during lunchtime also became a thing of the 20th century. “I haven’t seen midday drinking in a good while, but it was typical in the ’80s and ’90s.” Drinking after work with colleagues also became less routine.

One thing that the company lost, to its detriment in Paul’s view, was the hiring of people with disabilities. In 1981, he says, there was a blind telephone operator. “She never saw anybody, but she knew everybody – by their voice. She was amazing.” Her name was Maureen Newall. “Back then,” he continues, “the ethos of the company was we give people with less capacity the chance to contribute. Then in the late ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, employees were only taken in if they could deliver, high-performance people. Thankfully, Zurich is coming back around to think more about people who have issues to deal with, particularly physical disabilities, and I think that’s wonderful. It’s heartening to see Zurich go back to the values I like, which is to give people a chance to be whatever they can be and deliver enough to be employed without working 20 hours a day.”

Dress codes, where they had been formal, like in the Dublin office, slowly loosened. “When I started, you’d never go in without a shirt and tie,” Paul says. “Now it’s completely different. Our previous managing director, Patrick Manley, was there for 10 years and was progressive, but the current M.D., Neil Freshwater, is even more progressive. He rarely wears a formal shirt and tie, and during Covid he let his hair grow out. Over the decades, it has transitioned from business-formal to smart casual to whatever you’re comfortable in for your day. But the work gets done, and people respect the change as being positive.”

If the pandemic forced companies into a collective, world-wide home office, Zurich was ahead of the curve. Mike Berrenson started doing some home office as far back as 2002, while in Dublin they had two days remote pre-Covid. Carol McArdle was given the chance to work from home nine years ago when she announced to her boss in Chicago that she was leaving the company to move to Alabama.

“I’ve had the most wonderful managers you can imagine. That makes all the difference.”

“My boss said, ‘We’ll see what we can do for you.’ It was kind of iffy back then because most people weren’t doing it,” she says. “It was awkward at the beginning, but I got past that pretty quickly, and I always felt as if I was part of the group. I’ve had the most wonderful managers you can imagine. That makes all the difference. So when people ask me, ‘How come you don’t retire?’ Well, I love my job, I love the people I work with – why should I?”

For those who are nearing retirement, like those with 40-plus years of service interviewed here, the work-from-home option, many of them agreed, will ease the transition of not being in the office. Safe to say, the flexible schedule has been a positive change.

Plato once wrote “All is flux, nothing stays still.” Paul, our own philosophical colleague in Dublin, puts it this way: “I thought there couldn’t have been more change but there has been, which is great. Zurich has always changed.”

Dynamic space for coworking at Quai Zurich Campus (2021).Photo: Stephan Birrer

Epilogue
Now

Emanuela Carena started at Zurich’s Milan office in 1980. She was 19 and fresh from technical accounting school. It was in the heart of the city in an elegant building that also housed pricey condominiums.

Her parents were overjoyed, and she gave them her paycheck since only her father supported the family of five. Her colleagues welcomed her warmly and treated her seriously and professionally. They put her to work behind a manual Olivetti typewriter and offered her a voluntary black apron so as to not spoil her clothes. (This was Milan, after all.) Some of her first memories that year were commiserating with her co-workers after the attack on Bologna’s main train station and later when Southern Italy was devastated by an earthquake in Irpinia – she could even feel the tremor up north. Two weeks later, on a Tuesday morning, news arrived that John Lennon – “my idol,” she says – was shot and killed in New York City. There was 9/11, the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and the L’Aquila earthquake in 2009, which she says, “had a great impact on our work as an insurance company.”

But there were pleasant events lived together with her colleagues: Italy’s World Cup victories in 1982 and 2006, to name just two, plus the awards she obtained with her own team, moments of “collaboration, teamwork, satisfaction and friendship that will always remain.”

“I have no photos to share. Only memories.”

As she prepares to retire, she says, “it’s not easy to summarize 42 years of working life, but they were intense years, full of great experiences and people, where my company has always been present and close during every moment and challenge. The two years of the pandemic that have just passed only confirm how proud I am to have worked for Zurich, for all the support it has given me both personally and psychologically. Now that I have reached my milestone, I can only say, with a big heart, thank you Zurich.”

A couple of weeks later, when we ask Emanuela if she has any photos to share, she writes in Italian, simply: “Non ho foto da condividere. Solo ricordi.” “I have no photos to share. Only memories.”

Advertising department

From goddesses to doll houses, from friendly frogs to true love. A stroll down memory lane (all the way back to the 1880s) with Zurich’s vintage advertising campaigns.

Original: One of the first Zurich advertisements (1880s).Photo: Zurich Archives

Dramatic: A goddess and a lion protecting an injured worker (1886).Photo: Zurich Archives

Drastic: But popular with staff and customers. Postcards showing accident scenes used for correspondence in France around 1900.Photo: Zurich Archives

No more doom and gloom. Advertising for insurance has changed from focusing on the negative to the positive aspects of life.

Different: In 1939, accident insurance cost CHF 28 (boys) and CHF 26 (girls).Photo: Zurich Archives

Chillax: “Life is rarely this calm,” this ad (between 1939 and 1955) claims.Photo: Zurich Archives

Playful: “Small furniture, small worries.” Household insurance ad (1970).Photo: Zurich Archives

Drawn to bad luck: Household insurance advertisement from 1979.Photo: Zurich Archives

Careful: In style on the course with liability insurance (1960s).Photo: Zurich Archives

Homemade: This campaign depicting potential dangers while traveling was illustrated by Zurich’s own in-house graphic designer Josef Eberli in 1958.Photo: Zurich Archives

Poolside planning: Tanned ’80s family in a life insurance ad.Photo: Zurich Archives

On target: “We are here,” was the motto of this brand campaign (1992).Photo: Zurich Archives

Beyond blue

Brand personifies a company’s heart, or in this age of biotechnical advancement, its ‘DNA.’ Bringing a brand to life requires creativity, and the right ambassadors.

It’s important to make insurance tangible. Something people can connect with. Over the years, Zurich’s brand has awakened new longings, such as the desire for a warm, fuzzy blue hat. And even dogs have gotten into the act. For a while, Zurich’s UK brand ambassadors were two large St. Bernard dogs; Brutus, and Caesar. There were also a few other backups, just in case.

“We actually had a nationwide pool of dogs,” recalls Wendy May, whose international career at Zurich, until she retired in 2014, included looking after the dogs for a time. There were mishaps, of course. May recalls the day she greeted Brutus when he arrived at an event. “I shouted ‘Hey, Brutus, here boy!’ He recognized me, and began to run. He launched his entire 160 pounds (73 kilograms) at me, and I landed flat on my back.” Eventually the campaign was phased out, and Zurich UK replaced the dogs with new personalities: flying pigs. Filming commercials with real, live pigs required trainers to be on hand to prevent the animals from becoming overly stressed.

Mr. Za brought a sense of the exotic to North America. In real life, he appeared with a Tyrolean hat ready to shake hands. The elephant was not usually employed.Photo: Zurich Archives

While the British love animals, Brazilians traditionally love football, or soccer. Zurich Brazil came up with a plan that would likely have had soccer fans in some other countries coming to blows. Fortunately, it all turned out well. The ‘Inseguráveis – Palmeiras vs. Santos’ campaign in September 2012 began when soccer fans entered São Paulo’s magnificent art deco Paulo Machado stadium. The fans expected to see the Palmeiras team, in green and white, face off against Santos in black and white jerseys. But when the two opposing teams ran onto the field, they weren’t Palmeiras or Santos.

It was two other teams. Fans booed until the mishap was cleared up: It was all part of a Zurich campaign. The motto had to do with the uninsurable. The underlying message? Customers could get peace of mind by relying on Zurich to insure what was insurable. Then, thankfully, the real game commenced, with the right teams. Perhaps you had to be a Brazilian soccer fan to understand the ad’s appeal completely, but the campaign generated huge media attention and can still be viewed on the internet today.

Then there was Mr. Za, Zurich’s U.S. brand ambassador. Mr. Za, it seems, was supposed to represent a typical Swiss person (reliable, trustworthy) wearing a Tyrolean hat. The fact that Swiss people, by and large, do not wear Tyrolean hats, and few, if any of them are called ‘Za’ (short for ‘Zurich America’) mattered little in the 1950s and 1960s when the campaign ran. And to visually represent the idea, it was mainly important to fit eight Zurich employees in an upside-down Tyrolean hat without any of them looking the least bit embarrassed. Perhaps the most American thing about Mr. Za was his outstretched hand. Americans tend to respect a firm, hearty handshake, or so one believed. Australia also had its own ambassador in the 1970s who made television spots. He was a fictive young man called Ziggy. A lilting song tells the world that Ziggy rode “up to the snow, with Mervin and Marie.” Then he fell down a flight of stairs in a ski chalet, but things turned out all right, mate, thanks to Zurich. The ad closes with a rousing chorus, proclaiming that our Ziggy was “glad he went to Zu- u- rich, before he went to ski.”

Mr. Za, the friend of America.Photo: Zurich Archives

Flying pigs (2002).Video: Retro Adarchives / Alamy Stock

Top dog: St. Bernard dog in an advertising campaign for Zurich UK (1996).Video: Zurich Archives

Car-sized tea cozy

In Switzerland, from 2013 to 2018, Zurich’s home advertising was focused on protection. And things, ranging from homes to automobiles, and presumably people that “we truly love.” Umbrellas, for example. And warm, fuzzy blue things. A large car in a Zurich advertisement appears to be covered by a knit tea cozy. The blue, wool, car-sized cap wasn’t an optical trick – it actually exists, “knit by grandmothers in Germany,” according to Priska Kaspar, head of marketing for Zurich Switzerland. “We have kept these and loan them out on occasion. Sometimes customers request them for birthday presents and displays.”

And then there are the blue knit wool hats, which in winter appear everywhere, including at the World Economic Forum, usually held during the coldest part of winter in the ski resort of Davos, Switzerland. The world’s media have taken note of the blue wooly ‘bobble hat’ phenomenon. BBC reported on it, noting that after the WEF conference was over, “if you see someone wearing one, you can nod at each other discreetly. You’re part of the Davos set.”

What about the blue logo and color blue? Zurich standardized use of blue letters in the 1960s, followed in the early 1970s by a global logo. Zurich’s corporate blue is not dark or mid-blue, light or sky blue. It is Zurich blue. Zurich expanded its color palette when it refreshed its brand visual identity in 2020.

A tea cozy or a wool cap for cars? An eye-catching expression of protection.Photo: Zurich Insurance

The new approach is more inclusive. It adds more colors (in the real world, people’s lives encompass the whole spectrum, not just blue), introducing new fonts, and a variety of shapes. “To stay relevant for customers, brands must constantly evolve. As media becomes digital and consumers turn to social media, our brand has to follow and adapt to those new channels. It is not only the logo that has to change, but also the values the brand represents, and how they are expressed in our communication,” says Conny Kalcher, Group Chief Customer Officer at Zurich.

After all, a brand is much more than a logo or a color. It engages people’s emotions. It represents what is important to them. Whether it’s big dogs, or hats, a brand goes beyond advertising. It is an emotional touchstone that people can connect to. It’s in the DNA. It’s in the blood.

A new, more inclusive palette, including in global headquarters, after a brand refresh in 2020.Photo: Stephan Birrer

The bobble hats at the World Economic Forum made it into the media.Photo: Zurich Insurance

The World Economic Forum’s hat dispenser.Photo: Zurich Insurance

The Living
Book

As time passes, our experiences add to our history. See, how Zurich evolves through the stories of our people.

Ready to join The Living Book?

You can be part of our story, too! We're looking for moving anecdotes that capture our past, present and future. Make it your book by contributing photos, videos and brief stories.

A healthy relationship

I’m a registered nurse by profession with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and a master’s degree in healthcare administration. I was looking for a fulfilling position that would allow me to ‘pay it forward,’ where I could apply my clinical background and leadership experience. Attracted to Zurich by a former colleague’s LinkedIn post, I joined the pharmacy team within Zurich North America’s Managed Care – Workers’ Compensation business in August 2022. Our team works closely with claims professionals and other departments to pre-authorize prescriptions and to review pharmacy bills for appropriateness. We have a strong focus on customers’ (patients’) wellbeing. We also analyze drug utilization patterns, while working to continuously improve our current programs and initiatives. Right from the start at Zurich, I received warm and genuine welcomes, and wishes for a long and prosperous career. At my welcome lunch during just my second week with my team, they’d even remembered it was my birthday and I received a card signed by everyone. It was very thoughtful and went a long way in conveying inclusiveness. Folks still ask how I’m doing and how I like Zurich. It’s testament to a culture of authentic interactions! I look forward to many more years of growing and innovating within a family that’s rich in talent, intellect, diversity, and empowered potential. Thank you, Zurich!

Leah Montoya

Senior Supplier Medical Process Specialist

North America

With Zurich since 2022

Zurich – cradle of SoulContract

It all began back in late fall 2016. Aron had just started as a legal counsel with Zurich Switzerland. As a guitar player and singer, during a coffee break, talk naturally turned to music. It turned out that one of Aron’s new colleagues, Andrea, was a skilled vocalist. She shared his love of soul music. So the pair joined forces, and SoulContract was born! A surprise first gig for colleagues at Legal & Compliance’s Christmas dinner was a resounding success. It led to a sing-along that lasted the whole evening. Since that successful debut, SoulContract has gotten star billing in bars and clubs – and, last but not least, at internal Zurich events.

Andrea Grüter / Aron John

Senior Legal Counsel

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2014 / 2016

The Zurich Blue Santa

Back in my home country of Brazil where I first started working for Zurich, besides my day job, I was leading our Engagement Group and one of my favorite tasks was to organize our Christmas celebrations. In 2018 we invited Santa Claus to be one of us – he came and greeted our employees wearing his Zurich blue outfit, as a true Zuricher! The CEO, Santa, his elf and I walked through every floor, spoke to everyone, took a bunch of selfies, giving me a strong feeling of belonging, pride and joy! I felt as lucky to be part of this organization then as I feel now!

Estela Padoveze

Employee Listening Program Manager

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2013

DNA

Since I joined Zurich Portugal in 2010, what has become clear to me is that there really is a Zurich DNA! It is part of our evolution. I’ve seen Zurich go from anachronistic procedures, to automation, digitalisation, and seamless customer experience. Electronic signoffs have replaced time-consuming paper traffic; we can now upload large amounts of data instead of typing it manually; simulators and workflows provide quotations; Portugal has got its own chatbot for customers and introduced a customer app. After major refurbishment, our highly sustainable new headquarters, LiZboa, will be ready in 2023. People, too, are part of Zurich’s DNA. Some colleagues have left, many others joined. All of them have left their mark or are doing their part to help Zurich evolve. One highlight for me was a The Zurich Way faculty event in the Zurich Development Center. It was a great opportunity to experience our multicultural, multinational Group, meet and share insights with colleagues from around the world and experience the diversity that is also part of Zurich’s DNA. People’s successes are what make organizations succeed. We are a company with a purpose, and I’m excited about the future, too. I’m proud to be part of Zurich’s continuous evolution.

Nuno Fernandes

Head of Underwriting Operations

Lisbon, Portugal

With Zurich since 2010

A change revolutionizes the job

A lot can change in just a few years. That is especially true for how we use data. For me, one of the biggest technological changes I experienced at Zurich was introducing a new software tool that brings all of our data together in an easy-to-use format. What initially started off as just dipping a toe into the pool really made a huge difference. Introducing this new tool allowed us to improve skills among our team in finance and actuarial in Zurich North America. It has saved resources used to produce reports. Being able to learn and evolve, and introduce new ways of working, is a great advantage, and, I think, sets Zurich apart. I’m proud to work at Zurich.

Ardita Maloku

ZNA Finance & Actuarial – Finance Operations

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 2017

First impressions

I remember the first time I saw Zurich’s new global headquarters. It was on the very first day of my MBA internship. I was amazed by this beautiful building and its balance between modern and classic, contemporary and historical. And I quickly realized that there is more to it than just a beautiful façade: thanks to the personalized drinking bottles employees receive, I no longer use single-use plastic bottles for water; waste is eliminated by selling take-away food in reusable containers. And the free Zurich bikes available to employees keep me moving!

Vera Zhang

Intern in IAA

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2022

Evolving for customers and employees

When I joined Zurich 20 years ago, Life Japan didn’t offer the same range of products as we do now. With changing times, the business evolved and so did our workforce. For me, the chance to participate in the female talent program was an example of this and a turning point in my career. The 150-year anniversary shows that Zurich is constantly evolving for its customers and employees.

Asako Kaneko

Manager, Underwriting Department

Tokyo, Japan

With Zurich since 2002

Job swap

From 2013 to 2015, we both participated in the actuarial rotation program. While Tatjana moved from Switzerland to the U.S., Kim moved from the U.S. to Switzerland, and we swapped jobs. “It was one of the best experiences during my career,” says Kim. Years later, we met again, and now both of us work in the Corporate Center CI Pricing team. “We share so many similar experiences, which makes working together truly enjoyable,” adds Tatjana. Thanks to Zurich we not only got the chance to work abroad, but it also allowed us to grow our careers and make new friends!

Kim Feucht / Tatjana Jesgarz

CI Actuarial Pricing

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2013 / 2009

Caring for those in need

I’ve taken part in several volunteer projects during my time at Zurich. I helped to create a garden at a refuge for women affected by domestic violence, mentored a young person and supported the Youth Aware of Mental Health program in my local community. With my love for animals, the day I spent at Sydney Dogs and Cats Home holds a special place in my heart! I’d like to thank Zurich for caring about your community and encouraging us to do the same.

Claire Roberts

Business Resilience

North Sydney, Australia

With Zurich since 2001

Opportunities for growth

I already worked in technical management at Minas Brasil Seguradora for 15 years and I was eager to use my knowledge in my next role. Three years later, I moved to commercial management where I specialized in benefits insurance. The highlight of my career was when I got ranked first in Brazil’s business relationship program and got to travel to Marrakesh with our partners. Thank you, Zurich, for providing me with opportunities to grow!

Gustavo Adolpho

Gerente Comercial

Horizonte, Brazil

With Zurich since 1991

After rain comes sunshine

Culture, language, climate, social rules – everything was different! Moving from Brazil to Switzerland was tough and adapting wasn’t easy. But Zurich was my safety net and protected me all along the way. They not only supported me with language courses, housing and logistical guidance, but the people at Zurich also became a community for me. I met new people at events and projects such as ‘Make The Difference’ and could expand my local network. I now support other new joiners and share my experiences.

Marina Cardoso

Group Strategy / Agile and UX Consultant

Brazil – Switzerland

With Zurich since 2010

(Don’t) be alarmed

Switzerland is a lovely place to live. But with its mountains, rivers and valleys, it can also be a country with many risks. I am grateful that I could contribute to the creation of Zurich’s Natural Hazards Radar in Switzerland – a very simple platform that offers a risk overview of people’s property and provides customized advice how to better protect it from natural hazard events. I am proud that I was part of the team that made this crucial information more accessible to the public. Instead of a portrait, I prefer to use one of my own photos showing river flooding along the Thur river in Switzerland in the summer of 2013.

Michael Szönyi

Flood Resilience Program Lead

Zurich, Switzerland

A space for everyone

One of the most rewarding projects we were involved in was the move to Zurich North America’s headquarters in 2016. Following an extensive crowd-sourcing initiative, our employees designed a building that suits all their needs. “As a working mother, I appreciated the upgraded mother's room and fitness center that allowed me to take the necessary breaks I needed to focus on my health and wellness,” says Renad. And Pat adds: “Being in operations throughout my career, the move itself was a huge undertaking. All 2,300 people moved in three weekends! I love walking through the front door, seeing the open atrium overlooking the patio and a beautiful landscape.”

Pat Melzer / Renad Jarzynski

CRE & FM Project Manager / Employee Experience and Culture Specialist

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 1984 / 2011

A moving memory

As a competitive triathlete, my grandfather took part in no less than nine ‘Iron Man’ competitions, including the grueling Iron Man world championship 1987 in Hawaii. In the late 1990s, my grandfather was on the lookout for a sporting activity that could bring our whole family closer together. And he found it in the Zurich Vita Parcours. In his words, sports “always brought us, as a family, a lot of beautiful moments.” Working out on the Vita Parcours, named after Zurich’s life business, really helped us to bond as a family! Today, whenever I train on these famous trails, I recall good times with my family and think of my grandfather.

Tatjana Buser

Communications Manager

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2013

Zurich – my community

I was 28 when I joined Zurich. Since then, it has become family, a second home. The flexibility they give me allows me to look after my emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as care for my family in a way I wouldn’t be able to at other companies. I have made lots of lifelong friends and have had so much fun participating in company-sponsored events along the way: 22 years at Zurich and can’t see myself anywhere else!

Renee Marquez De La Plata

Senior Claims Specialist

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 2000

Race to the top

The legendary ‘Treppenlauf’ in the Swiss BU headquarters is a true highlight. Starting from the ground floor, you race up to the 17th floor within less than 3 minutes. When racing up you might ask yourself why, but the amazing view and the supportive colleagues waiting for you at the top make it all worth it!

Nils Matter

Junior Business Analyst

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2013

The perfect blend of "old-meets-new"

There are many beautiful spots on our Quai Zurich Campus. I’m proud that I had the chance to collaborate to design, build and help us move into our new global headquarters. My favorites include the Lakeview Room on the rooftop; you sense the perfect combination of traditional and modern, and our connection to Zurich city.

Kristof Terryn

CEO Zurich North America

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 2004

Make a difference

In 2022, Ukrainian politician Mariia Mezentseva urgently requested food aid for Kharkiv, and Zurich was happy to help. We got the food together and stored it in a warehouse in Poland, aiming to keep it a secret. Try to buy 207 tons of food in a small Polish town without people noticing! I’ll never forget Mariia’s tears of joy when the goods arrived. That’s when I realized that all of us, even individually, can make a real difference.

Alessio Vinci

Group Chief Communications Officer

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2019

Being my true self

Through my participation in the ZNA PrideZ Employee Resource Group, Global Pride@Zurich ERG, and ZNA Legal Services Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging Council, I have gained the confidence to bring my authentic self to work every day. This stems from the many interactions with colleagues and internal support I have received, motivating me every day to further my career and grow.

Adam Kerns

AVP, State Affairs, Governments & Regulatory Relations

Washington, DC., U.S.

With Zurich since 2017

Superwomen at Zurich

In 2019, the idea for the WIN Leagues came from a conversation I had with my friend and colleague, Teresa Logue. We were looking to create a way that women at Zurich North America could connect through regular networking, while remaining open to promoting inclusion all across our region. With this network, we have created a community that builds confidence, connection, and leadership.

Jocelyn Jopa

Strategic Assistant to the CEO

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 2011

What it means to be a good Samaritan of mental health

Thanks to Zurich’s Mental Health First Aid Program, I use my training to help employees with mental health issues. I also supported the roll-out of the program in Zurich North America. I am now one of 155 certified mental health first aid champions. Sadly, I know first-hand how mental health issues can affect lives. My brother Lewis died by suicide in 2013. But this heartbreaking experience drove me to learn more about the complex topic, so I can better help others in a similar situation!

Nicole Golliday

AVP, HR-Employee Relations

North Carolina, U.S.

With Zurich since 1998

Drawing attention

When COVID-19 hit, my pen started moving! I wanted to help others. When I won Zurich Has Talent in 2021, and donated the prize money to children in need, my cartoons actually changed the lives of many. So remember: It might start small, but it can develop into something bigger and make a diff erence.

Ralf Sprenger

SAP Support

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

With Zurich since 1988

Coming home

I love to travel and explore and have worked for Zurich on three continents, including at Cover-More, Zurich’s global travel insurance and medical assistance provider. Whenever I travel through Zurich Airport and see the big Zurich advertisement there’s a feeling of coming home in more than one sense, and a feeling of pride to work for a firm that keeps travelers safe away from home.

Manuel Lewin

Cover-More Group Chief Risk and Compliance Officer

Sydney, Australia

With Zurich since 2008

Returning home

I started working for Zurich in the Dubai office in March 1997. In 2008, I left Zurich and have now returned 13 years later to work as a web developer on the PRS (Premium Recording System) replacement project. Interestingly, I designed PRS in 1997, and I am now back in Zurich to replace that system. For me, it feels like I’ve returned home.

Paul George

Web Developer, Zurich International Life

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

With Zurich since 1997

Hello, how may I help you?

July 1994: The revolution is here! ‘Zuritel,’ Switzerland’s first telephone insurance was launched. What sounds common today was the hottest technology on the market. As Sales & Customer Advisor, my working hours were defined by the commercials on Swiss TV. Once broadcasted, our phones didn’t stop ringing. I still answer the phone 25 years later, with the same passion. I love working for Zurich because we share the same goal – customer satisfaction!

Luisa Errico

Sales & Customer Care Adviser

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 1994

From pizzaiolo to Zurich

An Irish student and an Aussie manager meet at an Italian Bistro in Sligo…. What sounds like a joke is actually the start of my career. In highschool, I worked as a dishwasher and a pizzaiolo. As I continued to study economics, I eventually found my way to Zurich. I still remember the lessons I learned in the kitchen: teamwork, communication and, most importantly, to never put a dirty milk glass in the dishwasher without rinsing it first!

Martin Scanlon

Strategic Assistant to the CEO EMEA & Bank Distribution

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2015

Happy anniversary!

In 1998, I was one of 200 other Zurich colleagues worldwide to attend Zurich’s 125th anniversary in Switzerland. I’ll never forget it! I met people from all over, attended workshops and toured the Zurich office. The highlight was a trip up Mount Rigi. I am grateful to still be with Zurich to celebrate the 150th anniversary. Onto the next 25 years!

Cathy Cashen

Zurich Direct Markets

Overland Park, U.S.

With Zurich since 1980

Supported all along

I joined Zurich in 2005 and was involved in building and staffing an organization that did not exist before. While opinions varied about how exactly this would be accomplished, the one thing I experienced throughout the process was the widespread genuine interest in, and support for, my success. This is part of the culture of Zurich and every time I enter uncharted waters, I feel and value the support of my colleagues.

Damian Sepanik

Chief Compliance Officer,

Schaumburg, U.S.

With Zurich since 2005

Belonging

‘Fazer parte’: two small words in Portuguese that mean ‘to belong.’ To me, it means to be part of something bigger. To trust Zurich as a company and a partner. To know they do the right thing for communities and for our planet. I can rely on Zurich in difficult moments, whether they are personal or something global – like a pandemic.

Eliane Cardoso Marques

Service Operator General Insurance

São Paulo, Brazil

With Zurich since 2’016

KAMP - ‘Keeping A Meaningful Perspective’

On 9/11 I saw the Twin Towers fall. Zurich lost four coworkers, but we have not forgotten. In 2011 when the 9/11 Memorial opened, seeing their names linked together was moving. Zurich honors them with the KAMP Award. KAMP is an acronym representing each colleague’s last name and also stands for Keeping A Meaningful Perspective. Recognizing them for charitable works is a fitting tribute to lives being well lived.

Dennis J. MC Enery

Claims Legal Coverage Counsel

New York, U.S.

With Zurich since 2009

Becoming a volunteer

This is a story about how a tragic moment turned into something positive. This is my story. In 2016, my partner and I had a gas leak at home. She died tragically but I survived – it was a miracle. I was overwhelmed with grief and guilt but that changed when I started to get involved in corporate responsibility initiatives. Thanks to Zurich and the CSR program, my life had meaning again. Through volunteering I had the chance to support those in need. I love to be part of a company where each of us matters.

Araceli Cruz Rogero

Head of Digital Transformation & Innovation – Strategy & Innovation

Mexico City, Mexico

With Zurich since 2016

Confidence

Knowing that Zurich is making a constant effort to put its people and planet first makes me confident in the future. Not only for me, but also for my children and my future grandchildren. One specific project that relates to me is the project with the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve in my home country of Indonesia. When I go home after work, I feel that we are contributing to something greater.

Ade Kurnia

Agency Business Head

Jakarta, Indonesia

With Zurich since 2012

Through the lens of my camera

During my travels I have visited and photographed Zurich offices around the world. Many of these visits were possible thanks to the patience of my family and fellow travelers. Thus far, I have documented more than 30 such ‘detours’ across five continents. What started as an exercise of corporate pride has led me to fully appreciate how global and diverse Zurich really is.

Aaron Beharelle

Head of Actuarial Performance and Reporting, Group Actuarial

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2004

Giving me a purpose

In 2018, we created our CSR Program in Brazil, and I began to carry out social activities in a more comprehensive and professional way, with local resources and support from the Z Zurich Foundation. One moment I will never forget: when the Foundation approved our mental health program. Spending a whole year preparing this project took a lot of sweat and tears, as I experienced mental health issues myself. The chance to transform the world with my work is what motivates me every day.

Ana Matta

Communication and CSR Manager

São Paulo, Brazil

With Zurich since 2018

‘Dad’s building’

The Zurich building in Portsmouth was more than just an office to me. My father worked on the construction site and with bare hands and toil, he laid the concrete foundations of what years later became my workplace. Growing up, every time we walked past its shiny windows, I would proudly announce: "This is my dad’s building!” Now, I have laid my own foundations of a fulfilling career with Zurich. I’m proud we kept it in the family!

Elisabeth McLoone

Business Partner - Group Communications & Public Affairs

Portsmouth, United Kingdom

With Zurich since 1998

Unforgettable

One of the most unforgettable memories during my 15 years with Zurich was visiting the site of the tsunami-hit area following the great earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011. I remember seeing an area divided into two completely polarizing landscapes. On the one side, a typical residential street filled with houses and buildings. One the other, a completely flattened wasteland. I visited the area to check in on 10 of our policyholders who lived there. They hadn’t responded to any of our three confirmation request letters, so I had the job of going to the area to confirm whether they were alive or not. I’m relieved to say that they all were. Despite the worst of situations, one thing that stands out from that time was the devotion and passion of our call center staff to fulfil their duty. They were a team of women with families in Tokyo, far away from the affected area. However, they went above and beyond, when power outages happened, to help respond to calls from policyholders and beneficiaries from all over the country.

Hiroshi Suzuki

Head of IFA Management

Chiba, Japan

With Zurich since 2008

Nepal experience

Nepal experience Thanks to the Z Zurich Foundation, I was able to participate in an unforgettable experience! In 2019, I joined a volunteering program in Nepal to help build a school and lived for almost one week in a very remote village with a Nepalese host family. It is difficult to find words to describe my emotions, and what I learned from this, including that it is possible to communicate without speaking the same language. And I saw first-hand how important it is to provide learning opportunities for children to create a brighter future for them!

Marco Zuccarini

Head of Zurich Academy, Development and Compensation

Milan, Italy

With Zurich since 2000

We are family

Lots of people meet their partner at work, and so did we! Thanks to corporate events, such as sports tournaments and the famous Christmas party, we fell in love. What started with small talk and some looks exchanged here and there developed into an amazing journey for us. Our little ‘Zurich family’ has grown: Kaya is already a toddler, and her younger sister, Yuna is nearly a year old. Working and living together comes with challenges but also brings great rewards! Zurich supported us with its flexible parenting model, for which we are very grateful.

Dan Schnider / Jasmin Burkhalter

Senior Marketing Manager / Senior Project Manager Sponsoring & Live Marketing

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 2012 / 2015

Long Service – A Perspective

Why have I worked at Zurich for more than 25 years? One reason is that the work is varied and worthwhile. Zurich has provided me with the opportunity to try several roles over the years, performing tasks that I find enjoyable, meaningful, and that benefit our customers and Zurich. I also share its values. For example, recognizing the impact of climate change and adapting our business focus and processes as a result. And there are the people. I have been fortunate to have met and collaborated with many great people! Working for Zurich isn’t a right. It’s a privilege. Congratulations, Zurich, on your 150-year anniversary!

Nick Palmer

Quality Assurance Specialist – Operations

Sydney, Australia

With Zurich since 1995

Spreading my wings

My career at Zurich started 1988, 10 days before my 18th birthday. Back then, it was still under the flags of ‘Eagle Star,’ a British insurance company that was later acquired by Zurich. In my more than 30 years with Zurich, I consider myself to have been extremely lucky. I left school with a handful of qualifications and got a good job, but it is what happened next that really impressed me. If I can give you my advice: Take every opportunity you can. Take responsibility for your career and don’t be scared to take risks!

Jessica McLellan

Communications Business Partner

Cheltenham, UK

With Zurich since 1988

Always by my side

A few years after joining Zurich, I received a devastating pre-diagnosis that I might have leukemia, which was luckily not confirmed. I am grateful to Zurich for always being on my side and supporting me through this tough time. During eight months of treatment, daily visits to the hospital and taking dozens of medications, I was scared of losing my job. But Zurich proved me wrong! Six years into my career at Zurich, I still have faith in the company, and they have not let me down. Today I am healthy and glad I can tell this story!

Patricia Moreira dos Santos

Operator, General Insurance

São Paulo, Brazil

With Zurich since 2006

A postcard with an impact

It was December 2008 and I was working for a Zurich partner, when I unexpectedly received a hand-written postcard from the International Programs (IPZ) from the central team in Switzerland. This was the first time I saw the people behind the program, the people who made me feel part of a family. In 2016, I then joined IPZ in Zurich Colombia. Why I love Zurich? It’s simple. Words become facts! With our people, partners and customers, we create long-term relationships for a sustainable business.

Isabel Cristina Morales

Head of International programs

Bogotá, Colombia

With Zurich since 2016

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life

The biggest opportunity Zurich offered me during my career was participation in the Zurich Community Trust’s India Program – a chance to use my business skills to help an Indian charity improve their processes. I loved it so much, I even changed my career to run the program, which led to running one of the program’s partners in India, and then on to the Z Zurich Foundation. If you can find a job doing something you love – you never have to ‘work’ again!

David Nash

Climate Change and Partnerships Senior Manager

Selby, United Kingdom

With Zurich since 1987

From clunky computers, big changes and finding love

Switzerland, 1990: At the young age of 16, I started as Zurich’s first IT apprentice in Switzerland. The years that followed brought many changes. There were technological advances, including the shift from clunky computers to handy laptops and cloud-based solutions. And new values began to be emphasized, with sustainability being put prominently on our agenda. There were also significant changes in my personal life. I met my wife at Zurich, became the father of twins, and met my best friend, who is now the godfather of my kids. All thanks to Zurich!

Yves Trivellin

Application Subject Matter Expert II

Zurich, Switzerland

With Zurich since 1990

Your Voice Matters: That’s the motto of the Employee Commission. We represent you – Zurich’s employees – and constantly try to improve your working environment. The past two years have been notably difficult and challenging due to the repercussions of COVID. We are collaborating with the executive management, HR and other functions to foster the wellbeing of all of you amid these uncertainties. Supporting all of you motivates us day by day to make a mark in Zurich’s history as we celebrate our 150-year anniversary. Employee Commission of Zurich

Gabi Jacomet

Market Facing Underwriter

Zurich, Switzerland

Stephan Egger

Market Facing Underwriter

Zurich, Switzerland

Antonio Atanasov

Claims Handling Supervisor

Zurich, Switzerland

Domenico Valeri

Claims / Damage Inspector

Zurich, Switzerland

Natalie Kümin

Case Manager

Zurich, Switzerland

Michael Dickow

Treasury Business Partner

Zurich, Switzerland

Beat Müller

Commercial Underwriter

Zurich, Switzerland

Marco Rossi

Market Facing Underwriter

Zurich, Switzerland

Anna Wenger

Executive Assistant

Zurich, Switzerland

Caring

Personal bonds matter. A wealth of experience and knowledge enable mutual trust, fostering a relationship that can last for decades.

Things look good now. But just wait until rush hour.

Full throttle. For Zurich Mexico’s auto claims adjusters, helping others is a way of life.

Photo essay by Jordi Ruiz Cirera

Claims to fame

Mexico’s auto claims adjusters make life a little easier in a place where driving is not for people with weak nerves. Meet two of Zurich’s adjusters, who found their dream job assisting customers.

Aclaims adjuster “is a surgeon…. those papers are not just forms and statistics and claims for compensation. They’re alive. They’re packed with drama,” says actor Edward G. Robinson, in the role of Barton Keyes, a claims adjuster in the Hollywood classic, ‘Double Indemnity.’ But of course, that’s just the beginning. In Mexico City, besides experiencing daily drama on the road, claims adjusters serving motorists have to have hearts of gold and nerves of steel. Driving there is not for the weakhearted. We caught up with two claims adjusters, who took a little time to talk about their jobs.

For Wendy Flores, who joined Zurich in 2017, auto claims adjusting was always her dream. But it took moving to Mexico City, and joining Zurich, to get the job she wanted. Today, she loves it for the variety and the chance to serve others, a quality shared by most of her colleagues. “A day as an adjuster is never boring. That is what I love most about the job. We experience laughter, anger, frustration, worry, sadness and joy. We understand what it means to have empathy.” Flores had wanted to be an auto claims adjuster ever since she was young. A family friend who worked as an adjuster would talk about exciting things that happened in his job and how he might even get two parties to reconcile and agree after an accident. Excitement and bringing people together to settle their differences – what could be better? But at the time, it wasn’t a profession open to women. Time passed, Flores grew up, married and moved to Mexico City where the husband of her friend – lo and behold – worked as an adjuster.

Wendy Flores, Zurich Mexico’s first virtual auto claims adjuster.Photo: Jordi Ruiz Cirera

Mexico City at last count had 8.9 million residents. And including the people living in its greater metro area, residents number around 20 million! Naturally, they might occasionally need to file claims. Especially as the driving habits of big-city dwellers in Mexico can leave something to be desired. Very often, the biggest vehicle has right-of-way at intersections. Lane changes often involve psyching out other drivers. Traffic congestion is a way of life. In fact, according to one study, the average speed on roads in Mexico City, as the population has grown, has dropped to 11 kilometers per hour – around the same as in 1910, when horse-drawn carriages were still on the roads.

Flores’ dream seemed closer after her move to Mexico City. But when she first made inquiries, she was told again that adjusting was no job for a woman. At last, fate intervened. She heard of an opportunity at Zurich. And, fulfilling her childhood dream, Zurich hired her as an auto claims adjuster. “They trusted me. They gave me the backing and unconditional support to perform a job in which I believe and respect.” And, as a women, she says, she feels her skills are valued.

Zurich Mexico relies on 72 adjusters working on the road in cars, or on motorbikes and those available online. Mexico City’s team includes 33 on-the-ground adjusters, and six serving customers virtually. In 2019, Zurich Mexico also introduced virtual adjusting. Flores was the first adjuster to provide the service to Zurich’s clients, in which assistance is offered as soon as adjuster and claimant connect through a video call. The claims adjuster receives photos and videos through the customer’s mobile device, and then instructs the customer how to get repairs. They may also provide further guidance, for example if another driver is involved and if the vehicle can be moved. This service can save the insured a lot of time and offers greater convenience. And it gives customers the feeling that “they are accompanied by Zurich from the moment that they report an accident,” says Flores.

Ricardo Eduardo De Lucio Rodríguez, inspired to help others.Photo: Jordi Ruiz Cirera

Ricardo Eduardo De Lucio Rodríguez, like Flores, has worked as an auto adjuster for many years. He joined Zurich Mexico in 2017, starting as an adjusters’ supervisor. He was inspired to become an adjuster due to his desire to assist others. “I have always been willing to help people,” he says. As a young boy, he already developed a fascination for vehicles, too. At an early age, he learned how to help his father change the oil in the family car. But it was an unusual incident that set Rodríguez on the path to his future career. He and his father were at a filling station. The attendant forgot to remove the nozzle and hose from their gas tank. They drove away, taking part of the pump with them. An argument ensued. Things only got resolved after an insurance adjuster arrived on the scene, displaying impressive confidence and competence. He told them not to worry, that everything would be fine. “Ever since then, I have admired what great work adjusters do,” says Rodríguez.

He belongs to a mobile unit and is often found on Mexico City’s roads in his hybrid vehicle. He is also passionate about his job, which, he says, “begins by waking up with the right attitude.” Each day he works, after washing his car, he drives to his assigned place to wait for directions to wherever a customer might require assistance.

Mexico’s adjusters understand that a car accident, even one in which nobody is hurt, can be very stressful for everyone involved. They learn how to calm down situations that could otherwise become explosive. They understand and empathize with the emotional situations and fears of the people involved. Rodríguez recalls that one woman who had a car accident was crying, until the adjuster told her a joke, and got her to laugh, so that she was able to complete the claims process. “That’s a good example of the human side of what we do,” he says.

Rain or shine, if you’re driving in Mexico City, remember that Zurich’s adjusters are likely never far away, and they’re looking forward to assisting you. Even when COVID-19 struck, they were there for customers. “Every day brings new challenges: the weather, the traffic, the mood of those involved in a claim and so on,” says Wendy Flores. “But even in a pandemic, we never would have considered not caring for our customers.”

Aging gracefully

Zurich is helping Japan’s seniors to maintain their independence. While Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, other countries’ demographics suggest Zurich’s approach is what is needed elsewhere, too, to benefit seniors and society.

The short story, ‘When My Wife Was a Shiitake’ by Kyoko Nakajima tells of a retired man whose wife suddenly dies. He is, curiously, reborn through the experience of learning to cook. While some elements are uniquely Japanese, the story has a universal quality that speaks volumes about aging, and how it is possible to discover a new life, even in old age. It is an appropriate message not only for Japan, the country with the highest percentage of centenarians, at six for every 10,000 people. It is also a message that Zurich’s property and casualty (P&C) business in Japan has heard, and to which it has responded. “We believe we are making a contribution to society as Japan’s population continues to age,” says Hiromasa Takeuchi, who helped to develop a product tailored to seniors.

In 2010, Zurich’s Japanese P&C business introduced the personal accident insurance product specifically for seniors. It has proved a success. Today, the policies-in-force total 1.3 million. The senior personal accident insurance policy has found resonance in a country where typical accident insurance cover is limited to people 75 years or younger. Zurich’s policy resonates in a country with an average life expectancy of 85, one of the highest in the world: roughly a third of the product’s policy-holders are older than 80.

Sumiko Iwamura, Sumirock for short, received an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest professional DJ.Photo: Enno Kapitza

Zurich’s SPA is sold through ‘endorsers,’ which includes banks, as well as credit card companies and retailers. Unlike most other products on the market, it can be continued until the age of 100. “Many of our partner banks are working on the goal to enrich a 100-year lifespan,” says Tomokazu Hirose, who heads partner relationships in the wholesale business. “We have received many positive comments from those offering the product. It is meeting a genuine need by protecting active seniors.”

Delivering the product to customers with confidence includes training. Such training gives sales support staff a sense of what it is like to be old and helps them to better communicate with elderly customers.

In Japan, where working hard means staying active even as one gets older.Photo: Enno Kapitza

“Thanks to your kind support, I was able to complete the payment procedure all by myself even though I am very old.”

“Using a dedicated app, we try to understand how our voices sound to seniors, and to speak in easily understandable ways, using the best words to make everything as clear as possible,” says Chie Kawanishi, manager of the customer care center. The approach was first used for motor. It was adopted by the personal accident team as an innovative way to support customers. Training even includes wearing glasses and other devices to simulate being old. By understanding what it is like to hear and see through the ears and eyes of the elderly, “we can reduce communication errors when talking to customers,” says Kawanishi. Those dealing with seniors often receive gratitude for speaking at a speed that is easy for older persons to understand. Sales support staff also learn to treat seniors with care, just as they would younger clients. “We do not judge by age,” says Kawanishi.

While the demand for Zurich’s product is understandable, the genuine outpouring of customer gratitude is one of the most surprising things. Seniors expressed thanks on many occasions. “All of your staff responded and explained kindly and helped.” Another wrote, “thanks to your kind support, I was able to complete the payment procedure all by myself even though I am very old.” These are just a few of the positive comments Zurich has collected in surveys.

Makoto Suzuki researches longevity.Photo: Enno Kapitza

Optimism toward senior customers sends a positive message to everybody. This makes sense in a country where elderly often make headlines for amazing feats. In 2015, Mieko Nagaoka became the first 100-year old to complete a 1,500-meter freestyle swim. Toshio Tominaga, a mere youth by comparison at 73 managed a solo swim across the Tsugaru Channel, a distance of about 20 kilometers. And there’s ‘Sumirock’ – Sumiko Iwamura – who received the Guinness World Records title for being the oldest professional club DJ at 83.

So instead of telling elderly customers that “it’s easy to get injured when you get older,” the Zurich team provides support and encouragement, telling senior policyholders: “because you’re fine, you have many opportunities to play an active role, so be prepared for injuries and recovery.”

Perhaps Zurich might explore other avenues. For example, policies tailored to supercentenarians? There are still new things to experience even for those who already have celebrated many birthdays, and we hope, have many more to come.

Misako Miyagi lives in Okinawa, where a significant number of residents have reached the century mark and beyond.Photo: Enno Kapitza

A healthy relationship

Nestlé has relied on Zurich for over a century. The relationship offers opportunities for Nestlé and Zurich to learn and innovate.

The relationship between insurer and insured began in 1916 with three international liability policies as both were already expanding beyond their home market in Switzerland. Today, Nestlé and Zurich can look back on over a century of trusted business that is constantly evolving with the ever-changing global business and risk landscape.

While Zurich’s risk engineers used to focus largely on traditional hazards, like fire, today much of their work is related to new types of risk exposures, including those presented by climate change. “Our long history of working together is a huge plus when looking to the future,” says Markus Mende, Head of Group Risk Services, at Nestlé.

Nestlé and Zurich both have farreaching programs in place aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Nestlé, employing 276,000 people, with sales in 186 countries, aims to halve emissions by 2030 from 2018 levels, and reach net-zero by 2050. The company has already passed ‘peak carbon’ and decoupled its emissions from growth. Zurich, as an insurer, has also set ambitious goals to decarbonize, and supports its customers in doing the same, while mitigating risks associated with climate change.

A vintage ad for infant food (1900).Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

Milk arrival at the factory in Cham, Switzerland (1899).Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

Innovative thinking in response to change is deeply ingrained in Nestlé’s history. Henri Nestlé, a German businessman living in the Swiss town of Vevey, succeeded in 1867 in developing an infant food based on milk and flour. In 1875, Nestlé sold his company and factory to three local businessmen. In 1905, a merger with competitor Anglo- Swiss Condensed Milk Company, laid the foundations of what became Nestlé Group. Interesting to note, too, that a Swiss industrialist, Heinrich Emil Streuli-Hüni, who served on Zurich’s board for 43 years, was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Anglo-Swiss when the companies merged. He remained on the Board of the merged company as Vice Chairman until 1914.

In 1938, Nestlé introduced one of its most well-known inventions, Nescafé instant coffee. Today, it is still producing coffee under the Nescafé, Nespresso and Starbucks brands. For this key product category, Zurich and Nespresso collaborate through a microinsurance consortium called Blue Marble Microinsurance. Owned by five insurance entities, Blue Marble provides microinsurance to smallholder coffee farmers in Colombia with the aim of protecting farmers’ income during periods of weak harvests and allowing them to invest. The program set up in 2018 is now being expanded to other countries.

Workers filling tins at the first Nescafé factory (1940s).Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

An ad from 1934 for one of Nestlé’s most well-known inventions: Nescafé.Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

Nestlé’s global business has also served as a catalyst for some of Zurich’s own innovations. In the 1960s, an eager young Zurich recruit, Fritz Gerber, was given the task of analyzing all of Nestlé’s insurance needs in Europe. By 1974, Gerber had become Zurich’s CEO. Inspired by his work with Nestlé, he was the driving force behind Zurich’s introduction of a pathbreaking internationally coordinated insurance program for multinational customers. Zurich was one of the first insurers worldwide to offer such insurance programs.

In 2017, when Zurich sought a way to make it simpler for Nestlé to manage its many international insurance lines, both worked together to develop and pilot an ‘application programming interface’ that automizes data exchange between insurer and insureds.

“Health and nutrition are at the core of Nestlé’s objectives as a company,” says Mende. For example, the Receitas Nestlé online platform for consumers in Latin America has millions of visitors a year. These view thousands of recipes with important information on nutrition. Through a joint initiative to support Latin American consumers, especially those in Brazil, visitors to the Nestlé Receitas website are offered the opportunity to download Zurich’s LiveWell app. This is an innovative digital wellbeing platform that engages employees and individuals to learn more about a holistic approach to personal health. It’s just one more example of the ways that Nestlé and Zurich collaborate on the basis of shared corporate objectives. Ron Davis, Head of Zurich’s Global Customer Management, who has worked closely with Nestlé for over 20 years, says it’s a relationship built on mutual trust. “This provides the basis for us to co-create innovative solutions. We’re proud to provide dedicated service worldwide to support Nestlé’s evolving needs.”

Farmers picking coffee in Colombia.Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

Prototype production in the Nestlé Research & Development Accelerator.Photo: © Nestlé S.A.

High performance

It was the ‘pious wish’ of Grindelwald pastor Gottfried Strasser to provide insurance cover for Switzerland’s alpine guides. Zurich understood the risks and hardships they faced, and its policy for guides was a first in giving early climbing professionals more security.

In the year 1865, when the hotel Zum Schweizerischen Alpenclub (the Swiss Alps Club) opened in the Maderaner Valley, in the canton of Uri, modern alpinism was just entering its heyday. That same summer, an Englishman, Edward Whymper, made the first ascent of the Matterhorn in Switzerland’s Valais.

Uri, which has its own fair share of impressive peaks, is also home to the Tresch dynasty of mountain guides. Every guide had a nickname. There was The White Tresch, The Black Tresch, The Red Tresch, The Green Tresch and even The Handsome Tresch. The Treschs – bearded and proud – posed before cameras and are shown carrying hemp ropes slung over their shoulders, long ice picks grasped in their hands. They wore hobnailed boots. Their calves were wrapped in bandage-like puttees.

The Swiss geologist Albert Heim (center, seated) with mountain guides in the Maderaner Valley.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

In fact, they looked just like the four men posing with Swiss geologist Albert Heim, seen at the center of the photo, holding a rock hammer and map. Heim contributed enormously to our understanding of how mountains are formed, and how glaciers affect topography and geology. His wife, Marie Heim-Vögtlin, was the first Swiss female physician and also a passionate mountaineer.

Local guides would accompany their clients, who were well-to-do low-landers from the Swiss cities of Basel and Zurich, and even foreigners from Germany and Great Britain. They would guide them up the surrounding peaks, some more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) above sea level, encircling the Maderaner Valley like a wreath: the Great and Lesser Scheerhorn, the Düssistock, the Oberalpstock, the two Windgällen, the Ruchen, Tödi and Clariden.

Mountain guides were admired for their courage and knowledge of alpine dangers.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

From the very early days, mountain guides were admired for their strength, endurance, courage and knowledge of alpine dangers. Theirs was a world of beauty, but also risks. Any climb might be their last. Falling down a sheer precipice or into a deep crevasse were very real and ever-present occupational hazards.

Gottfried Strasser recognized these things early on. His parish in the Bernese village of Grindelwald, at the foot of the Eiger north face, included a large number of mountain and glacier guides, as he wrote in the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) yearbook of 1895. He felt responsible for his flock’s welfare. The necessity of collecting alms to support the mountain guides and their families when a guide was injured or killed weighed heavily on him. Instead, he reasoned, wouldn’t accident insurance for mountain guides be a better solution? For a small cost, the guides could gain some financial security. And if the worst happened, their families would at least have something to fall back on.

The good pastor finally brought the members of the Swiss Alpine Club around to his way of thinking. The club turned to Zurich for insurance. In 1881, 143 guides in the Bernese Oberland were insured for the first time. Strasser’s joy could hardly be contained, as he later wrote: “Last summer, the issue of mountain guide insurance, which had repeatedly been tackled without results, moved from the realm of pious wishes to that of practical implementation!”

One of the first insurance policies for mountain guides issued by Zurich in 1880.Photo: Zurich Archives

“Last summer, the issue of mountain guide insurance moved from the realm of pious wishes to that of practical implementation!”

Zurich demonstrated a farsightedness that is itself remarked upon in one of Zurich’s newsletters published in 1886. Following the death of famous mountaineer Alfred Margrave von Pallavicini on Austria’s Grossglockner, other insurers also sought to enter the market covering ‘alpine risk.’ But by Zurich’s account, they were too late. In addition to its Swiss mountaineering business, Zurich had already signed contracts with both the German and Austrian Alpine Associations.

Zurich continues its engagement with Swiss mountaineering. For over 80 years, it has provided professional liability insurance to guides. Zurich also insures some of the SAC huts, although the word ‘hut’ is sometimes misleading, as many now offer a considerable level of comfort. One example is the Albert Heim Hut, named to honor the geologist and SAC honorary member. The hut, located near the Furka Pass in the Gotthard Massif at an elevation of 2,543 meters, was inaugurated in 1918. Even today – considerably modernized and enlarged – it continues to enjoy great popularity among alpinists and hikers, and perhaps even some geologists and female physicians.

The hotel ‘Zum Schweizerischen Alpenclub’ in 1923.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

Mountain guides resting inside the Hüfiklubhütte (today Hüfi hut) in the Maderaner Valley around 1915.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

Inauguration of the Albert Heim Hut. It was built in 1918 and is insured by Zurich.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

Sea suite

Visitors to the Swiss canton of Ticino may spot something unusual surfacing in the region’s beautiful lakes. But fear not, the remote-controlled devices belong to one of Zurich’s more interesting customers, and they’re used to keep people safe.

Remote-controlled small submarines from the canton of Ticino are freeing the seas of mines. The underwater systems are produced by Idrobotica, a company based in the small Swiss town of Balerna.

Idrobotica considers itself to be the world leader in its particular area of expertise: producing and developing underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. Idrobotica’s submarines are unmanned robots that can be used to detect and defuse explosive devices like mines. They can also be used to safely explore archeological sites on the sea floor.

A small red ROV examines an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the sunken ‘Corazzata Roma,’ the flagship of the Italian navy in World War II.Photo: Idrobotica

The company traces its origins back to the 1970s, when Italian engineer Guido Gay, an inventor and passionate sailor, started developing his first ROVs. It has been a customer of Zurich since 2016, when Antonio Ruggeri, who was vice president of Idrobotica, was involved in a claims case that also included a Zurich customer: “The efficient manner in which my counterpart was supported by Massimiliano Reguzzoni at the Zurich agency in Mendrisio impressed me greatly,” he says. After the matter was concluded, Ruggeri chose to become a customer of Zurich, and then so did the company.

Filippo prototype presented at Oceanology International, Brighton (1978).Photo: Idrobotica

With only 20 employees, it may be small, but the company has proved itself to be a reliable partner to some of what might be the world’s most demanding customers: those who need precision equipment to help make the world’s oceans safer. Federico Orlando, a manager at Idrobotica, says that navies and humanitarian organizations use the ROVs. Clearing mines is a big and expensive job, but when you consider that it keeps sea lanes safe and saves lives, the resources are well spent.

“Sea mines are perfidious,” says Orlando, noting that just a few of them can block shipping lanes and make important trade routes impassable. Even worse, mines may play games with those trying to remove them. Some are decoys, intentionally designed to create fear, while others are indiscriminate killers. If they detonate, they can endanger lives on naval ships or fishing boats.

Part of Idrobotica’s success includes its own invention: control cables with a very small diameter of just 3.6 millimeters (less than 1/8 of an inch). The ultra-thin cables allow Idrobotica’s ROVs to be piloted easily in rough seas and unfavorable currents.

Pluto filming the Jacques Mayol world record dive to 105 meters (1983).Photo: Idrobotica

Roman-era shipwrecks

Thinking of buying an ROV to amaze your friends? Probably best to leave this to the professionals. ROVs are sold as part of a system that includes the specialized technology and hardware, as well as the installation. They need to be connected to existing infrastructure on board a ship, so you’ll need a good vessel, too. Oh, yes, and there’s training. All this requires significant investment, especially considering that most buyers will install two ROVs. That allows them to prepare one for the next mission while the other is searching.

Gay, president and founder of Idrobotica, has delegated full company activities to Ruggeri. But that doesn’t mean he’s left his passion for discovery and the sea behind. Today, he uses the technology he developed to search, identify and catalogue shipwrecks. So far, he’s found around 40 Roman-era shipwrecks and several more modern ones. The discoveries have a personal significance and help to gain a better understanding of history. Each wreck is filmed and its location is reported to authorities so it can be catalogued. Gay’s expertise contributes to studying and developing ways to allow us to better protect significant wrecks.

Guido Gay, founder of Idrobotica, developed his fi rst ROV in the 1970s.Photo: Idrobotica

Hej, Zurich!

IKEA’s business success has a great deal to do with its common-sense approach.

Fate also played a role in IKEA’s amazing success, after a big fire led to a transformation that continues to this day. “We are grateful to Zurich for the helping hand they lent us in a difficult time,” says Mario van der Giessen, Corporate Insurance Manager, Group Finance, Ingka Group.

Working with Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, Zurich is able to provide guidance and support, including in anticipating and responding to changes in the business environment.

“Zurich understands us and can help to support us in this transition.” There are few brands today so ubiquitous as IKEA. Its flatpack furniture became an icon of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first, it is taking concepts like digital innovation and sustainable retailing to the next level. “We are really in a business transition,” says van der Giessen.

Change is nothing new for IKEA. The company’s first flagship store opened just outside of Stockholm in 1965. Five years later, disaster struck. A fire destroyed most of the huge structure, forcing IKEA to adopt a cash-and-carry, home assembly approach, which proved so successful that it has been used ever since as its business model. The fire opened IKEA’s eyes to the importance of risk management.

Ingvar Kamprad, father of flat-pack, early days.Photo: © Inter IKEA Systems BV

It also underscored the value of insurance. IKEA’s insurer at the time was Trygg-Hansa AB. Zurich became IKEA’s largest insurance provider after it bought Trygg-Hansa’s commercial business in 1998. “Our founder, Ingvar Kamprad, had a clear vision, which we still live by today: ‘To create a better everyday life for the many people.’ Our values include caring for people and the planet, leading by example, and being cost-conscious. We live these values. The same values are what we expect from suppliers,” says van der Giessen. “We have a very good relationship with Zurich. We are always able to find solutions together.”

As it is for Zurich, sustainability is key for IKEA. In 2021, Ingka announced that it is accelerating its investments in renewable energy sources to “support the transition towards a renewable energy future.” That includes adding wind and solar projects, and new areas such as energy storage, hydrogen fuel development and charging infrastructure. Zurich’s risk engineering know-how in these areas is a highly valued asset for customers like IKEA. “We look to Zurich for insights and expertise in risk assessments, including know-how in topics such as solar panel installations,” says van der Giessen.

Start of a new beginning.Photo: © Inter IKEA Systems BV

Stage set for a consumer revolution.Photo: © Inter IKEA Systems BV

Much has changed, the values remain the same.Photo: © Inter IKEA Systems BV

A century and counting

Ford Motor Company and Zurich, an enduring relationship that has lasted a century – and is still going strong. The past, it seems, is just a prelude to the future.

Universal Underwriters, later part of Zurich, provided Ford dealers in the U.S. with fire insurance.Photo: Archives Universal Underwriters

“The relationship between Ford Motor Company and Zurich has been valuable for both parties,” says Matthew Hoefert, Zurich North America’s global relationship leader for Ford. It’s a relationship that has been in existence for nearly a century. “We are confident this mutual friendship will continue well into the future,” Hoefert adds. While Ford further strengthens its operations, including production of electric and autonomous vehicles, Zurich is also creating innovative solutions used by Ford and its key business partners.

The relationship began in the U.S. early in the twentieth century, when in 1922 James Lynn and Uriah Epperson started selling fire insurance through their insurance company, Universal Underwriters, to 85 Ford dealers in Kansas City. It was a risky business; dealerships tended to be fire hazards, with some even set up in converted barns first used for stagecoaches. But Lynn and Epperson persevered. In 1981, the company they founded was acquired by Zurich. Today it is part of Zurich North America’s Direct Markets business insuring dealers, original equipment manufacturers, vehicle rental operators, and car buyers. In the UK, Ford’s business and automobile insurance were also growing early in the twentieth century. Zurich was supporting its customer in that market, too. In 1925, three years after Zurich entered the British market, it negotiated agreements to become the official insurer to Ford dealers in the UK. Zurich UK’s Ford Scheme, as it was called, became quite successful.

Dan Ames, Associate Director for Corporate Insurance at Ford, acknowledges that over the years, Ford Motor Company and Zurich have remained significant trading partners, conducting business throughout the world for multiple risks. “The strategic relationship between Ford and Zurich will be important in creating new programs and managing risk as Ford and Zurich continue to grow,” he says. Looking ahead, the next 100 years are likely to see many more exciting innovations.

Due process

Have I got a deal for you! How Zurich helped make the difference in one man’s transition from D.A.’s office to running one of the biggest car dealerships in Pennsylvania.

Long before he ever dreamed of turning car salesman, Bill O’Flanagan was a determined young public prosecutor. When O’Flanagan decided to leave his position as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, he applied to business schools. “My fatherin- law owned one car dealership and was buying another. He asked me if I’d think about running the second one,” he says. It turned out to be one of the largest dealerships in the state of Pennsylvania. O’Flanagan cautiously agreed. So in 2004, he took over as president of the Reedman- Toll Auto Group. “I said to my father-in-law as I was thinking about accepting the offer, ‘I’m not going to have to fire anybody, am I?’” He was assured that wouldn’t be the case. But, in fact, the dealership he took over was also one of the biggest employers in the county and it was inevitable that Bill had to come to grips with hiring and firing. He settled into his new role with the help of his wife, a lawyer specializing in human resources, and a little support from Zurich. That his wife stuck around, and Zurich is still providing cover, is testimony to the strength of both spousal and insurance relationships.

The U.S. justice system has few grittier places to learn the job of prosecuting crime than the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. It was there in 1995 that William Anthony O’Flanagan, fresh out of law school, after a judicial clerkship, began as an assistant D.A. O’Flanagan took to the job with enthusiasm. “One of the great things about starting in the D.A.’s office is, you have to learn everything on the fly. I mean, you have to learn how people die if you’re dealing with a homicide. You have to learn how drug gangs work.”

Bill O’Flanagan used to be an assistant district attorney in Manhattan before he got into the car business.Photo: Dina Litovsky

Zurich’s team worked with O’Flanagan right from the beginning. That team, led by Vince Santivasi, also included Phillip Rosu. Both helped the newcomer to the business. “You get into people’s individual stories,” O’Flanagan says. “You keep asking until you get to the bottom of things.” One thing he had to get used to was the language. One day soon after he took over, O’Flanagan asked an employee what he did, and dutifully wrote down that the man dealt with “about 15 to 20 ROs a day” – with no inkling what an RO was. Vince and Phil explained what ‘repair orders’ were and how many one might normally expect. Santivasi, who has spent many years supporting retail businesses, described the culture at the dealership when O’Flanagan took over as less than optimal. “When Bill started, employee turnover was high. And you had some old guys there who still referred to female managers as ‘the girls.’” That changed. Today the business has a core of loyal employees with the right values and has grown to 10 dealerships. Each time it buys or opens a new one, Zurich has been on hand to help, including meeting new employees, installing systems and providing products to support the businesses. It also holds quarterly review sessions on insurance-related performance and training.

A sky-high view of Philadelphia.Photo: Dina Litovsky

“Someone had traded in a car. And in the back, the upholstery was soaked in blood. I mean, a lot.”

Both Vince and Phil are still at Zurich 18 years later. “That those two guys are still at Zurich says a lot about Zurich,” says O’Flanagan.” In the meantime, others have taken on Zurich’s frontline roles, including Steve Schoener and Kingston Bowen. Zurich was there when COVID-19 hit and sales temporarily halted. Not only that; the dealership’s computer system was hacked and hit by ransomware demands. “Zurich was incredible. Nobody should have to deal with something like that. But if you do, you definitely see the value of your insurance company,” O’Flanagan says. And there are still strange events that rival even the sometimes ‘lunatic’ criminal behavior O’Flanagan encountered in the D.A.’s office. Like the day he got a frantic call from the dealership’s cleaning center. “Someone had traded in a car. And in the back, the upholstery was soaked in blood. I mean, a lot. We called the police and they called in a medical examiner, who determined that the blood wasn’t human. Then we called the customer and asked him why there was blood all over the back seat of his trade-in.”

Back on the lot of one of Philly’s biggest dealerships.Photo: Dina Litovsky

“Well,” the customer said. “I hit a deer, so I put it in the back seat. Then it died, so I left it by the road. And then I thought it was probably a good time to trade in my car.” O’Flanagan sighs. “Car dealers get stuff like that. Most of the time, you say, ‘All right, fine, we’ll clean the car, we’ll figure it out.’ That’s customer service. Someone is being completely ridiculous. But in our business, the customer is always right.”

Bill O’Flanagan in his car dealership in Langhorne, near Philadelphia.Photo: Dina Litovsky

Fashion forward

For cool cargo trousers and other trendy items, customers rely on Zara. For cargo insurance cover, its parent company Inditex looks to Zurich.

Perhaps it is an exaggeration, but not too far off, to describe Inditex as a logistics company serving a fashion-focused business. Inditex is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers. Its best-known brand is Zara, which updates its collections almost twice per week. Inditex sells its collections through an integrated stores-and-online platform that reaches over 200 markets worldwide. While around half of its factories are located in countries in proximity to its headquarters in A Coruña, in northwest Spain, it also works with nearly 1,800 suppliers and over 8,700 factories worldwide.

Today an estimated 80 percent of the world’s goods are transported via ship. Globalization is a fact of life for companies, and the customers who rely on them. Zurich has provided international marine cargo cover to Inditex since the early 2000s. It also is among those insurers providing Inditex with cyber, directors & officers (D&O), and property cover.

“We trust Zurich,” says Martina Fernandez, Global Insurance Manager at Inditex, who notes that Inditex has maintained a relationship with Zurich for two decades, making it the longest continuous insurance relationship Inditex has. That trust is partly due to Zurich’s expertise in cargo insurance. Zurich, originally founded as a marine insurer in 1872, today handles over 45,000 marine insurance claims each year for customers all over the world, including Inditex.

That next must-have style item, coming to stores very soon.Photo: © Inditex

Inditex began in 1963 at a single factory in A Coruña, an important shipping port since Roman times. It was originally where Amancio Ortega established a dress-making factory. Together with Rosalía Mera, in 1975 he founded Zara, setting up the first store in A Coruña. The business grew over the years to include several commercial brands: besides Zara, that includes Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home. Inditex’s success is built on dedication, purpose, and a social conscience. The company also brings its sense of social responsibility to shipping. One way it does this is through its membership in the Clean Cargo Working Group, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of global freight transport, while promoting responsible shipping. Inditex was also one of nine global retailers which announced in 2021 that they will aim to progressively switch to zero-carbon vessels to ship their goods by 2040 within the framework of the Cargo Owners for Zero Emissions Vessels (coZEV).

Inditex extends its caring philosophy to all areas of its business. It also encourages its customers and employees to drop off used garments that can be given a second life through donations and resale by charitable organizations. And it works with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop ways to recycle used garments. So, when you need a new pair of fashionable pants from Zara, remember to treat the old ones with respect, and give them a sustainable future.

Zara’s parent company Inditex is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers.Photo: © Inditex

More than skin deep

Some people have tattoos with the name of their wife, their husband, their children or even their mother. But one man took things a little further. He has a tattoo of the Zurich logo on his leg, as a reminder of a special goal.

When most people say they have achieved the first leg of a project, they mean it figuratively. But Vito Ottomano might be said to have done his first leg literally. Living in the Swiss city of St. Gallen, Ottomano began dreaming of an early retirement when he was 20, an age when most people are just trying to get their first good job. So far, so normal. Did we mention that Vito has a tattoo? Also, completely normal. But Vito’s tattoo is, simply put, a little different. Think of it as a physical manifestation of that dream he had. What sort of tattoo are we talking about? Oh, yes, Ottomano had the Zurich logo tattooed on his leg. Measuring eight centimeters (about three inches) along his right calf, the blue Zurich logo is there for all the world to see. The year 2018 is written out beneath it. Wearing shorts, during warm weather, some people might stare. “Hey, Vito! What’s that on your leg?”

Their stares and questioning glances are met with a smile. Because, of course, happy is the man who realizes his dreams. Ottomano’s lifelong dream came true when he was able to retire in 2018, at the young age of just 55, with the help of a Zurich life insurance policy. Of course, the credit goes to Ottomano, who even in his 20s, already clearly understood that he didn’t want to work until legal retirement age, which in Switzerland is 65 for men. “So,” he says, “I went to Zurich for advice. A life insurance policy and a savings plan were set up to enable me to save enough so that I could retire early and enjoy life.” He saved diligently, along with his family. All working hard for one goal.

Hey, Vito! What’s that on your leg?Photo: Urs Bucher / St. Galler Tagblatt

“A life insurance policy and a savings plan were set up to enable me to save enough so I could retire early and enjoy life.”

“We still lived quite well. But we didn’t buy an expensive car, or go on luxury holidays,” Ottomano says. Then, one day in 2014, to demonstrate his resolve, he did spend a little money – on getting his tattoo, which included his planned retirement date of 2018. This served as serious motivation whenever he was tempted to spend beyond his budget. Because sometimes even the determined Ottomano wavered, like when money was tight, and it was hard to keep his discipline, or when his co-workers made fun of him.

And what do you know? It all turned out exactly as Ottomano had planned. The dream of a lifetime came true. Even the local papers reported on it. Zurich invited Ottomano as a guest to the company’s annual general meeting. After Ottomano was introduced to the shareholders in business attire, Ottomano pulled up his pant leg and showed off his tattoo, producing positive, if somewhat bemused applause.

So if you are ever visiting St. Gallen, look closely for a man on a bicycle. Did we mention that his hobby is cycling? “I like to move around a lot,” Ottomano says. Sometimes he goes on picnics with his wife, Patrizia. If she has time, because unlike him, she still works 60 percent.

A proud Vito Ottomano at Zurich’s AGM.Photo: Zurich Insurance

Confidence

Forests are not just trees. A project to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil shows the important contributions all creatures provide to maintain a biodiverse habitat.

New seedlings for the restoration of South America’s oldest forest.

High hopes. Regrowing one of brazil’s threatened forests, where life is slowly returning.

Photo essay by Lalo de Almeida

Returning home

Forests are not just trees. A project to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil shows the important contributions all creatures provide to maintain a biodiverse habitat.

“The animals are coming back,” says Weverton Rodrigues da Silva with satisfaction. As head of the tree nursery at Instituto Terra, a nonprofit organization working to restore part of South America’s oldest, and once-greatest forest, he knows that seeing animals return to their native habitat is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Twenty years ago, few would have believed that the Atlantic Forest, reduced to a fraction of its former size, could ever be regenerated. But Instituto Terra is showing that it can, with much work and love, create a place for a huge range of species that depend on the Forest, and in turn, contribute to its – and our – health.

Bringing back biodiversity

The Atlantic Forest, one of most diverse and vulnerable habitats on earth, once stretched along South America’s eastern coast. Less than a tenth of it remains today, fragments of what it once was. Its most dangerous predators aren’t the jaguars or maned wolves that survive, despite all odds in a shrinking patchwork of wild land. The real predator is man. What took nature over 100 million years to create has taken humans just five centuries to destroy. The little that remains is under constant threat from urban sprawl, and monoculture plantations like sugar and coffee. When nothing more will grow, the land is trampled under the hooves of cattle.

Working to reverse this destruction, Instituto Terra was established in 1998 by Lélia Wanick Salgado and her husband, renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado. Along with the tree nursery, it offers classrooms and educational programs, helping to bring about a transformation in communities in Brazil’s Doce River valley.

Zurich is also playing a role. Through the Zurich Forest project, it established a grant enabling Instituto Terra to restore a part of the Forest in three different areas in the region to its original state; self-sustaining and biodiverse. To achieve this, over an eightyear period, a million native seedlings will be planted on the Salgado family’s former cattle ranch. Zurich is also looking for ways to further expand its engagement.

Wild cats still roam in the shadows

Da Silva and his team might replant as many as 5,000 seedlings a day during the rainy season, grown from a native seedbank. In all, Instituto Terra has already planted over 2 million trees within the reserve, and sells, donates or otherwise promotes regrowth beyond its borders, too.

That is creating habitat for native species, including apex predators that keep things in balance. Brazil is believed to be home to about half of all jaguars alive in the wild. There are several different cats that roam the Atlantic Forest but sightings are rare. Da Silva recalls with pleasure a small cat he saw at sunset. Perhaps it was an ocelot, an oncilla or a jaguarundi. The wild cats still roam in the shadows, almost shadows themselves. Visitors may never see them. But if they are lucky, they might spot tracks or claw marks, perhaps of the onça-parda - puma.

The Atlantic Forest, even in a depleted state, still harbors a mind-boggling number of creatures, despite some native species believed to be already extinct. These include a brownish-green bird called by locals gritador-do-nordeste – northeast screamer. That its raucous voice may never be heard again is sobering.

But one bird’s voice refuses to be stilled. The Rufous (red-bellied) thrush, or sabia, is Brazil’s national bird. Da Silva pauses whenever he hears its melodious trill. Its name is even part of a Brazilian tonguetwister: “voçê sabia que o sabiá sabia assobiar?” In English, that means “did you know that the thrush could whistle?” Some even think its call sounds like ‘38’ in Portuguese. Its highly varied diet comprises over 120 different plants.

Visitors to Instituto Terra might also spot a black-necked araçari, a medium-sized toucan with an enormous bill. Only a few birds like toucans have beaks large enough to grasp jucara palm berries. Eating the fruit from trees, they can scatter the seeds over a wide area. When toucans are absent, studies have found that the jucaras produce smaller weaker, trees.

There are also a few creatures so close to extinction that biologists describe them as the ‘living dead,’ including the Americas’ largest primate, the muriqui. Where these monkeys manage to live in small groups in the Atlantic Forest, they do the forest a favor. Their incredibly varied diet includes an astounding 137 different plants. By spreading the seeds of the fruit and other plants they eat, they also promote a wide distribution of seedlings, encouraging greater genetic diversity. At Instituto Terra, muriquis haven’t been spotted, but brown howler monkeys may sometimes be seen. It’s a sign that the regrown forest can support such creatures who depend on trees for their survival.

Tiny armies of hope

The Atlantic Forest’s defenders include army ants that live in trees and offer protection to their hosts. And there are even smaller, but no less significant creatures to mention: microbes. Drugs and antibiotics are derived from soil bacteria. Researchers have found that the soil in the Atlantic Forest, with its amazing biological diversity, could provide new drugs. Who knows? The next life-saving medicine might come from the Atlantic Forest’s dirt.

Weverton Rodrigues da Silva, meanwhile, remains optimistic that the Atlantic Forest will return to a state in which both humans and nature can co-exist in harmony. “I see a different species almost every day.” As a youngster, some of the rarer animals were those he’d only heard about in stories that his father and grandfather told him. Like the animals in legends. Today, that has started to change as the animals return, he says, adding: “Now, I can see the animals for myself. This is their natural environment. They feel safer here.”

Home

Many endangered species are finding a safe haven in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, where Instituto Terra has focused its efforts to regrow parts of the Atlantic Forest.

Night hunter: Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) are largely nocturnal.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

Glittering-bellied emeralds (Chlorostilbon lucidus) feed primarily on nectar from flowers.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

Birds of a feather: the black-capped donacobius (Donacobius atricapilla) mates for life.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

The red-browed amazon (Amazona rhodocorytha) is threatened both by habitat loss and by being captured for the trade in wild parrots.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

Black-necked aracaris (Pteroglossus aracari) have a harsh squeal (“skreee-yeep!”) that can be repeated many times.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

Howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) are named for their booming territorial calls.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

Crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) also known as Maikong, do eat crabs – but also fish, insects, rodents, eggs and fruit.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

The collared anteater (Tamandua tetradactyla) spends up to 60% of its time in trees.Photo: Leonardo Merçon

207 tons of relief

In June 2022, Zurich helped to bring food aid to residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city. It wasn’t easy but was well worth it.

In June 2022, people still remaining in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv were struggling to maintain a semblance of normalcy. Ukraine’s second-largest city is just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Russia’s border. From the moment Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Kharkiv became a target. Many residents fled. Those unwilling or unable to go faced deadly shelling.

In May, Mariia Mezentseva, a Ukraine parliamentarian based in Kharkiv, wrote to Zurich’s CEO, Mario Greco. She sent out an urgent request for help. Kharkiv needed food. Greco turned immediately to Zurich’s Group Chief Communications Officer, Alessio Vinci. “I felt a sense of urgency. We obviously needed to act very quickly,” Vinci recalls.

The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv before the war (November 2020).Photo: Anna Hunko / Unsplash

He contacted the CEO of an online technology company in Warsaw, Robert Sokolowski. The former Zurich executive with friends in the Ukraine, got busy. “In three weeks, we purchased food, found a large storage facility close to the Ukraine border, and figured out how to transport the aid through a war zone,” Sokolowski says, adding: “I’m very proud of the way Mario Greco and employees at Zurich stepped up to help.”

The goods were stored in a warehouse in the Polish town of Zamosc before being transported to the Ukraine.

Mariia Mezentseva documented the distribution of the food aid.

A thank you from the Ukraine.

A thank you from the Ukraine.

With the cooperation of the Polish government, a warehouse in Zamosc provided temporary storage for nonperishable staples: cooking oil, pasta, rice, baby formula, canned meat and fish, and long-life milk. Seven volunteers from Zurich’s Krakow office made their way to Zamosc to label and load the supplies. On June 3, 2022, the 100th day of the war, 207 tons of precious cargo were underway. The goods were loaded onto 17 rail cars in Szczebrzeszyn station for transport. It was a risky journey. One day before, Russian rockets had destroyed an important tunnel along the route. But on June 9, the shipment arrived, safe and sound; enough to supply the basic needs of 5,000 people for a month.

Unloading 17 rail cars.

The gratitude of individuals who received the aid was heartfelt. One in Kharkiv sent Zurich a photo of cereal, tinned meat and some other supplies: “Received goods from you yesterday. Such help allows us to survive. We have had no electricity since March 5, and no natural gas since April 27. We cook food on an open fire…. Thank you and God bless you!” The conflict continued as of this writing. Separately, Zurich employees and their families have hosted over 400 Ukrainian refugees. And the Z Zurich Foundation, a corporate foundation established by Zurich, has also lent its support.

The Ukrainian parliamentarian Mariia Mezentseva had reached out to Zurich asking for help.

The food aid arrived.

Expression of heartfelt support.

One of many thank-you messages.

Plastic not-so fantastic

Alarmed by plastic’s impact on the environment, two kids decided to fight plastic pollution. This is what happened.

Sisters Amy and Ella Meek founded their nonprofit ‘Kids Against Plastic’ in 2016.Photo: Fabio de Paolo

“There’s a great future in plastics.” That line from the movie, ‘The Graduate,’ released in 1967, summed up the spirit of an age when we all loved plastic. We loved it because it was disposable. And today, we struggle with it, precisely because it isn’t disposable. In fact, it lasts almost forever. Two kids growing up in the UK decided to do something about this non-decaying juggernaut that is gradually taking over our world. But what could two kids do, when adults seemed to be unable to accomplish anything?

Plenty, it seems. Amy Meek, and her younger sister Ella Meek, at ages 12 and 10, became activists against plastic pollution, founding their nonprofit, ‘Kids Against Plastic’ in 2016. It happened after they began a curriculum of home-schooling. Their parents, both teachers, decided to give up their jobs and travel. The two daughters learned ‘on location.’ One lesson included the UN’s sustainable development goals.

Picking up 100,000 pieces of plastic

“The UN makes clear that everyone needs to take action,” says Amy Meek in a TEDx talk, in which the audience appears engaged, rather than threatened, despite being admonished to become more “plastic clever.” The three most relevant UN goals, for them personally, turned out to be sustainable consumption, climate change and conserving marine environments. Plastic pollution was the common culprit across all three.

That includes quitting our dependence on the ‘big four’ plastic polluters: disposable cups and lids, straws, bottles and bags. They set a goal of picking up and sustainably disposing of 100,000 pieces of plastic, which “equated to one for every sea mammal allegedly killed by plastic in the oceans every year,” according to Ella Meek. In fact, nobody really knows yet how this incremental, almost indestructible pollution will affect us. Plastic can last hundreds of years. And when it finally degrades, it turns into microscopic, toxic waste. As much as we struggle to free ourselves from the legacy of too much plastic, the more it fights back.

The Meek sisters were the first ever recipients of the Pride of Britain Green Champions award in 2021. They were recognized with British Empire Medals in 2022, and have published two books about the environment. Part of their approach includes inspiring children. Their ‘Plastic Clever’ positive award program has been adopted by around 1,300 schools and over 50 cafes, businesses and festivals around the UK.

Take action to help the planet

Zurich named Amy, who was on a gap year, as a climate hero in 2021, part of a campaign to inspire people to make small changes to their lives to reduce their impact on the environment. Amy also starred in the Youth Against Carbon Conference in October 2021, organized by Zurich UK.

At Zurich’s headquarters, anyone visiting will notice no plastic bottles are used for beverages (there are many water bottle refill points). Recycling is strictly enforced. Zurich also set up several challenges on social media in 2021, including one aimed at reducing waste, while another promoted conscious buying. In Germany, Zurich’s business introduced a ‘Planet Hero’ app. And in the UK, heeding the message, Zurich in 2022 launched its first ‘sustainable’ TV advertising campaign. It re-used existing footage to limit the carbon footprint associated with traditional productions that entail travel to locations to film with a crew.

Everyone can do their part: It’s easy and satisfying to use tap water, filtered, if necessary, possibly carbonated. Companies can also do more to reuse and recycle. Plastic is often equated with something cheap. Given that its long, long life might be threatening our own lives, plastic actually comes at a very high price

Or, in Amy Meek’s words: “We push a message of unity. It’s not on individuals or companies or governments – it’s us all together. If we’re going to take action to help the planet, we can’t afford to be in-fighting anymore. We just need to unite.”

Big projects

Welcome to the world of thinking big: a real global insurer doesn’t shirk when it comes to providing cover for large-scale projects that make a difference to society.

Chicago World’s Fair

Zurich was awarded the leading public liability and workmen’s compensation insurance contracts for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The confi dence placed in Zurich was important for its business in the U.S. More importantly, the Fair gave people strugg ling economically during the Depression an optimistic view of the future and injected new life into the local economy. During the 17 months that the Fair was open, Zurich insured what amounted to 80 miles of exhibitions of technological wonders. Visitors also could see new styles of architecture and glimpse the future of cities, determined by the rising popularity of the automobile.Photo: Valerii Eidlin / Shutterstock

Shuttling the Endeavour

Who do you call when you need to move an enormous object, weighing 170,000 pounds (77,000 kilos) and five stories tall? Zurich, of course. The U.S. space shuttle program began in 1981 and over its life, it involved five diff erent spacecraft, including the Endeavour. When the Endeavour was retired, in 2012, Zurich insured its transport from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a modified Boeing 747, and covered it over the two days it traveled 12 miles (19 kilometers) through the streets of Los Angeles. All went well. Today, the historic spacecraft can be admired at the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Pavilion in L.A.Photo: Diego Grandi / Shutterstock

A man, a plan

As the longest continuously operating surety provider in the U.S., Zurich is proud of the role it has played in providing cover for large infrastructure projects. That includes the expansion of the Panama Canal. In 1941, Maryland Casualty Company, later part of Zurich, raised two bonds, among the largest ever written at the time, to cover expansion of the Canal. In 2009, during another expansion, Zurich wrote a USD 450 million surety bond, also one of the largest to date. Zurich also stepped in to make sure the project met a 2014 completion deadline by helping to negotiate among the parties involved when a snag threatened a delay.Photo: Everett Collection / Shutterstock

Live at the Garden

In America, ‘the Garden’ means Madison Square Garden, the beating heart of New York, home to the Knicks and Rangers, heavyweight title fights and performers from Elvis to Elton John. Zurich’s appearance there wasn’t a headline act, but still impressive. It provided workmen’s compensation and liability insurance during a major demolition and rebuild in the 1960s for a project involving up to 1,000 construction workers on site daily. It protected thousands of pedestrians passing through, too, as the underground train station continued to serve 250,000 commuters daily during the whole five-year project. It was successfully completed in 1968.Photo: Superjoseph / Shutterstock

Producing hope

Elekta develops technology that offers hope to people dealing with cancer. A long-time customer, it aims to make the best cancer treatment more accessible.

Elekta is a leading provider of precision radiation therapy. Its real achievement is helping people affected by cancer get treatment that may save or prolong their lives. Based in Stockholm, the company of 4,700 employees founded in 1972, has been a Zurich customer for over 30 years.

Elekta’s Risk and Insurance Manager Henrik Pääjärvi values the long-term relationship his company has with Zurich. “As a customer, you understand the insurance carrier better over time. And the insurer can better understand us. The more the insurer learns about us, the easier the relationship becomes,” he says. The proof of a good insurance relationship comes when claims are settled. “And we have had very good experience with Zurich,” says Pääjärvi.

Gamma Knife is a noninvasive stereotactic radiosurgery instrument.Photo: Elekta

Elekta is best-known for a revolutionary tool for treating brain disease called Leksell Gamma Knife®. Developed by Swedish neurosurgeon and professor Lars Leksell, the Gamma Knife is globally recognized as the industry standard in what is called ‘stereotactic’ radiosurgery, a highly precise technique used for delicate operations. Publicly traded since 1994, even during its toughest times, Elekta is proud that it never cut its research and development spending. Its current products include an advanced magnetic-resonance imaging-guided linear accelerator (MR-Linac) used to treat cancers.

Elekta aims to give over 300 million under-served patients access to radiation therapy by 2025. Under chairman of the board of directors, Laurent Leksell, who co-founded Elekta with his father, Lars Leksell, Elekta has established a charitable foundation to improve access to cancer care in lower income countries. It recently installed the first linear accelerators in Rwanda and Togo. “Zurich can help us make the right decisions when planning a new location,” says Pääjärvi. Zurich, which supports health and wellbeing as part of its global sustainability goals, is proud of the role it can play in supporting Elekta to develop its strategy in a sustainable way.

Precision radiation therapy is used to deliver high doses of radiation to tumors.Photo: Elekta

The elephant in the room

Whether it’s a circus or a meaningful performance, Zurich’s celebrations reflect its hopes, aspirations and how it sees its role in society.

Zurich’s celebrations are a microcosm of its culture. They reflect its corporate soul. Guests at Zurich’s 25th anniversary fête in 1898 were in a jovial mood. A jubilee bonus likely helped. Over a lavish dinner and cigars, perhaps talk turned to the need for new offices. Two months later, Zurich acquired property near Lake Zurich to build its impressive global headquarters. Zurich was founded in 1872, but the year 1873, when it was formally registered, is also used to mark major anniversaries.

The next big anniversary celebrations, marking Zurich’s 50-year birthday in 1923, included a theater performance with employees as actors: Dramatis personae on stage included females dressed as Switzerland, the Goddess of Fortune, and a ‘Vita,’ Zurich’s new life insurance business.

The program for the 25th anniversary celebrations included board games and dancing.Photo: Zurich Archives

A performance celebrating 50 years of Zurich (1923).Photo: Zurich Archives

A day out: company excursion of Zurich Italy to the village of Erve (1932).Photo: Zurich Archives

Zurich’s 75-year anniversary in 1948 was more restrained. Europe was recovering from the nightmare of World War II. In line with the more sober tone, employees did do another stage play, but this time it was a performance entitled ‘About Faith and Profession’ (‘Um de Glaube im Bruef’). It was put on several times for the public. Themes were relevant to the time, though about the value of insurance in society, after years of great worldwide uncertainty.

Employees enjoying Zurich’s 100-year anniversary celebrations in June 1973 seemed most focused on merriment, taking in a ballet and then journeying by boat to the town of Rapperswil, where they were met by circus clowns and Jumbo the Elephant. As part of that anniversary year, in 1973, Zurich Insurance Company and its life business founded the Zürich Vita Alpina Jubiläumsstiftung. After its initial focus on supporting Swiss charities was broadened to a more global mission, it was renamed the Z Zurich Foundation.

75th Anniversary gifts to Zurich (1948).Photo: Zurich Archives

The dialect comedy ‘Um de Glaube im Bruef’ addressed office life and public prejudices against insurance. It was written by an employee and publicly performed about 40 times (1948).Photo: Zurich Archives

Jumbo the Elephant was part of the 100-year anniversary (1973).Photo: Zurich Archives

Zurich’s celebrations are not confined solely to Switzerland, or to anniversaries, of course. Jacqueline Fiona Davies, who oversees Zurich Group’s corporate celebrations and events, recalls that in London in the 1990s, parties were held at William Kent House, a listed property in London. Employees still recall parties held before the London mansion was sold, where they drank champagne and were regaled by Manuel, the white-gloved butler.

Zurich’s 125-year celebrations in 1998 were exuberant, in keeping with the mood of the times. Zurich published a book about its history by Swiss writer Karl Lüönd. Each employee received five bonus shares and a free wristwatch. The Group established corporate archives, and presented the City of Zurich with an elaborate floating fountain. A lakefront beach picnic on July 4, 1998 drew 7,500 employees and families. Zurich donated fireworks for a huge folk festival held every few years in Zurich. The Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra performed under conductor Claudio Abbado. The ‘Festival of Festivals’ to mark Zurich’s 125th year included theme parks, a fire eater, a Carnival in Rio replete with besequinned women in tall headdresses, and, for some reason, there were two people in gorilla costumes on hand to lend a certain je ne sais quoi.

Ladies’ program held during the ‘centennial meeting of the Zurich Group’ (1973).Photo: Zurich Archives

Staff attended a ballet – and were then picked up by boats (1973).Photo: Zurich Archives

Guests at a candle light dinner at the Dolder Grand Hotel (1973).Photo: Zurich Archives

Lacking a safe way to gather during a global pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, people peered into screens and toasted each other virtually. A big reopening celebration for Zurich’s global headquarters planned in 2021 even had to be cancelled. To mark the 150-year anniversary, celebrated officially on October 22, 2022, Zurich published this book in a ‘digital-first’ format with a view toward sustainability. Building on that theme, it also planned to sponsor public transport in Zurich on its birthday to let everyone to ride for free. As this was being written, employee celebrations planned for the 150-year anniversary were expected to include live music and dancing. To mark its important milestone, Zurich also sponsored ‘Amazônia,’ an exhibition by award-winning photographer Sebastião Salgado, in Rome, London, São Paulo, Rio, Avignon and coming to Zurich in 2023, as a gift to the people of Zurich. A main celebratory event was planned for the Zurich Opera House, a musical performance of a composition by Jean-Michel Jarre in honor of Amazônia.

Concerns about a possible resurgence of COVID lent uncertainty to plans. Never fear! No matter what happens, if Zurich’s history is any guide, it can always find ingenious ways to celebrate grand occasions.

Claudio Abbado performed with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra (1998).Photo: Zurich Archives

The ‘Festival of Festivals’ included purpose built theme parks, gorillas (1998)...Photo: Zurich Archives

...and a Carnival in Rio (held in Zurich).Photo: Zurich Archives

Magic

We use the best of new technology to deliver what really matters: being there for people when and wherever they need us.

Drones can assess crops in minutes.

Flying high in Nebraska. RCIS’s technology includes drones to survey crops.

Photo essay by Jon Horvath

Justin Doerr, Nebraska farmer, drone pilot and RCIS claims adjuster.

Drones rely on stateof-the-art software, cameras and transmitters.

Farming gets a drone’s eye view.

Soil, sun, rain and prayers, plus patience, and precision.

Technology helps. So do generations of farming experience.

Farms live generation to generation, offering hope for tomorrow.

You can see for miles, or in summer, only to the next row of corn stalks.

Taking flight

Drones are helping RCIS (Rural Community Insurance Services) put the community into insurance services. Technology is vital, but the people behind the crop insurer owned by Zurich North America make the real difference.

“You cannot look very far through a cornfield,” says Justin Doerr, one of about 70 drone pilots working for RCIS. Zurich acquired RCIS in 2016. It is among the biggest private crop insurers in the U.S. Besides flying drones, Doerr also works for RCIS as a claims adjuster. “I’ve always had a fascination with technology, including drones. I purchased my own personal drone and began using it on my farm. It was more a hobby at first, but I soon found some uses for it.” Doerr found drones to be a great tool for assessing crops. “I’m six feet tall, ripe corn is easily much taller. So when you are standing on the ground looking through a cornfield, you’re not able to see much of anything. That’s where drones can be extremely helpful.” Besides Doerr’s drone pilot and insurance credentials, he’s a farmer growing crops, including soy, corn and alfalfa, on 300 fertile acres in the northeastern corner of Nebraska. It’s a small farm by U.S. standards, and a hard business in the best of times. But Doerr, who served in Iraq before taking over the family farm when he got out of the army, isn’t the type to complain. He just gets on with the job.

Allaying farmers’ fears

Great people like him are piloting technology in the sky to give customers of RCIS fast and reliable claims service. Even in tall cornfields where you can hardly see past the next stalk, drones provide detailed information on damage caused by wind or hail or floods. A drone allows assessments to be done in minutes rather than the hours that might otherwise be needed to walk a field. And drones give an extra level of confidence. Farmers typically fear the worst after they see a part of a crop damaged. Real-time drone images can allay such fears.

Technology helps to keep tabs on crops and harvest schedules.Photo: Jon Horvath

“It’s just human nature,” says Doerr. “You’re going to find an area that’s bad. And you’ll think, ‘oh, man, the whole field could look like this.’ But you don’t know because you can’t see everything. In my work as an assessor, you’ll come to situations where you see some wind damage. We’ll send the drone up. The customer might be standing right next to me, seeing the same thing I do on the screen. From drone images you might find that just a small area is damaged, and the rest of the field is relatively OK. That puts the customers’ minds at ease.”

Important to communities

Examples where drones have made a difference to RCIS’s customers include assessing the damage a tornado caused to crops: drone images not only pinpointed the damage, but also the debris left behind that could have damaged equipment. And in 2020, derecho winds, which can be as destructive as tornados, destroyed pockets of crops. Here, too, drones were used to assess how much was still harvestable.

People who look to RCIS and its agents for insurance very often depend on what they produce to provide an income to support themselves and their families. Getting good results even when nature isn’t cooperative thus matters to families and whole communities. The corn might be as high as an elephant’s eye (up to 10 feet, or about three meters), but even those who feel short while standing next to it, stand tall when the value and importance of crops is taken into account. In 2021, Zurich’s drones flew 761 times to cover in total 113,528 acres (about 460 square kilometers). An area that large – depending on what was planted – could easily produce crops valued at well over USD 100 million.

RCIS provides coverage for just about any type of produce. Besides corn and soy, that ranges from peanuts to avocados, and even clams. Doerr, who joined RCIS in 2015, was eager to join the drone program, which RCIS started in 2018. In 2020, RCIS rolled it out across the U.S. Claim adjusters like Doerr, trained as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified drone pilots, are, like many employees at RCIS, an integral part of their local communities. Speaking from the cab of a vehicle early one morning as he helps out on a neighbor’s farm, he admits that, at first, he just wanted a drone to have fun and take sensational photos. But it quickly proved its worth for his family’s business. As an organic farmer, he doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides. On his own farm, he uses the drone to spot weeds and destroy them before they ruin a harvest.

RCIS’s drones rely on state-of-the-art customized software, video cameras and transmitters. Technology’s overall impact on farming is being felt across all sectors and phases of production. Some people even compare what tech brings to the table – literally – to a new green revolution. Socalled ‘precision agriculture’ can, as just one example, give farmers the ability to monitor crops from planting to harvest. Equipment and data make it faster and easier to report planted crop information to RCIS, making the process faster and simpler.

And of course, drones also help. “Wind has been a big issue for us lately,” Doerr says. “For corn, here in the Midwest, drones have been a great tool. Seventy percent of the time I’m in the field, I’m using the drone. I can grab the drone, put it up, get some photos, which takes maybe 10 minutes, but it gives me a wealth of information on what type of damage I might be looking at, and where I need to look in the field for that damage.”

A family tradition

Doerr is the third generation working the farm he now owns. While he shares a love of the land with his father, unlike his dad, he has a fascination for the latest technology. And Doerr’s two young daughters are very comfortable with it, too. Their future may look quite different. They will have new technology and tools, but the sense of community and its importance are lasting values they are learning at an early age. “When we are on the farm, we try to make teachable moments for our girls,” Doerr says. “If we do that, they will find out what they want to do in life. There are just tremendous opportunities out there.”

Bring on the boldness

Looking for the best and brightest new ideas, the Zurich Innovation Championship was introduced in 2018. Each successive contest has attracted an increasing number of entrants from around the world. Zurich may collaborate with finalists as it seeks to develop ways to approach the big challenges affecting society and the planet.

The 2021-22 Zurich Innovation Championship selected 12 startups as winners, out of about 2,600 entries. They will receive financial support from Zurich and gain access to mentoring by Zurich executives. They can also bring their ideas to life and see them realized on a major scale within a global business.

Ofer Tziperman
ANAGOG

One of Zurich’s winners in the simplicity category, Anagog has created a way to allow companies to personalize their services to customers while protecting a customer’s privacy. Its clever solution began with a humble quest to find better parking solutions. “We ended up solving the significantly bigger problem of allowing personalization and privacy to co-exist,” says CEO Ofer Tziperman. Founded in 2010, Tel-Avivbased Anagog’s technology is protected by more than 25 patents. When Tziperman isn’t working, he likes to hike with his dog. Anagog was selected by Zurich’s businesses in Germany and Portugal.Photo: ANAGOG

Norbert Dohmen
CARUSO

Founded in 2017, Caruso wants to make mobility safer, more efficient and more sustainable. Its pay-as-you-drive solution allows individual drivers to pay only for the vehicle insurance they need. Its solutions can make car sharing easier, letting individual drivers track their own usagebased costs. It can provide mechanics with information to make repairs easier and will even notify emergency services if a vehicle is involved in a crash. Norbert Dohmen, managing director since 2020, likes to spend time with family and friends and enjoys basketball as well as skiing. Caruso, which has its offices in the German city of Mannheim, was one of the winners in the insurance reimagined category, selected by Zurich’s business in Germany.Photo: CARUSO

Gino Bustamante
LISA INSURTECH

Co-founder and CEO Gino Bustamante likes to mix different technologies to solve challenges. LISA Insurtech settles insurance claims with the help of artificial intelligence and also blockchain technology, simplifying and streamlining lengthy manual insurance processes. It gives insurers ways to improve efficiency and provide more customerfocused service. Bustamante, who says he drinks about 2.5 liters of coffee every day, was inspired to look for solutions after he had a bad experience related to a claims settlement after a car accident. A manager of an insurance company challenged him to improve the experience of insurance customers. LISA Insurtech was one of the winners in the simplicity category, selected by Zurich Chile.Photo: LISA Insurtech

Sunny Sanwar
DYNAMHEX

For Dynamhex founder Sunny Sanwar, helping people to get better at identifying, analyzing and prioritizing effective ways to mitigate climate change was a personal mission. Born and raised in Bangladesh, he is motivated in part by seeing coastal places in his home country slowly disappear as sea levels rise. Dynamhex was a winner in the sustainability category, selected by Zurich North America.Photo: Dynamhex

Eugene Dicker
KEEPERS

Keepers CEO Eugene Dicker wants to use technology to make the world a safer one for children to explore. Keepers was founded in 2016 after research found that social media platforms failed to protect children. Using technology to protect youngsters, its app tracks cyberbullying and other attacks. Keepers, a winner in the insurance reimagined category, was chosen by Zurich Life Japan, Zurich Brazil and Argentina.Photo: Keepers Child Safety

Shruthi Rao
ADAPT READY

Severe fl oods in Thailand in 2011 led Shruthi Rao to explore ways to improve data used to model risks. Rao and Sandeep Chandur, Adapt Ready’s co-founders, seek to harness the power of machine learning to transform trillions of external, seemingly unrelated data points into risk insights. Their technology lets users, including insurers and re-insurers, navigate risks. As the climate changes, it is becoming increasingly important to solve gaps in data, providing better insights into complex and evolving risks. Adapt Ready was one of the winners in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Commercial Insurance and Zurich’s UK business unit.Photo: Adapt Ready

Michele Grosso
DEMOCRANCE

Building on a passion for microinsurance and its impact on society, CEO Michele Grosso founded Democrance in 2015. It offers insurers technical and digital solutions to make insurance accessible for the low-income populations across emerging markets. “The low-income population’s lack of access to basic risk protection tools, such as social security, healthcare and personal savings was something that I wanted to change for the industry,” says Grosso. Apart from running a company, he enjoys travel, skiing and opera. Democrance was a winner in the simplicity category, selected by Zurich Malaysia.Photo: Democrance

Ahmad Wani
ONE CONCERN

A massive flood in Kashmir was the catalyst for co-founder Ahmad Wani to find ways to improve models that predict climate-related disasters. One Concern built a digital twin of the real world to reveal hidden risks in man-made and natural environments. It allows customers to spot structural risks to buildings and networks that people rely on. Originally intended for public-sector use, One Concern has also been adopted by private-sector users. When not working, Wani loves to cook. One Concern was a winner in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Zurich North America and Zurich Commercial Insurance.Photo: One Concern

Raymond Schmitt
SALIENT

Co-founder and president Raymond Schmitt is interested in how oceans affect climate. He uses his scientific knowledge to help people and organizations better understand and prepare for the impact of climate change. Salient aims to provide more accurate and longer-range forecasts, and offer insights that will help people adapt to the realities of climate change, as well as helping companies to make informed decisions. “I view Salient as a way to get my scientific discoveries to make a positive difference for society and the planet,” says Schmitt. The company’s core technology was developed through decades of research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Salient was a winner in the sustainability category, selected by Zurich Brazil.Photo: Salient Predictions

Carmela Magno
GARANTEASY

Garanteasy’s technology allows consumers and companies to keep warranty information for purchased products in a private cloud and manage them throughout the products’ lifecycles. It can also notify people about warranty deadlines and product maintenance schedules. Founder and CEO Carmela Magno, a mother of two, says the inspiration came up in a bar when people were talking about warranties. “We had an ‘epic’ moment that started the business.” But the reality was much more complex, involving consultations, prototypes and testing. Begun in 2016, Garanteasy also wants to help people to buy products with good guarantees to promote long-lasting use. It was a winner in the insurance reimagined category, selected by Zurich Global Ventures and Zurich’s Italian business.Photo: Garanteasy

Anders Åkerlund
DEEDSTER

“We help companies to engage their staff or customers to take positive actions – or, as we call them, ‘deeds’ – to combat climate change,” says co-founder Anders Åkerlund. Deedster’s solution includes a personal carbon footprint calculator and offers users suggestions to live more sustainably, coupled with incentives. A winner in sustainability chosen by Zurich Integrated Benefit Solutions.Photo: Deedster

David Maman
BINAH

David Maman wanted to be a doctor, then discovered a passion for technology. Aware that half the world’s population lacks access to basic healthcare, he set up Binah together with two others. Its artificial-intelligencepowered, video-based monitoring solutions can turn any device with a camera into a tool to measure vital signs. Binah won in the prevention and mitigation category, selected by Zurich LiveWell.Photo: binah.ai

Driver’s seat

Insurance has grown up with the motor industry. Both continue to evolve. In some cases, the past may even be a prelude to the future.

In 1898, a year after the world’s first motor policy was sold in the U.S., Zurich sold a car policy to a Belgian customer, marking the start of a long and prosperous focus on protecting drivers and society from road mishaps. The horse didn’t disappear all at once. Zurich’s first motor rates were published in ‘Chevaux et voitures.’ A reference to motor cars in the subtext makes it clear that motorized conveyances are included. The earliest such policies covered liability; the financial risks arising from bodily injuries. Liability cover for property damage caused by cars came later. The liability business was becoming increasingly attractive as the private workers’ compensation business, notably in Germany, ended with the advent of national employee cover. Zurich worked to expand liability business to many types of risks. It turned out to be especially well-suited to automobiles. And the motor industry, similar to technology companies today, was expanding in creative and innovative ways. When Zurich got its first insurance license in the U.S. in 1912, it was just one year before the first cars began rolling off Henry Ford’s highly efficient assembly lines.

Early on, Zurich customers who drove a Tribelhornwagen - a Swiss-made electric van - were offered a 15 percent discount on their car insurance.Photo: Verkehrshaus Luzern

Zurich also looked to the UK, where in 1925 it negotiated an agreement with the Ford Motor Company, making it the official insurer to Ford in Great Britain. Dealerships there already numbered around 400 when the deal was signed. British media sniffed at the Swiss interloper, calling Zurich the “only foreign company which attempts to make a direct invasion of any consequence” in the English market. But Zurich’s strategy proved wildly successful. By 1930, 92 percent of Zurich’s premium income in the UK was motor! And it was becoming a big business in many other countries, too. By the mid-1930s, car liability insurance, in terms of gross written premiums, was Zurich’s single largest source of revenue.

Johann Albert Tribelhorn built electric vehicles, an early precursor of future trends.Photo: Verkehrshaus Luzern

Motorized vehicles were banned

But covering newly motorized customers could be an uncertain business at best. Even when statistics were available, and they often weren’t, guesswork was necessary. Zurich discovered, for example, that it had lost money underwriting a U.S. taxi company. Investigating, it discovered that it had failed to account for the fact that each insured taxi was driven by many drivers – day and night – increasing the number of actual claims. One Zurich executive wryly noted at the time that the company actually seemed to be chasing home, the world wasn’t always welcoming to motorized vehicles. In cities, motorized vehicles were banned during certain hours, and on particular roads. The mountainous Swiss canton of Grisons sought to keep them off its roads, forcing trucks to unload goods to horse-drawn carts for delivery.

By offering car insurance, insurers liked to point out that they were doing society a favor by reducing the number of court cases. But early on, the law was also getting used to motoring. Magistrates who knew enough about cars to investigate road accidents were in short supply. And courts might deliberate at length about what constituted gross negligence. Even things that seem common practice now, such as blood alcohol tests, were treated with suspicion.

Just like new technology today, in its infancy the motor industry attracted hordes of eager would-be entrepreneurs. In 1928, one newspaper counted an astonishing 550 different motor vehicle types in Switzerland. Along with the Fiats, Fords and Peugeots, there were brands like the ‘Ajax,’ ‘Hupmobile,’ and something called a ‘Tribelhornwagen.’ When Zurich introduced its first tariff for car chassis insurance in Switzerland in 1918, a 10 percent discount was offered to electric cars, and the Tribelhorn, an electric van, got a full 15 percent reduction. Electric cars enjoyed a brief resurgence in popularity during World War II when petroleum was in short supply, before disappearing for several decades.

Slow and steady wins the race. Electric car 1904 in Zurich.Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

Automobiles are driving back to the future

Today, Zurich is one of the world’s largest motor insurers, ranked (together with Farmers Exchanges) eighth worldwide. Its biggest competitors are based in countries that, unlike Switzerland, have large automobile industries. But what about tomorrow? In some ways, automobiles are driving back to the future, as electric vehicles regain traction. Zurich, as an early mover in the 21st century, provided special cover for the nascent e-vehicles starting to gain popularity on European roads. Fully electric vehicles only make up about 1 percent of the global market, but their numbers are growing.

Meanwhile, semi-autonomous features are already being installed in cars help to improve safety. If these work as intended, it would ultimately mean a smaller market for insurers. But growth in the number of vehicles has kept the market interesting: It is estimated that there are nearly 2 billion cars in operation worldwide, and 70 million more are added each year. As cars become truly self-driving, and mobility-sharing increases, there may also be a shift away from retail car insurance. In the years ahead, product liability insurance for manufacturers may become the standard.

That’s just one more example of how, it could be said, we’re driving back to the future.

Horses and wagons: Early Zurich brochure mentioning cars (1901).Photo: Zurich Archives

Simply sophisticated

To claims and beyond! New technology can make it simpler and faster to report claims, including those related to natural hazards.

Keeping our ears to the ground.Photo: Andrey Armyagov / Shutterstock

‘Parametrics’ may not be the final frontier for insurers. But, with the help of some data from outer space and other sophisticated sources, it can harness technology to simplify how Zurich provides cover for customers. Despite the formidable name, parametric insurance is based on fairly simple concepts. Basically, it requires only objective information – measurements – based on real-world events. Guidelines are agreed in advance by the insurer and customers. If a pre-determined event occurs (for example, high winds, severe cold, extreme rainfall or a powerful earthquake), a claims payment could be triggered without the need to gather more details through time-consuming on-site inspections.

Information sourced from NASA

The payment is based on what is considered to be an ‘objective parameter,’ which might be related to a particular weather exposure. It’s not hard to measure rainfall, for example as rain gauges have been around probably since there were humans. But making sense of the huge volume of weather-related data necessary for practical applications takes a high degree of accuracy and sophisticated technology. The specific parameters used might be based on the probability of wind, rain and extreme temperatures. To establish the parameters, data are measured from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and other objective sources. This can include information sourced from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellites.

Parametric policies also bridge what some might call a trust gap, by providing objective measurements that can eliminate painstaking reporting or site inspections. That could also mean that the customer can receive a payout much faster than with conventional policies. “Parametrics offers a straightforward way to simplify claims submitted for losses related to work halts, for example. It’s extremely customer-friendly,” says Jonathan Charak, Emerging Solutions Director for Zurich North America.

Down-to-earth applications

In 2020, Zurich North America introduced a product with a parametric aspect specifically designed for building contractors and project owners; it provides cover above and beyond the conventional risks addressed by a traditional builders’ policy, thus closing a gap that might otherwise arise if a project faces more delays than anticipated. For example, if wind storms cause building cranes to shut down, or severe cold makes it impossible to pour concrete, or if heavy rains and mud threaten to mire earth-moving equipment. Such concerns have become more relevant due to the risks that climate change poses; more extreme weather can cause more disruptions.

“Technological advances in recent years have made parametric products more viable, providing a simple, fast claims experience for customers,” says Patrick McBride, Head of Construction Property at Zurich North America. As climate change contributes to more frequent and intense weather events, parametric policies are drawing customer interest.

Covering just weeks or months during peak risk seasons, it can be enough for Zurich to pay compensation by objectively verifying the trigger was hit, and work on the site was halted. Despite the sophisticated technology and terminology, in the end it is a very down-to-earth solution.

Talk to me

Chatbots strive to give customers fast, friendly and satisfying claims service. Always there, patient, never bored, and happy to help. Next, please?

During monsoon season, several places in Malaysia experience severe floods. Helping to ease flood recovery, starting in early 2022, Zurich Malaysia introduced a chatbot, harnessing WhatsApp technology to make it easier for its customers to report flood claims. It’s a solution that is providing the best of both worlds. ‘Conversational artificial intelligence’ – a chatbot – has an advantage over humans when it comes to doing boring repetitive tasks.

Chatbots’ popularity is very much on the rise as customers grow more accustomed to using messaging apps and expect realtime conversations. Zurich showed its commitment to the technology in 2021 by acquiring Estonia-based AlphaChat, an advanced start-up in conversational artificial intelligence (AI). Bots typically answer frequently asked questions and deal with issues where they can help. Indrek Vainu, cofounder of AlphaChat and now Zurich’s head of conversational AI, says a good chatbot also understands its own limitations: “The bot knows its confidence levels and in cases in which it has low confidence, it hands the conversation over to human agents.”

Customers reporting flood claims to Zurich Malaysia can choose if they want to initiate a chat with the claims team chatbot. By saving customers time – the entire botled flood claims process may take only 10 to 15 minutes – a chatbot can even bring people closer, letting them use the extra time they gain to chat away with their nearest and dearest, family and friends, and other real humans.

Action

Whether by supporting mental health, improving the lives of children and adults, or communities, we enrich our own lives, too.

Zurich’s Tatjana Buser having a field day on the Vita Parcours.

Vita parcours. The outdoor fitness trails open around the clock, every day. A real zurich invention.

Photo essay by Joël Hunn

Each of the stops helps training flexibility, strength and endurance.

Nature is an important element of the Zurich Vita Parcours.

There are about 500 Vita Parcours throughout Switzerland.

Michael J. Agovino crunching at a station.

Brigitte Knup makes flexibility look easy.

Rhea George enjoys time to reflect in nature.

Equipment is provided and generally made of wood.

The fast track

The Vita Parcours trail, a concept Zurich introduced, offers round-the-clock, free access to fitness in beautiful surroundings. It continues to prove its value and remains relevant in a changing world.

In Switzerland, you’re never far from a Vita Parcours. These fresh-air fitness trails include a jogging track with stations along the way inviting you to train coordination, strength and agility. The trails – there are about 500 of them in Swiss cities, towns and scenic spots – take their name from Vita, the life insurance business Zurich founded in 1922. That business is well known for many firsts. Vita, for example, was the first life insurer on the European continent to offer customers free medical checkups. It also broke new ground by paying for customers’ life-saving medical treatments. Another innovation, sensible health advice, was packaged in appealing and colorful ‘Ratgeber’ magazines, which set new standards in design. These offered tips on everything from how to improve sleep to spotting mental health issues. Today, Zurich continues to set new standards in promoting mental health, including through independent health organizations and in cooperation with the Z Zurich Foundation.

Fresh air, breakfast cereal

The concept of health in the early twentieth century was experiencing a revolution, based on new ideas that forests and fresh air were good for you. It came at a time when increasing industrialization was leading people to seek ways to get back to nature. The upstart science of psychology also encouraged relaxation in unspoiled outdoor settings. The ideas that emerged in this era included some bizarre ones. Germany’s FKK movement, for example, introduced the notion of healthy, mass, outdoor nudity. A less startling development but one with more far-reaching consequences was the idea of healthy eating. That included Bircher Muesli cereal popularized by Swiss doctor Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner. Coincidentally, Bircher-Benner’s former health clinic is now home to Zurich’s corporate conference facility, the Zurich Development Center (ZDC). Naturally, it serves Bircher Muesli.

Zurich’s Rosa Sanchez getting ready to tackle the Parcours.Photo: Joël Hunn

The first Vita Parcours opened in a wooded area near Zurich in 1968 not far from Bircher-Benner’s former clinic. The idea of the Vita Parcours, a free, public fitness track, was a sensation when it was introduced. At the time, most people had to pay to belong to sports clubs. Jogging wasn’t yet popular with the masses. Vita Parcours tracks were set up in many countries, including the U.S., Austria, France, Belgium and even Dubai. After the life business changed its name to Zurich, Vita Parcours stuck to its roots and kept its Vita name.

Zurich continues to make advances in promoting wellbeing today. That includes the digital platform LiveWell, which Zurich launched in 2020 to promote personalized health (social, mental, physical and financial) for a digital age. Zurich also sponsors events for amateurs and elite athletes. Among them, it is the title sponsor of the Barcelona Marathon. Zurich also encourages employees to take part in sporting events to raise money for charities. The ‘Tour de Zurich,’ for example, challenged employees to ride their bicycles from Zurich’s Frankfurt office to its global headquarters, covering a distance of 400 kilometers in two days. And to mark the company’s 150-year anniversary, 150 Zurich employees competed in the Zurich City Triathlon in June 2022. Participant Matteo Capolei praised the team spirit needed to achieve a common goal. “There’s a great atmosphere,” he says.

As Chair of the Z Zurich Foundation’s board of trustees, Gary Shaughnessy in 2022 participated in the ‘Arch to Arc Triathlon’ involving 491 kilometers (305 miles) from London’s Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. By competing, Shaughnessy raised GBP 30,000 to fund research for Parkinson’s disease, which he discovered he had in 2015. “For me, exercise has been a big part of this ‘next phase’ of life,” he says. Zurich’s employees aim to stay fit even living in big cities. Santiago Gallo swears by swimming laps at the historic Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, where Gallo’s father, grandfather, and even his great-grandfather have all been members. Bhavna Hemlani loves to hike. Even though she lives in Hong Kong, she finds that there are “really beautiful hiking trails right outside my door. It’s refreshing to be out in the open and there’s always an amazing view.”

A sign at each stop details the exercises and number of repetitions.Photo: Joël Hunn

A sensible approach

In whatever way you choose to pursue good health, whether it’s taking a walk, going for a forest bath (yes, this is a thing) or embarking on training for your next ultra-marathon, use good judgment. If you’re over-heated on a very warm day, don’t jump into an icy lake. If you notice pains anywhere, make an appointment to see your physician. Check the weather report before setting out for a run, wear appropriate clothing and shoes and use sun and insect protection. And, if you’re in Switzerland, check out a local Vita Parcours, which never seem to go out of fashion. You can find a large variety and their locations online.

What’s next for the Vita Parcours? They are still extremely popular, and relevant. After a global pandemic forced fitness clubs to close for a time, The New York Times reported in 2020 that Swiss had rediscovered the trails, which were “busier than they have been in years.” Can the Vita Parcours be improved? Perhaps. Possibly. This might involve healthy routes for commuters, new urban tracks or outdoor gyms, augmented by special apps and virtual or physical events introduced to enhance physical or mental wellbeing.

The challenge will be to improve on a concept that for so many in Switzerland is a familiar and well-loved fixture in their exercise routines. “I like to go with my kids, ages 9 and 11, to train in a Vita Parcours. They get fresh air, and it does all of us good,” says Marc Leuenberger, a professional Swiss fitness trainer. For toughening up, he recommends the Vita Parcours in winter: “Nothing beats training in fresh snow!” Certainly, the Vita Parcours isn’t slowing down. And neither should you.

No hard feelings

Rugby requires almost superhuman toughness. Becoming an ambassador for mental wellbeing also means taking risks. Two worlds come together in Tackle Your Feelings, a program that encourages people to talk about mental health.

In 2015, Zurich Ireland and the Z Zurich Foundation (ZZF) announced that they had agreed with Rugby Players Ireland to launch a campaign called Tackle Your Feelings. The campaign would see rugby players from all over Ireland becoming mental health and wellbeing ambassadors. The program was launched, with the ZZF, barely one year after Noelle Forde, a senior underwriter at Zurich Ireland, received the diagnosis of postnatal depression. If you’d told Forde that her diagnosis would lead to one of the most fulfilling journeys of her life, she wouldn’t have believed it – not at first, anyway. But in fact, her diagnosis turned out to be a positive turning point. With the Tackle Your Feelings campaign in place, Zurich invited its own employees to become ambassadors for the program. Forde saw an opportunity to help others. She became Zurich Ireland’s Tackle Your Feelings champion and a program ambassador.

In action on and off the pitch: Ireland and Ulster Rugby player John Cooney (left) is one of the ambassadors for Tackle Your Feelings.Photo: Sport in pictures / Alamy

Tackle Your Feelings is a multi-awardwinning awareness program run with people who have played sports, struggled with a mental health issue, or both. By using their personal and very moving stories to show that everyone faces challenges, the Tackle Your Feelings ambassadors encourage people to take action, and help themselves, or to seek help. With some of Ireland’s sporting heroes leading the way, Tackle Your Feelings is in a perfect position to inspire people to take control and look after their mental wellbeing. In 2022, the program had enlisted several Irish rugby players. When rugby players like John Cooney, James Lowe, Jack McGrath, Eimear Considine, Joey Carbery and many others share their stories, people see a vulnerable part of their life, which can be very daunting. Cooney, for example, a young professional rugby player, dislocated his right shoulder in a game. He played on through the pain for two excruciating minutes.

John Cooney wants to encourage people to talk about mental health.Photo: Inpho Photography

In November 2015, he faced surgery. All told, he would have three surgeries while playing for Connacht. Apart from being injured, he’d left his home of Leinster. He felt adrift. It was his sister who kick-started his journey to self-awareness. She wrote him a letter saying some honest things that led him to think more about his life and above all, led him to get professional advice. “When I was out with that right shoulder…I went to see a counselor through Rugby Players Ireland…. That set me on this path of understanding my mind and understanding what more I can get from the mental aspect rather than always just the physical,” John says.

The idea is to inspire individuals to find the strategies that work for them and apply these in their daily life. Tackle Your Feelings serves as a bridge to engage those who never considered this topic as relevant. It can also support anyone seeking a little extra help. To provide even more support, the campaign also offers an app that helps them take a more active role in looking after their mental wellbeing.

Being an ambassador for Tackle Your Feelings involves some courage. It means speaking out publicly. It may include participating in panel discussions, filming video content and visiting schools. In all different venues, ambassadors talk about the importance of opening up about feelings, and their own challenges that led them to seek mental and emotional support. “Having recovered and come out the other side of the depression, I was nervous of people’s reaction, and yet I was excited to share my story,” Forde recalls. She wanted to remind people that it is “OK to not be OK, and it’s OK to ask for help.”

Forde recalls the first time she was on stage discussing her journey in front of hundreds of colleagues. She couldn’t believe that this is where her struggle with postnatal depression had led her. Who would have thought that the challenges she faced could have anything to do with rugby? But, she says, while ambassadors might have been nervous at first about talking, “the rewards far outweigh any fears.”

When something negative turns out to be a positive: Noelle Forde, senior underwriter at Zurich Ireland, is a mother with a story that brings inspiration and hope to people. As Zurich’s Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador, she works closely with professional rugby players to help break down the stigma associated with issues related to mental health. “Tackle Your Feelings has gone from strength to strength over the years,” she says. And so has Noelle Forde.Photo: Noelle Forde

As testimony to the program’s success, in a first for the Z Zurich Foundation, which invested in the successful program in Ireland, it transferred the idea to another country – Australia. Tackle Your Feelings Australia is a collaboration between Zurich Financial Services Australia, and the Australian Football League’s Players’ and Coaches’ Associations. It was launched in 2019. The program supports de-stigmatization and greater awareness around mental health issues and behavioral change. It was modeled on the mental health training provided at the 18 professional AFL clubs, developed and provided by accredited psychologists.

And there is likely to be more to come in the future. “The Tackle Your Feelings campaign has gone from strength to strength over the years with programs and tools developing and expanding, always free of charge to anyone who needs them,” says Forde. As it turns out, sometimes a life challenge can turn into a life-changing opportunity. In the years after Forde became an ambassador, it was very clear to her that her journey through the negative, dark days of depression and then through the positive, empowering journey with Tackle Your Feelings “was without a doubt the most fulfilling journey so far in my life.”

Gliding to glory

No pain, no gain. Welcome to one man’s improbable rise to the top of elite sports. Arduous running drills, self-financed tours to the North and a can-do spirit. Before there were fitness apps, there was dedication – and running in rubber boots.

Cross-country skiing in Switzerland is booming. From December to March, you rarely have far to go to find a course, where you can test yourself on forgiving flat terrain or boost your heart rate climbing hills. For that, you can thank an unassuming athlete, who against many odds managed to triumph. Today, wellness is what we like to call ‘me’ time. Aspiring athletes are urged on by devices worn on our wrists. No matter how trivial, a celebratory ‘well done!’ cajoles us to run another lap. Now, transport yourself back to an era, pre-apps, when people’s idea of sports was something other people did. Normal folk had little time for fun. They worked hard and raised families. They may have struggled to make ends meet, never mind buying the latest running gear. Of course, there are always exceptions, and in the 1950s, a young Swiss man, Alois Kälin, was growing up in the green, hilly region of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. His father had forbidden him to train for sports competitions. But at 17, Alois, against his father’s wishes, joined a local ‘Turnverein.’ Common still today, these sports clubs trace their origins back to the nineteenth century. In German-speaking countries, they are catalysts in encouraging social sports and club activities.

Einsiedeln celebrates its hero, Alois ‘Wisel’ Kälin after he won a silver medal in the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics.Photo: Private

While following his own inclination to engage in athletics, Kälin began an apprenticeship in a printer’s in a town on the other side of a steep hill. When the work was done, he would run home. It was a long way. Covering about 20 kilometers, or 12 miles, the route included a 700 meter (2,200 feet) climb. There was already something of a modern mindset in Kälin’s arduous training routine. The idea of ‘organ strength’ was popular in those days, postulating that not just muscles, but also the heart and lungs – organs – contributed to athletic success. Kälin to this day attributes his later success to ‘Organstärke.’ More to the point, studies have contributed a great deal of scientific knowledge that influences how we train today. That device on your wrist almost surely tells you your heart rate during exercise, and we are used to aiming for boosting the rate during training.

Nordic spirit: ‘Silver Wisel’ helped to popularize cross-country skiing in Switzerland.Photo: Zurich Archives

Kälin had something even harder to train. He calls it ‘mental strength.’ Determination was already evident in his youth, when Kälin got a little money together, and with some friends, went to Oslo, Norway, where he stayed for two years, working and skiing. During the summers, he recalls “running for hours.” In the winter, he and his friends went cross-country skiing. Already familiar with home-made ski jumps at home, the friends discovered what still today is considered a cross-country skier’s paradise, Trondheim. Cross-country skiing in Norway is a national passion. The Swiss, with lots of snow, seemed to be missing out on something by focusing on alpine (downhill) skiing. Kälin would soon be a key figure changing that. In 1968, his training and dedication got him a berth on the Swiss team that competed in the Winter Olympics held in Grenoble, France. He achieved a silver medal in the Nordic Combined, finishing only behind West German Franz Keller. The 1968 Winter Olympics heralded a new age as the first Winter Games that were extensively televised, in color. People were growing more aware of sports, and physical fitness, and the enjoyable sport of cross-country skiing being popularized by Kälin.

Wisel Kälin at Zurich’s insurance agency in Einsiedeln, drawing winners for a cross-country ski course competition in 1974.Photo: Comet / ETH-Bibliothek Zurich

Now known in the media as ‘Silver Wisel,’ Kälin continued his rigorous training, even going for runs up and down hills in rubber boots. It was apparently effective, for in 1972, Kälin took part in his second Winter Olympics, in Sapporo, Japan, where the Swiss four-man relay team finished behind only the Soviet Union and Norway.

In those days, Olympic competitions were only open to amateurs. The enormous cost of training often meant that individual athletes had to find money to compete, sometimes against athletes who were financed by state programs, including by serving in their respective countries’ military. Kälin looked around for ways to support his growing family, and turned to sponsorships, including one with Zurich. Zurich was glad to associate itself with the rising popularity of personal fitness. Kälin, a popular and successful athlete, fit the bill. He was already known as the face of Swiss cross-country skiing, providing training and publishing a book. The sport he had done so much to popularize was also undergoing changes. “We used to all be leg-runners,” he recalls. But new materials used in skis allowed for more mobility. Cross-country technique called for more pole action. A new type of skiing developed along with the old style. In the 1980s, skate skiing gained in popularity, a technique that developed as skiers sought speed and mobility. “If skate skiing hadn’t come along, cross-country skiing would have died out,” says Kälin.

Today, as you pant and sweat in subdegree weather up a small hill on your skis, and check your heart rate on that device you wear on your wrist, you can thank athletes like Kälin for popularizing a modern approach to training. As for Kälin, now over 80, he’s not slowing down, either. He still skis. And a recent photo of Einsiedeln’s Turnverein sports club shows him in the front row. He may have one or two races still left to finish.

Kälin trained rigorously, even going for runs in rubber boots. His physical - and mental - strength paid off during races.Photo: Private

Wisel Kälin showing his impressive cross-country skills in a Zurich video from 1972.Video: Zurich Archives

Wait for the squats with the tree trunk! Preparing for the cross-country season in summer.Video: Zurich Archives

E-Game fame

Germany has a new football legend: Fabienne Morlok. She has millions of fans – and without ever having set foot on a pitch. Meet a star in the virtual world of e-sports.

Photo: STARK Esports, Bochum

Fabienne Morlok trains hard. Seven hours a day. But instead of playing on a field, the 20-year-old dodges her opponents on a screen. Millions of spectators watch her and cheer her on when she sets up the ball and shoots. Morlok – player name FabienneXIII – is one of the few women playing alongside men in the digital world of e-football, or e-soccer. Morlok has been under contract as a professional with FOKUS-Clan since 2021, arguably one of the best-known and most popular teams in what is believed to be the world’s best-selling game simulations. Morlok is considered by players and coaches alike to be a natural talent. She has even beat the reigning world champion, Mohammed ‘Mo Auba’ Harkous, who is now her teammate on FOKUS-Clan, at a tryout.

Zurich’s logo appears on FOKUS-Clan’s jerseys – both virtually and in real life – a visible reminder of the new era that began at Zurich Germany in 2019. That was the year that Zurich offered its sponsorship to the young, promising world of e-sports. According to market research provided by statista.com, e-sport-gamers totaled 436 million worldwide in 2020, and their numbers are growing rapidly.

Despite the popularity of the sport, there are only a few hundred professional e-football players. Gaming and e-sports are still in their relative infancy. Just over a decade ago, they commonly comprised small Local Area Network (LAN) parties. People would get together, maybe in someone’s basement, with computers or gaming consoles. Today, the e-football World Cup Finals may be held in major stadiums, with thousands of spectators. Besides the spectators, the prize money that a team or an individual player can win is not to be sneezed at. While still small by professional football standards, Morlok’s teammate Mo Auba was able to celebrate winning the World Cup with the USD 250,000 first prize in 2019.

Penalty shoot-outs and red cards

In this universe, Morlok is in a league of her own – and the first woman to qualify for a major tournament for the FIFA Global Series – developed by the U.S. Electronic Arts company, whose brands include EA Sports.™ EA Sports’ line includes the FIFA game through a licensing agreement with football’s world governing body. The agreement is due to end soon. But that almost certainly won’t dampen the ardor among fans for one of the gaming world’s most successful franchises.

In principle, e-football works in the same way as real football. The difference, of course, is that the games are played with a gaming console. It challenges mental fitness, requiring nimble hands and good hand-eye coordination.

Despite its virtual nature, the electronic version of football is physically exhausting. A game may last about 20 minutes. But a tournament involving a series of group games can last one or two days. It includes penalty shoot-outs, players may be sent off and extra time added. The pressure and stress are quite high. Tactical skill and an overview of the game are also prerequisites for becoming a professional gamer. Talent alone is not enough. Morlok trains every day, just like other full-time sports professionals. The difference is that thousands of people can watch her via livestream online. These practice sessions can be quite exciting and thought-provoking.

“I play a lot of friendly matches against other professionals and analyze them with my coaches,” says Morlok. “We look at what I could do better, watch games of the opponents and analyze them.” Her coaches, who coach the virtual German e-national team, say she has an eye for catching and correcting typical mistakes. And she knows how to recover her self-confidence after a series of defeats, a key quality that is absolutely essential in any top-echelon sport.

What started as fun became a profession

Morlok’s interest began when her sister brought home a borrowed game. What started as fun soon became a passion, and ultimately a profession. She also likes the real world of physical football. “I never played it myself, but I’ve always been interested in it,” she says. Whether in e-sports, or on the physical pitch, some things don’t change. “Good footballers, and fans, transfer some of their experience from the pitch to the online game. That helps you to understand key situations, key positions,” she says. Morlok has a season ticket and regularly goes to watch live matches. “It’s important to know the rules, and also to have a basic understanding of the game. Otherwise, you won’t get far.”

And, in the end, while the glory and star status are enjoyable, winners at big e-sports events get to take home a very real trophy. Something that they can hold up and show their friends. Even in virtual sports, it seems, a real, tangible trophy still matters.

Action for society

Zurich brings its own expertise together with imaginative and effective programs around the world, working in local communities for the greater good.

Reconciliation

Zurich Australia introduced its first 12-month long ‘Reconciliation Action Plan’ (RAP) in 2020. The program to close the gap between First Nations and Torres Island people and the rest of the country includes initiatives supporting youth mentoring, creative arts, mental health and sports. Other goals include aiming to increase recruitment and supplier diversity. In Australia, Zurich is proud to work alongside the Z Zurich Foundation to support local communities with targeted investment of key community partners, including the Raise Foundation, Beyond Empathy and Tackle Your Feelings.Photo: Saltwater Festival by Emma Korhonen

Eat right, play right

Zurich Malaysia, with the Z Zurich Foundation, supported the Eat Right to Play Right program using Malaysia’s passion for football to educate children on the importance of nutrition, while instilling self-discipline and sportsmanship. Launched in 2015 with local charity organizations, it offered community health checks, nutrition education and community training for coaches. It even held a cup tournament. Of the thousands of children who participated since it was introduced, over a third have increased their fitness levels and over half gained better understanding of nutrition.Photo: Zurich Malaysia

Real-time impact

To help Zurich employees make a positive impact in their local communities, in 2021 the Z Zurich Foundation introduced MyImpact, a digital platform for volunteering and fundraising. Available initially in over a dozen countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S., it helps Zurich employees identify charitable organizations to support through fundraising and volunteering (in person or virtual). The Z Zurich Foundation also provides matching opportunities.Photo: Zurich Insurance

Youth mental wellbeing

In Brazil, Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation agreed in 2022 to work together on a program to support mental wellbeing in schools. It aims to overcome taboos, while giving young people together with their teachers the skills to better manage and develop their emotional and social wellbeing. Together with Instituto Ânima, a nonprofit organization that specializes in educational programs, the project provides teachers, students and schools with information and training to promote mental health. To make it even more accessible, the program offers a free, online educational platform.Photo: Ruslana Lurchenko / Shutterstock

‘Ready to move mountains’

Sofyen Khalfaoui, program lead of the Z Zurich Foundation’s improving mental wellbeing pillar, talks about his work with young people.

Sofyen Khalfaoui: Dedicated to mental wellbeing.Photo: Giuseppe Velasco

Sofyen Khalfaoui grew up in Geneva with a global worldview, thanks in large part to his parents: his father is a psychologist and his mother worked for the United Nations. He has degrees in international relations and humanitarian affairs. He’s also a trained actor, which, as you’ll see, comes in handy! In the humanitarian sector, Sofyen led resilience building and psychosocial projects for adolescent refugees in Chad and Lebanon and served as an education and protection adviser for Save the Children in Iraq, Syria and Switzerland. At the Z Zurich Foundation – an independent charitable foundation established by members of Zurich Insurance Group – his focus is on improving mental wellbeing for all youth around the world. This includes individuals simply trying to get through the stresses of their everyday lives and others affected by humanitarian crises.

Tell us about your dedication to mental wellbeing. Where does it come from?

SOFYEN KHALFAOUI: I was born and raised in Switzerland and my parents are originally from Tunisia and Algeria. I had to build an identity between the Swiss and the Mediterranean cultures. As a child and adolescent, I was already curious about life’s inequalities. What does it mean to grow up in a country – and have access to certain opportunities – just because you were born somewhere in particular?

What specifically is the Z Zurich Foundation doing for mental health?

Our ultimate ambition is to create a global movement for youth mental wellbeing. First, we focus on the promotion and prevention of mental wellbeing conditions and give tools and resources to young people and caregivers to manage their stress and anxiety. We are collaborating with adolescents, parents, teachers, governments, athletes, the United Nations, NGOs, think tanks and other foundations all over the world to ensure that youth look after their mental wellbeing so they can live full, productive and healthy lives. It is key that we all work toward reducing the stigma around mental wellbeing and help individuals to know it’s OK not to feel OK, and to say it.

How do you define mental wellbeing?

Mental wellbeing can be defined in myriad ways. Simply said, mental wellbeing is not about always feeling happy and joyful. It is about going with life’s flow so that we can celebrate good moments and have the resources and knowledge to handle challenges – and ultimately realize one’s full potential over time.

Why is it so important?

Let’s consider this analogy: If we go running for one hour, we take 10 minutes to warm up and 10 more to stretch, right? The same mind preparation would be needed to ensure that stress can be handled in the best way possible. This awareness about emotions and feelings is very much unknown compared to the drivers of physical wellbeing. What if we could live in a world where mental wellbeing and emotional education were understood by the world’s young people? This would save lives. At the Z Zurich Foundation, and together with the Zurich Insurance Group, our ambition is to give adolescents and caregivers a chance to address mental wellbeing like any other topics and live a confident life

You studied acting in Switzerland and the UK. How do you use that experience?

Acting is an amazing way to build empathy to fictional lives and is effective to develop people’s emotional intelligence. In 2021, I completed a project that took years to bring to the stage. This was a one-man show about a Lebanese youth who wanted to rebuild his life after the war. It is a story about resilience and the power of the mind to overcome challenges. I’m also passionate about teaching acting and how to enhance our presence in real life, as individuals. I also resort to meditation techniques, which are part of my routines in life and prior to entering the stage.

What does your job at the Z Zurich Foundation mean to you?

My position today is like the convergence of the many different experiences I’ve had. In some way, the stars have aligned between my personal and professional ambitions. When I saw the ad for this position, I was really glad to see that such priority to the mental wellbeing of young people is given at a corporate foundation of a global insurance company. It all makes sense since the Z Zurich Foundation, the Zurich Insurance Group and my career path have the same vision: creating a brighter future for people.

Tell us about the Foundation’s aid work in Ukraine.

From day one, we were ready to move mountains! We mobilized a lot of resources right away to support the Ukrainian people. We set up several initiatives to support Ukrainian refugees all over the world. We have also supported humanitarian organizations in and around Ukraine to implement first aid initiatives and mental health projects.

Can you describe a moment where you knew that what you were doing was worth it?

When the crisis in Ukraine started, we realized that the Z Zurich Foundation could act very quickly in driving how Zurich and humanitarian organizations could operate to create the greatest impact possible on the ground. Our high degree of responsiveness is our strength. Within a few days, we had set up a plan, which included direct humanitarian aid and support for mental wellbeing projects.

Prevention

People give us strength in an uncertain world. They make new ideas possible and provide reassurance, even as things change.

Julie Shelley enjoys looking at different structures of metals.

A test of mettle. At Zurich’s lab in the UK, materials aretested to give customers peace of mind.

Photo essay by Muir Vidler

Control panel used for impact testing in the Wolverhampton lab.

Richard Henderson working on a customer’s sample.

Making the world just a little safer: Testing metal for customers.

Paul Griffin with equipment used in impact testing.

An electron microscope image showing corrosion debris on metal.

Samples submitted for testing.

The Zurich Technical Centre, or ‘Steelpark,’ opened in 2018.

Guardian angels

Without risks, there can be no progress. Choosing which risks to take, and minimizing others, is what Zurich’s risk engineers do best. Mostly working out of the spotlight, their reward comes from making the world just a little safer.

“I’d love to make it sound a lot more exotic than it is,” says John Hartigan of his job. Perhaps modesty comes from spending most of the time looking for the world’s faults and imperfections. As head of a team of risk engineers and inspectors in the UK, the things Hartigan’s experts do can be quite impressive, and even a little scary. “Our engineers operate at height, at depth, in confined spaces and sometimes in challenging environments,” says Hartigan. And they are also at work in Zurich UK’s Zurich Technical Centre, or ‘Steelpark,’ in Wolverhampton, 30 kilometers northwest of Birmingham, testing metal for customers. Opened in 2018, this sophisticated testing facility might use various acids and liquid nitrogen to test for different elements, and why a piece of metal might have failed. Analysts there cut metal up, polish it and grind it, pull it apart, and hammer it, looking for weaknesses. In an extreme case, their work could help to save lives. And, on an average day, the lab very likely contributes to reducing many of life’s lesser annoyances.

The dangers of a faulty elevator clog

Take elevator cogs, for example. As part of their routine work, in Zurich’s materials lab, Hartigan’s team tested some cogs for lifts (elevators). “A customer sent one such cog to us, thinking it could have a fault. We analyzed it and found that in fact there was a problem with the cast,” says Hartigan. It might not have been a life-threatening defect. But it certainly would have been annoying if a lift had stopped working, and people had been forced to take the stairs. Not to mention if someone had gotten stuck in an elevator. Hartigan’s engineers typically identify about 300,000 defects a year. Zurich has been working to make the world a less dangerous place for well over a century. The world of factory workers was fraught with danger in the early days, as Zurich’s advice to keeping them safer testifies.

For Alex Murphy, a good day is one filled with a variety of different work.Photo: Muir Vidler

In 1882, it published its first manual on manufacturing safety, which likely prevented many a mishap. The pamphlet was written in simple language. After all, it was not only for insurance agents and factory owners, but also workers with only a basic education. It advised keeping children out of factories. It warned factory employees not to wear wooden clogs, which could trip them or cause feet to burn in foundries if they got near molten metal. Zurich sternly admonished employees not to stick their heads out of moving elevator cars. And if they took the stairs, “workers carrying loaded baskets should go singly.” Zurich has about 800 risk professionals operating out of about 40 countries and jurisdictions, who perform around 60,000 on-site inspections a year and an additional 150,000 desk-top reviews. “Zurich risk specialists spend more time face-to-face with customers than any other part of our group,” says Jean-Pierre Krause, Zurich’s chief risk engineering officer.

Lowering fire risk

Fire safety is still an ever-present concern, even today. But science is helping to find new ways to approach it. “I’ve always been interested in fire safety systems,” says Martin Nilsson, a Zurich risk engineer based in Malmö, Sweden. Lowering the oxygen concentration can keep fires from spreading and Nilsson published his first research on using reduced oxygen environments as a way to limit fire damage in warehouses in 2013. Zurich was already aware of his research findings when he joined the company in 2017, and saw the potential value to protect property and businesses. Zurich is supporting further research on reduced-oxygen fire protection. In the future, Nilsson’s research, carried out together with Lund University, could be used to reduce fire risk in fully automated warehouses, for example. Human nature being what it is, people will continue to go on vacation near the beach, and will also prefer to pay for hotel rooms that are dry. Tom Hall and Jimmy Durkin, senior risk engineers at Zurich North America, work closely with an insurance research lab in the U.S. state of South Carolina operated by the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). A nonprofit research organization, it provides protection as a public service. It operates what might be the world’s largest natural disaster simulator, where full-sized buildings are subjected to high winds and rain storms, wildfire sparks and even hail. Inside its airplane-hangar-sized hall, full-scale houses and commercial structures are built and tested – and occasionally demolished by the forces of man-made nature.

One area where Zurich was keen to reduce risk involved what experts call “water infiltration,” meaning moisture that gets into structures during rain and wind storms. “We find that, with hotels, after severe storms, the carpets tend to be soaked around the air conditioner units,” says Durkin.

They worked with IBHS to produce a simple document aimed at helping property owners, including Zurich’s commercial customers, to make air conditioning units less leaky. They have also worked with the IBHS to make solar panels more secure and tile roofs less likely to blow off in hurricanes.

Prevention as a daily task

Catching problems early and nipping risks in the bud; it’s all in a day’s work for Zurich’s risk engineers. Prevention is something that they do day in, day out. They are people for whom the world is never perfect. But they are happy to keep up with trends to ensure, where possible, that the world is a little safer. “Beneath the still waters and long-term history of reliable coverage and service that Zurich has provided, risk engineers really leverage our ability to provide effective, technical, actionable guidance to those clients we serve,” says Hall.

While they may not always talk about themselves, very likely there is a risk engineer close by who, behind the scenes, is even now looking for things that can be made better, and safer.

When crime doesn’t pay

Zurich’s investigators are there to support legitimate claimants, and spot the few who might try creative means to line their pockets.

Today, investigators rely on technology rather than paper files and shoe leather. But it’s still a gut feeling that counts.Photo: Zurich Archives

Insurance fraud costs society. And it’s very likely to be found out. In real life, fraudsters might become the subject of a television miniseries, like the man in the UK who decided to use a grandiose scheme to improve his personal finances. He faked his own death – ostensibly drowning in a canoe accident – and collected massive life payouts from insurers (which didn’t include Zurich) before he was caught. He and his wife went to prison.

While the majority of people are honest, insurers’ job includes spotting the outliers whose fraudulent behavior costs insurers and customers billions each year. One study found that in fact, in some markets in Europe, as much as 10 percent of claims might be fraudulent. The first known case of insurance fraud involved a Greek shipping merchant caught over 2,300 years ago trying to sink an empty ship to claim the cost of a fictitious cargo of grain. Human behavior might not have changed over the centuries, but ways to detect fraud have undergone a technological revolution.

In 2022, Zurich had about 200 professionals employed around the globe specialized in claims investigation. Their work is aided through use of data analytics tools that speed up certain types of investigations. That includes so-called ‘mass data-analysis’ – software that can spot public information that may raise concerns about certain claims. Zurich may also use technology to spot cases where information seems suspicious, like several claims using the same telephone number, purportedly for different claimants. Aided by such tools, investigators have “identified millions of pounds worth of fraud we would otherwise have paid,” says Scott Clayton, who heads Zurich’s global counter-fraud network.

Good investigators tend to be people who have some insurance background, usually in claims. They also tend to possess a high degree of curiosity. They all like to be nosey. “The best people who work in counterfraud have a passion for asking questions, and finding out the truth. They’re not too frightened to dig deeper,” says Clayton, adding: “The whole psychology of lying is quite fascinating. The human brain is not programmed to lie.” Investigators are highly diverse, all ages and their experience might range from having served in the military to, in one case, working as a bookmaker.

Over the years, Zurich has detected some unusual fraud cases. That includes one in 1926, when a man who was injured in a car accident filed for disability because he purportedly lost the use of some of his fingers. A Zurich investigator, pretending to be a botanist (a stroke of weird genius) befriended the man and tricked him into holding a beetle on a thread for long enough to get a photo – which showed his fingers working quite well, dangling the dead beetle. The man’s claim was refused, and he also had to pay legal costs.

And there was the person in the UK who claimed for damage to their home. The reason? The family’s pet dog allegedly walked into a paint tray, and then, not once but repeatedly, refreshed the paint on its paws to leave prints throughout the house. “You can imagine somebody dipping their dog into a tray of paint. That was a customer who wanted Zurich to pay for redecorating their home,” Clayton says. There are also cases that aren’t so funny involving organized bands of criminals who might, for example, claim for water damage across a number of properties. Clayton’s proudest moments include the case that went all the way to the UK Supreme Court, involving a vastly exaggerated work injury claim.

The moral? If you are considering telling a fib on your claim, take a word of advice from the wise. Don’t. You’ll be doing society, and other customers a favor. Or perhaps, you’d prefer to seek notoriety as the subject of a new miniseries?

High-water mark

Flood prevention can save on average five dollars for every dollar invested. So why don’t more people think proactively about flood resilience? Zurich and the Z Zurich Foundation are working to change that.

The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance brings skills and insights to communities.

In unity is strength. Collective action was part of Zurich’s approach to addressing flood risk when, in 2013, it founded the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance with support from the Z Zurich Foundation. Together with humanitarian organizations and academic research institutions, the Alliance embarked on a daring new approach: It would bring the skills, insights and expertise of Zurich and its Alliance members together in “highly scalable and replicable” ways to help communities thrive in the face of repeated flooding. It’s a good way forward, considering what is at stake. Not just small towns but also metropolises including Mumbai, Shanghai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Miami and New York are at risk as global warming intensifies flood threats. Floods are equalopportunity destroyers. They affect more individuals globally than any other natural hazard – an estimated 147 million people will be affected annually by coastal and river flooding by 2030, roughly double the number of people in 2020.

Today, the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance operates in more than 300 communities in 23 countries worldwide. It estimates it has had a positive impact on at least 600,000 people’s lives. Its goal is to help at least 2 million people become more flood resilient by 2024. Putting resources to work to increase resilience for the long term is a better strategy than just offering temporary fixes, and it will pay off many times over. Even so, studies note that only a small portion of flood aid presently goes to reducing and eliminating risks. Most of it goes to emergency response, reconstruction and post-disaster recovery. “This emphasis on relief as opposed to resilience is neither logical nor efficient,” according to one study by Michael Szönyi, Zurich flood resilience program leader, and Linda Freiner who heads Zurich’s group-wide sustainability program.

Flood spending often seems to set the wrong priorities but there are signs of changes underway. In the U.S., for example, government insurance has tended to subsidize beachfront property, meaning that ocean-front homeowners who are more exposed are paying proportionately less insurance into the program than those people living inland. In 2021, the program introduced ways to make it fairer. This may force some homeowners to understand the real risks of flooding their property faces. Heavy or sudden rain storms, overflowing rivers and inadequate drainage also mean floods happen far inland. For instance, Colorado, better known for its mountains and ski resorts, saw unprecedented flooding in 2013 that destroyed thousands of homes and hundreds of miles of roads.

Zurich seeks to educate people about risks. That includes building on floodplains, and efforts to reduce flooding downriver that might increase flood risks upriver. Erosion caused by logging can worsen floods. But if people are part of the problem, they can also be part of the solution. For example, the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance began work in 2014 in 11 communities around Jonuta in the Mexican state of Tabasco. The Usumacinta River flows through Tabasco. It can rise as much as three meters in the rainy season. Led by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Mexican Red Cross, communities there have adopted measures to mitigate floods’ impact. These include setting up community brigades of local citizens trained in flood response. In 2019, the Mexican Red Cross received Mexico’s National Civil Protection award, recognizing the value of the innovative brigade program.

Zurich is also promoting flood resilience to its customers. In the UK, in what it says is a first for the industry, Zurich is providing customers with ideas on simple changes that could reduce vulnerability to future flooding, and using repairs to property to reduce future disruption and costs of repeat flooding. It might be as simple as moving electrical sockets higher on walls during renovations. Zurich also encourages a sustainable flood claim response, such as low-impact handling of waste related to flooded properties. Additionally, Zurich has introduced free mental health counseling to policyholders and their families who become victims of flooding. Such measures are needed now. More than 5.2 million properties, or one in six buildings in England, are at risk of flooding, according to the UK government.

In unity is strength. Collective action is part of Zurich’s approach to addressing flood risk.

The mystery of the stolen jug

The jug caper proves Sherlock Holmes’ adage that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. And the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

As a senior claims adjuster in Zurich’s major loss team in the UK, Paul Redington sometimes works around the clock. “Property claims happen any time. Things won’t always wait until Monday morning,” he says. The Case of the Stolen Jug, for example, one of the stranger tales of his career in claims, kicked off on a Saturday.

The bronze jug at the heart of our tale might at first seem ordinary: just 31.5 cm (1 foot) tall, and far too heavy for pouring at 6.1 kgs (13.5 pounds). It is rather plain, except for the archaic letters around the middle, ‘My Lord Wenlok.’ Cast by a bellmaker, probably in the fourteenth century, for William Wenlock or his great-nephew John, the jug is only one of three such known to exist in Britain. Besides being extremely rare, the Wenlock family’s long history in Luton, a community north of London, endears the jug to the local populace.

Two similar jugs are housed under tight security in national British museums. But the Wenlok jug is the people’s jug. It’s normally on display at Luton’s Stockwood Discovery Centre, where visitors might learn a little about local history before moving on to the tea room. The jug found its way to the Luton museum after an outpouring of public sentiment, and cash, saved it from leaving Britain for America. Up for auction from a private collection in 2005, a New York museum was prepared to pay 1 million dollars for it. It was kept out of the clutches of the Americans after a campaign raised sufficient funds to buy it and keep it in England.

The Wenlok Jug is a rare surviving example of an English bronze ewer from the 14th century.Photo: The Culture Trust Luton

All seemed well until one dark night in 2012. On the evening of Saturday, May 12, the Stockwood museum was closed and locked. The next morning, the priceless jug was gone. Zurich’s Paul Redington learned about the theft from a customer, the Luton Borough Council, which owns the museum. Given what was at stake, Luton Council didn’t want compensation. “They wanted their jug back,” says Redington, a man who knows and cares about his customers. What was to be done? He began “putting feelers out” in his words, speaking with claims adjusters and recovery experts.

He also got in touch with local police in Luton’s home county of Bedfordshire. And the London Metropolitan Police got involved. The criminal mind is familiar turf to Scotland Yard. The London police suggested to Paul that a reward might get someone to, in common parlance, “squeal.” It was an unusual method for Zurich, but Paul was willing to give it a try. A reward was duly posted: GBP 25,000 for information leading to recovery of the jug.

Meanwhile, the crime had come to nationwide attention. It was featured on a popular British television show, ‘Crimewatch,’ where TV viewers could compare notes on grainy images caught on closed-circuit camera, wondering if they recognized a friend or neighbor who was up to no good.

Old and young tried to help find the stolen jug.Photo: The Culture Trust Luton

Clad in what looks like a jumpsuit, face obscured, the thief entered the museum after it had closed. The footage shows him or her wielding a heavy iron grate and smashing the display case housing the rare jug. Sadly, the camera did not get a clear image of the thief’s face. But the hunt was on.

Paul, as an insurance professional, was well aware that certain thieves specialize in rare artifacts. At least these types treat the objects they steal with some respect. But there are others: amateurs who have no knowledge of the real value of what they steal. These raise fears stolen artifacts might be damaged or even, in the case of metal, melted down and lost for good.

The police return the recovered Wenlok Jug to the Luton museum.Photo: The Culture Trust Luton

Clad in a jumpsuit, face obscured, the thief entered the museum after hours.

That was nearly the fate of a priceless sundial by renowned twentieth-century sculptor Henry Moore on display in a garden elsewhere in Britain. A pair of thieves made off with it and sold it to a scrap dealer for a few pounds. The piece was recovered, thankfully, after the police caught up with the scrap dealer, who had bought the piece. Purporting not to know it was stolen, rather than melting it down, he decided the little bronze might make a nice present for his mother.

After Zurich’s reward made national headlines, thieves probably realized that the Wenlok jug had become too hot to handle. The original thief likely sold it on the cheap, or traded it for other contraband. The story has a happy ending in an unlikely place: an ordinary storage facility. Acting on tips from a person or persons unknown, who came forward to claim the reward, the police recovered the jug from its hiding place behind some old tires. They arrested the suspect in possession of the jug, who also used the hiding place to stash class-A drugs.

None of this surprises Zurich’s Paul Redington. Thieves, professional and otherwise, may view museums as what Paul calls a soft touch – easy marks for theft. Zurich’s experience and expertise means it can advise museums on how to prevent and mitigate the threat to priceless artifacts. That may be even more important in the years ahead. Paul fears thefts like the Wenlok jug will become more common as financial hardships drive people to commit crime. “My belief is, we will see more of these types of incidents, rather than less,” he says. How Zurich helped to solve the case, in retrospect, seems quite simple. It will certainly be used to demonstrate that even desperate thieves, with a little imagination, can be brought to justice. It’s all in a day’s work. Or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes: “Elementary, my dear reader.”

Rebuilding Joplin

A blueprint for successful engagement: Farmers Insurance® helped rebuild homes in Joplin, Missouri after a catastrophic tornado destroyed much of the city. The program’s success has made it a model for similar projects. Helping to restore communities, Farmers employees also discovered their own sense of purpose.

In 2013, Nan Treul was chosen to lead a project to rebuild homes in Joplin, Missouri, following a deadly tornado. She was an executive assigned to the project by Farmers Insurance. When she finished the rebuilding efforts in Joplin, the experience had changed her. “Joplin made me realize there is so much richness in life,” she says.

Now retired, Treul was never someone to shirk from a challenge. By the time she arrived in Joplin, she’d already achieved several milestones: a marriage and two kids, and a career that culminated in her role as Senior Vice President of Specialty Service Operations for Farmers®. When her manager asked Treul to go to Joplin as an executive to help rebuild homes severely damaged by a tornado, it was a new idea around how Farmers could help rebuild communities impacted by disasters. Farmers had never done anything exactly like this before but knew this was a city that needed assistance. Would Treul be willing to lead the project on the ground?

Destruction, pride, hope: Joplin home after the tornado in May 2011.Photo: Dustie / Shutterstock

To Treul, based at the time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it seemed like an interesting opportunity. But perhaps she’d underestimated the challenge. What struck her at first, right after she arrived, was basically – nothing. Where once houses and trees had stood, the debris was cleared away but there was very little else. As a city in Missouri’s southwest corner, Joplin might be interchangeable with hundreds of other medium-sized cities dotting the U.S. Midwest. What sets it apart is a tragedy. A tornado, one of the deadliest ever recorded in the U.S., touched down there one Sunday afternoon in May 2011. It left 50,000 residents mourning more than 150 friends and relatives lost in less than 15 minutes of pure destruction. Those who survived faced a daunting task to rebuild homes, and their lives. Making matters worse, many of the damaged and destroyed houses had been modest in the first place, and those who lost their homes typically had little to fall back on.

Farmers volunteers rebuilt 181 homes.Photo: Farmers Insurance

For the next eight months, Treul oversaw a project that involved working with teams of 10 Farmers employees arriving every two weeks. Many of the volunteers didn’t have practical building experience but brought determination and a willingness to work hard. Side by side with building experts dispatched by two charitable organizations they performed dirty, backbreaking jobs. Despite the hard work, more than 450 employees volunteered, and contributed 16,000 hours of hands-on labor. In all, they rebuilt 181 homes. One that stands out in Treul’s memory was for a family with two kids. “When those children found out they had a home to go to, that we had even planted a tree in the front yard – their faces lit up, and they were just ecstatic. I remember them running around, yelling, ‘I have a house, I have a house!,’ ” Treul recalls.

Besides the appreciation of Joplin residents, the thing that also surprised her was how popular the program turned out to be. “When we first opened the site for employee volunteers to sign up, we had to close it down in less than a week - we had more applicants than we could have used in a year,” Treul says. Without a doubt, the program provided a great sense of pride. “Employees went back to their home offices, and would talk about their experiences with huge passion.”

Nan Treul and volunteer Brad Burnham in 2013.Photo: Farmers Insurance

The program was so successful that it led Farmers to set up similar rebuilding programs to help other cities hit by devastating storms. That included Seabright, New Jersey, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Houston, hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Now retired, Treul continues to volunteer. She helps out at a local food bank and supports a children’s literacy program. She also stays in touch with friends from her time in Joplin. One of them recently wrote to her, remembering an evening they spent watching fireworks over the city from a rooftop. “I will never forget the Fourth of July in Joplin and the fireworks lighting up the sky,” the former volunteer wrote, adding: “I also remember how much pride I felt, working for an organization that was making such a difference.”

The tornado tore a six mile-long and up to a milewide path of devastation.Photo: Melissa Brandes / Shutterstock

All references to “Farmers Exchanges” means 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 Board of Governors. Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries are appointed as the attorney-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. “Farmers Insurance®” and “Farmers®” are the service marks of the Farmers Exchanges.

150 Years of Change

A quick romp through our history

From its humble roots as a nineteenth century start-up, Zurich has had to remain nimble and innovative as the world around it has changed. There have been wars (too many), revolutions (some good, others bad), and stock market crashes (a few but one that was really bad). In that time, humankind has moved from horse carriage to the automobile to propellered flight to the jet plane to spacecraft. We were forced to adapt, and we did. Along the way, we’ve bolstered businesses, large and small; families; and individuals. As this timeline illustrates, we’ve been there when you needed us, and we will aim to be for the next 150 years.

Did you know that Zurich started as a marine insurer or that it insured Alpine mountain guides in 1882? Or the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago? Or that it had a CEO nicknamed ‘Reserves Meyer’? Get ready for a century-and-a-half of facts galore.
Photos: Zurich Archives

Publisher

ZURICH INSURANCE GROUP
Alessio Vinci, Group Chief Communications Officer
Anja Heinsdorf, Project Lead

Concept and execution

PANDA & PINGUIN GMBH
Andrea Bleicher
Ruth Brüderlin
Sabina Sturzenegger

Design and art direction

STUDIO STURZENEGGER GMBH
Jürg Sturzenegger

Texts

Alice Ratcliffe
Michael J. Agovino (‘We never stopped thinking about tomorrow,’ and additional editing)

Project management

Tatjana Buser

Consulting

Bernhard Weissberg

Web

toweb GmbH
Demien Sokman

We are immensely grateful to the following for their constructive support

Thomas Inglin | Ursula Bühlmann | Christofer Stadlin | Ron Davis | Sam Arocho | Ismail Cagferoglu | Wendy Donahue | Chris Johnson | Harry Jones | Conny Kalcher | Jean-Pierre Krause | Tim Leier | Walther Ochsner | Doris Rechsteiner | Vince Santivasi | Kathleen Savio | Isabel Syed | Barbara Maria Wagner

All the communications colleagues around the world and all those who contributed their stories.

Contact

group.communications@zurich.com
Zurich Insurance Group
Group Communications
Mythenquai 2
8002 Zurich, Switzerland

Anja Heinsdorf, Alice Ratcliffe, Tatjana Buser