Zurich Insurance reports first-half growth amid Beazley takeover plans

6. Aug 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - Zurich Insurance Group AG on Thursday noted positive momentum in the first-half, as it moves ahead with plans to acquire London-based peer Beazley PLC.

The insurer said net attributable income rose to USD3.49 billion from USD3.07 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose to USD18.50 from USD18.37, while book value per share ticked up to USD168.76 from USD137.64. Return on common shareholders' equity was 25.0% in the first half, compared with 25.9% the previous year.

Zurich booked USD29.86 billion in Property & Casualty gross written premiums for the six months ended June 30, up from USD27.14 billion the year prior. P&C insurance revenue rose 8% in dollar terms to USD25.0 billion from USD23.0 billion.

Commercial Insurance GWP rose 6% to USD18.3 billion, with growth "particularly strong in preferred areas such as Global Specialty and Middle Market".

Retail GWP rose 8% on-year to about USD11.5 billion, driven by growth in the Motor and SME segments.

Life GWP increased to USD19.50 billion from USD18.23 billion, and Life business operating profit rose 23% to USD1.27 billion. For the full year, Life business operating profit is expected to grow at least 10%, revised up from previous guidance of at least mid-single-digit percentage growth.

Farmers Exchanges GWP increased by 4% to USD15.59 billion from USD15.0 billion.

Chief Executive Mario Greco commented: "Our growth is accelerating in business segments where we see the strongest demand and attractive margins, such as Specialty, Middle Market, SMEs and Life. Our ability to select growth opportunities within our portfolios ensures we can sustain this performance over time. At the midpoint of our current cycle, we are ahead of all our targets."

The company's Swiss Solvency Test ratio was estimated at 266% as of June 30, versus 265% at March 31.

"The ratio does not reflect the impact of the USD4.9 billion capital raise completed in March 2026 to partly finance the acquisition of Beazley," Zurich noted.

In early March, Beazley said it had accepted a GBP8.2 billion takeover approach from Zurich, which said on Thursday that it expects the deal to close in the second half of the year.

Zurich Insurance shares fell 2.7% to CHF590.60 on Thursday in Zurich.

By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter

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