Zurich Insurance sets financial targets for next 3 years

(Reuters) -Zurich Insurance set three-year targets a year early on Thursday, saying it aimed to reach average annual growth of more than 9% in its core earnings per share.

Europe’s fifth-largest insurer announced it was targeting a core return on equity of more than 23% and cumulative cash remittances in excess of $19 billion between 2025 and 2027.

CEO Mario Greco said Zurich was performing exceptionally well but saw new opportunities to accelerate growth.

“To reflect our growing confidence, we are launching a new three-year plan with the most ambitious targets in Zurich’s history,” he said in a statement.

On commercial insurance, Zurich said business operating profit aimed to exceed $4.2 billion and middle market gross written premiums surpass $10 billion by the end of 2027.

On life insurance, protection gross written premiums should increase to a compound annual growth rate of 8%, Zurich said, aiming for further growth in capital-light unit-linked business.

Zurich’s protection business, which represents almost 60% of the life business operating profit, will be consolidated under a single global unit, the company said.

On retail and SME business, the firm said it would return to a long-term level of profitability through a combination of strengthened underwriting, improvements in the portfolio mix, and by leveraging scale and technology assets.

(Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Editing by Milla Nissi and Kim Coghill)