Zurich Insurance boosts presence in China

Company's Asia-Pacific CEO says the biggest challenge in the Asian market is to continuously respond to changing consumer behavior

Industry veteran Jack Howell has taken on leadership positions in Asia's insurance sector for more than a decade. Seeing that the burgeoning insurance market in the region is underpinned by the rise of the middle class, the CEO of Zurich Insurance Asia-Pacific is looking to enhance the group's presence in its existing markets.

Switzerland's largest insurer currently offers a full range of insurance products across various countries in Asia, including Japan, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

On the Chinese mainland, Zurich Insurance mainly provides general insurance products to serve corporate customers, including property, corporate and other commercial risk insurance. It plans to continuously expand its businesses on the commercial side, while at the same time being open to partnership opportunities with Chinese firms to grow into the life insurance market.

At the Boao Forum on April 11, Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, introduced specific measures to further open up China's financial market. The measures eased restrictions on foreign capital access and the business scope of foreign-funded institutions. For example, the 50 percent cap on foreign ownership in life insurance joint ventures was relaxed, and all limits on foreign equity ownership in such companies will be removed after three years.

Zurich Insurance was the first continental European insurer to set up a representative office on the Chinese mainland, back in 1993. Later in May 2006, it became the first foreign insurer to be granted a license to establish a general insurance branch in Beijing.

In 2013, the Beijing branch was converted into Zurich General Insurance Co (China) Ltd, and three branch offices have since been established in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong.

In Hong Kong, Zurich Insurance conducts both life insurance and general insurance businesses. It is now making efforts to digitize its operations from the customer perspective, aiming to cultivate memorable customer experiences and be more competitive in the market.

In other markets across Asia, the company is looking to have a stronger presence in existing markets rather than vigorously expanding into new markets. Its strategy is to grow and create scale in those markets where Zurich Insurance can have a competitive advantage, so as to provide unique products and services to its customers.

Zurich Insurance has been active in mergers and acquisitions in Asia in the past year. It completed the acquisition of Australia's travel insurer Cover-More Group Ltd last year for $551 million. The deal positions Zurich as one of the top three travel insurance providers globally. The company also announced the acquisition of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's life insurance arm for A$2.85 billion ($2.14 billion), to strengthen its leadership position in distributing insurance products through banks.