Zurich Insurance: Good 2021 results and increased dividend

Over the financial year 2021, the group saw its total gross premiums increase by +10.3% to USD 53.2 billion and its operating profit improved by 35% to USD 5.7 billion. As for net profit, it stood at USD 5.2 billion, up +36% compared to 2020. The insurer benefited from its disciplined approach to contract underwriting. This enabled the group to deal serenely with the many climatic events that occurred in 2020 and which caused approximately USD 800 million in cumulative damage. Despite these climatic events, the combined ratio, which measures the ratio between premiums received and expenses paid, improved by 4.1 percentage points to 94.3%, its best level for 15 years. Management has declared that it is highly confident to achieve or even exceed the objectives set for 2022. In addition, Zurich will propose a dividend increase of CHF 2 to CHF 22 per share.