Zurich Insurance 2024 results exceed targets with $7.4bn profit

Zurich Insurance Group delivered a step-change in profitability in 2024, with business operating profit rising to $7.8bn and net income to shareholders up 34%. The group’s capital position and shareholder distributions also moved higher, giving Zurich room to raise its dividend and set more ambitious financial targets for 2025–27.

Group profitability and capital strength

Zurich reported business operating profit (BOP) of $7.8bn for 2024, a 5% increase from 2023. Net income attributable to shareholders rose 34% to $5.8bn, outpacing BOP growth and lifting bottom-line profitability.

Core return on equity climbed to 24.6%, placing the group’s core ROE well above its new medium‑term target of over 23% by 2027. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 10% to $42.2, providing the base for Zurich’s guidance that Core EPS growth will exceed 9% annually from 2025 to 2027.

Zurich’s Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio strengthened to 252%, showing a substantial capital buffer above regulatory requirements. Over the past eight years, the company has distributed more than CHF 28bn to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, while maintaining this high SST ratio.

Segment performance: P&C

The property and casualty division generated BOP of $4.2bn in 2024, an 8% rise versus the prior year. P&C gross written premiums increased by 5% to $46.6bn, providing scale to support earnings growth.

Zurich’s P&C combined ratio improved to 94.2%, with management attributing the move to underwriting discipline and strong commercial insurance growth. The combination of a sub‑95% combined ratio and mid‑single‑digit premium growth supported the 8% BOP increase in the segment.

Segment performance: Life

Zurich’s Life segment achieved a record BOP of $2.2bn in 2024, up 8% year‑on‑year. Life gross premiums rose to $33.1bn, supporting the higher operating profit base.

The group has set a specific growth ambition for its Protection business within Life, targeting a compound annual growth rate of 8% in protection gross written premiums through 2027. This protection growth target sits alongside the broader Life BOP performance, which already reached a record level in 2024.

Shareholder distributions and dividend policy

Zurich proposed an 8% increase in its dividend to CHF 28 per share for 2024, reflecting the higher earnings and strong capital position. This proposed increase builds on a long‑running distribution strategy under which the company has returned more than CHF 28bn to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks over the past eight years.

The group’s guidance for cumulative cash remittances exceeding $19bn over 2025–27 sets an explicit cash generation and distribution framework for the next strategic cycle. This cash remittance target sits alongside the Core EPS growth and ROE objectives, linking operating performance to shareholder returns.

Forward financial targets and growth agenda

Looking ahead, Zurich expects Core EPS growth to exceed 9% annually from 2025 to 2027. The group has also set a target Core ROE of over 23% by 2027, compared with the 24.6% delivered in 2024.

Zurich has defined a cumulative cash remittance target exceeding $19bn for 2025–27, providing a quantitative anchor for capital deployment and distributions over the period. In parallel, the group has set a BOP target for full year 2027 to exceed $4.2bn, and a Middle Market gross written premium target to exceed $10bn in 2027.

Within Life, Zurich is targeting an 8% CAGR in Protection business gross written premiums through 2027, positioning protection as a core growth engine. These targets collectively frame Zurich’s strategic focus on earnings growth, capital‑light cash generation, and disciplined expansion in middle market and protection lines.

Zurich’s next strategic checkpoint is the 2025–27 cycle, where delivery against the >9% Core EPS growth, >23% Core ROE, and >$19bn cash remittance targets will define the group’s capital and distribution trajectory.

--- Sources: https://www.zurich.com/investors https://www.zurich.com/annual-report-2024 https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/zurich-announces-record-profits-and-growth-in-2024-525487.aspx