Dateline: 12/11/2001
SCHAUMBURG, IL, November 12, 2001 -- Zurich North America was named the Best Excess Liability Insurer for the North American region in 2001 by Global Finance Magazine, the company announced today. Zurich was chosen for its experience and strength in excess casualty underwriting. Zurich is one of 20 insurers featured in Global Finance’s first ever list of "World’s Best Insurers," which appears in the magazine’s November issue.
The magazine’s editorial staff selected winners based on objective and subjective criteria, including surveys of insurance industry players and rating agency data. The staff examined financial stability and strength over the past year, market position, flexibility and creativity in underwriting policies, and claims handling.
Robert Shine, senior vice president of the Excess Group, said, "We are pleased to receive this honor. As Global Finance noted, our underwriters work extremely hard to develop long-term relationships with our clients and provide them with the best possible solutions for their needs. We hope to continue to meet and exceed our customers’ and the industry’s expectations."
"Zurich is among those top insurers who have been bringing corporate clients the best in risk management services, helping executives manage the growing array of risks confronting corporations that operate in today’s increasingly competitive business environment," said Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance.
Zurich North America (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty, health and accident insurance provider serving the multinational, middle market and small business sectors in the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., Zurich North America has 11,650 employees and wrote $8.0 billion in premiums in 2000. Zurich North America includes the Zurich U.S. business units (Corporate Customer, Middle Markets, Small Business, Strategic Partnerships, Construction, Specialties, Zurich Global Energy, Warranty, Surety & Financial Enterprises and Empire Fire and Marine), as well as Universal Underwriters Group and Zurich North America Canada. The Zurich U.S. pool of companies is rated A+ (superior) by A.M. Best and AA (very strong) by Standard & Poor’s. Zurich North America is a member of the Zurich Financial Services Group.
The Zurich Financial Services Group (www.zurich.com) is a global leader of integrated financial services, providing its customers solutions in the areas of financial protection (non life insurance and structured solutions) and asset gathering (life insurance and asset management). The Group focuses its activities on key markets, i.e. North America, UK, Switzerland, Europe, and selected other markets where it has or can reach a competitive position. Founded in 1872, Zurich is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It has offices in more than 60 countries employing 70,000 people. In 2000, the Group achieved gross premiums of USD 50 billion. This amount includes insurance deposits as well as premiums from the Farmers P&C Group. The net income was USD 2.33 billion. On December 31, 2000, the Group had USD 440 billion of assets under management, of which USD 259 billion represent funds managed for third-party institutional and retail customers.
Since 1987, Global Finance has been providing monthly news and analysis about companies and financial institutions that do business around the world.
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Media contacts:
Tina Angelone, Communications
Zurich North America
212-937-7981
tina.angelone@zurichna.com
Joanne Lessner
Miller DeMartine Group
212-222-7436
jlessner@mdgpr.com