Zurich Insurance Group (AO) | Hold | Q1 26 conf call: incremental positives

Research evidence excerpt

Zurich Insurance Group (AO) | Hold | Q1 26 conf call: incremental positives

News comment

Release date: 14 May 2026

Fahad Changazi

Equity Research Analyst

Hold +44 207 621 5151Zurich Insurance Group fchangazi@keplercheuvreux.com

Switzerland | Insurance Beta Profile: MCap: CHF84.1bn

Target Price: CHF599.16 Bloomberg: ZURN SW Reuters: ZURN.S

Current Price: CHF563.00 Free float 100%

Up/downside: 6.4% Avg. daily volume (CHFm) 283.4

YTD abs performance -6.4% Market data: 13 May 2026

52-week high/low (CHF) 605.60/529.60

Q1 26 conf call: incremental positives

Key points:

Zurich management gave a good conference call. There is solid underlying growth in the commercial middle market and specialty

business, with CEO Mario Greco highlighting that specialty (even before Beazley) is now Zurich’s biggest commercial segment and

has completely changed the earnings profile.

Commercial middle-market and specialty were both up 7% vs overall commercial growth of 9%, implying higher growth in large

corporate/other. However, this growth in the remaining business seems to be driven by price increases in specific lines (i.e.,

casualty seeing double-digit rate increases, commercial auto prices strong up) rather than volumes. Meanwhile, US property

pricing, where there has been pricing pressure, was said to be less negative than last year, and given developments in other lines,

Mr Greco commented that there could be an “improving pattern in commercial for the remaining part of the year”. Elsewhere, we

can continue to see good growth in life new business CSM and higher margin protection premiums, and Farmers is now seeing

policy count in the agency channel as well.

It is good to see middle market growth picking up; from the FY 25 base, 8.4% pa growth is needed for the group’s 2027 USD >10bn