Zurich Insurance reported net profit of 3.5 billion dollar for the first half of the year, up 14 percent from the same period a year earlier. Operating profit increased at a similar pace, rising from 4.2 billion dollar to 4.8 billion dollar, according to the results published on Thursday.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 11.5 percent to 24.20 dollar, the company said.
Lower Premiums for Corporate Clients
In the property and casualty business, gross written premiums increased 7 percent to 29.9 billion dollar. The combined ratio stood at 92.7 percent. Overall pricing increased by 1 percent, with a 4 percent rise in the retail business partly offset by a 1 percent decline in the commercial segment.
Within Global Specialty, gross written premiums climbed 8 percent to 5.5 billion dollar, «primarily driven by the construction business, as growing demand for artificial intelligence is fuelling investment in data centre infrastructure not only in the US but around the world,» Zurich said.
