Zurich Insurance to exit Russian market, sell business to local team

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpZURICH Reuters – Zurich Insurance has agreed to sell its Russian business to members of the local team, it said on Friday, as the Swiss insurance became the latest company to announce its exit from the Russian market.p

pA slew of companies — from McDonalds and Dutch brewer AB Inbev to carmaker Renault and French lender Societe General — have quit the market in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, with some handing these businesses over to local partners.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pHowever, finding suitable solutions has been a challenge, with some businesses arguing they are maintaining their Russian businesses in order to keep assets outside the hands of the regime.p

pZurich Insurance said the sale, which remains subject to regulatory approval, would hand its rebranded Russian business over to 11 members of the units team.p

p“Under its new owners, the business will operate independently under a different brand, while Zurich will no longer conduct business operations in Russia,” it said in a statement. “The transaction will allow the new company to retain a professional team with accumulated insurance expertise and to continue serving the Russian market.”p

pThe Swiss insurance company, which conducts property and casualty insurance in Russia primarily for international customers, said it held about 0.3 of Russias nonlife insurance market.p

pIt had gross written premiums of roughly 34 million in the country in 2021, the vast majority of which related to international customers.p

pOnly 3 million of those were from domestic Russian customers, it said.