Zurich sees P&C earnings climb 16% ahead of Beazley takeover deal

Zurich has seen the operating profit of its property and casualty (P&C) business grow by 16% to $2.8bn (£2.07bn), its latest half year results have revealed.

The results – which cover the six months to 30 June 2026 – also revealed that the growth in profit came amid a commensurate growth in gross written premium (GWP), up to $29.9bn (£22.1bn) from $27.1bn (£20.1bn) in the same period last year.

The combined operating ratio (COR) of its P&C business did, however, worsen, marginally rising from 92.4% in H1 2025 to 92.7% in H1 2026.

The firm also saw what it termed “accelerated premium growth” in its global speciality lines – which overall saw an 8% year-on-year uptick – driven by an 18% improvement in construction premiums, due in part to data centre construction trends.

Across the wider business, Zurich saw operating profit reach a record high of $4.8bn (£3.55bn), a 13% improvement on the previous period. As such, core earnings by share grew by 11.5% to $24.2 (£17.9).

Accelerating growth

The results come ahead of Zurich’s long-awaited purchase of insurer Beazley, an £8bn deal that was cleared by the European Commission (EC) in July.

Mario Greco, group chief executive at Zurich, said: “Our growth is accelerating in business segments where we see the strongest demand and attractive margins, such as specialty, middle market, SMEs and life.

“Our ability to select growth opportunities within our portfolios ensures we can sustain this performance over time. At the midpoint of our current cycle, we are ahead of all our targets.”