Zurich UK has announced a five-year extension of its agreement with Plum Underwriting, a deal expected to generate £250 million in gross written premium (GWP) over the term.
The partnership, originally established in 2020, provides capacity for the UK non-standard home insurance portfolio, covering risks such as non-standard construction, unoccupied properties, subsidence, and insurance for underserved communities.
The original deal in 2020 was worth £150 million, focused on personal lines capacity deal and ran for half a decade.
The extended agreement aligns with Zurich’s retail growth strategy and focuses on leveraging both insurer and broker expertise to serve specialist segments of the market. Plum, which is part of Brown & Brown (Europe) Ltd’s underwriting businesses, has been responsible for claims handling since the partnership began five years ago.
Zurich’s head of retail, David Nichols (pictured above), said the volume of business written through Plum has doubled over the past five years, a trend Zurich expects to continue.
Established in 2002, Plum Underwriting operates primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, serving the insurance broker market through various channels such as an online broker portal, integration with insurance software for electronic data interchange (EDI), and delegated underwriting authority facilities.
The five-year extension also comes amid a period of growth for Zurich, with the insurer reporting that its operating profit (BOP) reached US$7.8 billion, a 5% increase from the previous year, while net income attributable to shareholders surged 34% to US$5.8 billion.
Meanwhile, Zurich’s core return on equity (ROE) climbed to 24.6%. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 10% to US$42.2. The company’s Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio also strengthened to 252%.
Earlier this month, the global insurer also increased its stake in Banco Sabadell SA, potentially strengthening its position in a key sales partnership as the Spanish lender faces a hostile takeover bid.
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