Zurich Insurance plans to cut 440 UK jobs

Zurich Insurance is looking to cut 440 jobs in its UK general insurance business as part of cost-cutting measures and plans to simplify its operating structure announced in May.

The Swiss insurer said on Monday that the UK insurance market has become steadily more challenging and the drivers for this, including low investment returns and increasing loss trends, have accelerated in recent months.

Last week, Zurich reported a 48% drop in third quarter operating profit at its UK general insurance business.

It said that while it is financially robust, the nine-month results released last week highlighted the need for operational change to drive forward the UK business and contribute to the success of Zurich globally.

Zurich said it was aiming to reduce costs in the UK by at least £40m over the next two years. In addition, it said feedback from customers and brokers suggested a more straightforward business model is necessary.

The changes are part of a global group-wide transformation programme intended to deliver annual run-rate cost savings of $300m (£199m) by the end of 2016, and of more than $1bn by the end of 2018.

“The proposals to cut jobs are underway and will continue until the end of March next year. At the moment, it is not possible to announce the majority of the specific changes as they will be worked through over the course of this programme,” the company said.