Zurich completes Beazley acquisition, creating world's largest specialty insurer

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) announced the completion of its acquisition of Beazley Plc (Beazley), bringing together two highly complementary businesses to create the world's largest specialty insurance business, headquartered in London.

Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “By integrating Beazley into our Global Specialty business, we will accelerate growth and we will bring new very relevant solutions to our existing clients. Beazley’s underwriters will have immediate access to our distribution model and will join our customer service teams.”

“By 2029, the integration of Beazley will generate incremental revenue growth of over USD 1 billion per annum, at least USD 150 million of combined annual cost savings and meaningful capital synergies of at least USD 1 billion of one-off capital extraction within the first two years, while benefiting from greater capital efficiency across a larger and more diversified Specialty business.”

Mario Greco added: “London is one of the world's leading insurance markets and has already been chosen as the natural base for our global Specialty business. Zurich has been operating in the UK for more than a century, and we know the strength of the market, its talent and its role in shaping the industry's future. Joining Lloyd's of London for the first time is an important step, giving us access to a unique platform for capital, product and service innovation, specialist underwriting and global reach.”

Following the completion of the acquisition, Kristof Terryn is appointed CEO of Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty, subject to regulatory approval. Adrian Cox will be leaving Beazley as the organization begins its next phase.

Mario Greco commented: “We would like to thank Adrian Cox for his leadership of Beazley over many years. Kristof Terryn’s extensive experience, combined with his understanding of the Specialty market and the strengths that have made Beazley successful, will now position the business for a new phase of growth.”

In addition, the following changes to the Beazley management team are announced:

• Helen Pickford, current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Zurich UK, will be appointed CFO of Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Barbara Plucnar Jensen, current Beazley Group CFO, will continue to support the integration work as Senior Advisor until March 2027. Barbara has played a pivotal role in shaping Beazley's Finance function and performance management, and we are pleased to count on her in this key phase of the integration.
• Sally Henderson will be appointed Chief People & Sustainability Officer, Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Sally succeeds Liz Ashford, who has decided to retire. Liz has been instrumental in shaping the Beazley team, which is recognized in the market for its talent, expertise, and unique culture.
• Ed Bridge will be appointed General Counsel, Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Previously, Ed served as General Counsel Zurich UK and Ireland.