Zurich will look to “deepen” its presence in Australia, according to Jack Howell, CEO of the firm’s business in Asia Pacific.

Speaking to investors yesterday, Howell said that the firm is pleased with its “fairly strong presence in Australia” and will look to strengthen its position in the coming year.

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“We will look to increase our presence in those markets [Australia and Japan],” Howell said, “where we think we can compete and where we think we can secure consistent profitable streams in the future.”

Zurich has been busy in the Australian market over the last several years following the acquisition of the Macquarie Life book, and travel insurance firm Cover-More, both of which were completed this year. Indeed Howell did not rule out further M&A activity in Australia or throughout the Asia Pacific region but noted that it must meet Zurich’s strategy.

“We look at everything,” Howell continued. “We don’t depend on M&A for our strategy and we only move into M&A when it hits our hurdles.”

Howell noted that the firm will look to utilise its strong brand in its mature markets of Japan and Australia as a way to further its growth throughout the region.

“We like these markets,” Howell continued. “They are growth markets and we would like to deepen our presence in those markets and make sure we have a secure set of businesses that can grow in the future and provide earning stability and predictability for us.”

Looking ahead, Howell noted that Zurich will look to “rebalance” its business throughout the region as it sets its sights on growth outside of mature markets.

“One of the things we need to do as we execute on our strategy in Asia Pacific is start to rebalance that portfolio and give us more access to those economies with high levels of growth,” he said.


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