Zurich leverages global experience to serve middle-market space

Rohit Verma

• Commercial liability insurer service for medium buyers
• Commercial liability insurer overall for medium buyers

Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd. approaches the middle-market space by specific industry segments that allow it to craft tailored solutions for midsize companies.

As one of the largest insurance companies underwriting risks around the world, Zurich has been able to distill its expertise into viable solutions for middle-market companies, said Rohit Verma, Schaumburg, Ill.-based regional leader of Midwest commercial markets for Zurich.

“Customer centricity is at the heart of everything we do,” he said. “We realize that we make a promise to our customers to deliver when it matters, and that's been the philosophy that we followed.”

That philosophy appears to be working, as Zurich is being recognized in the 2012 Business Insurance Buyers Choice Awards, having earned honors in the categories of commercial liability insurer overall for medium buyers and commercial liability insurer service for medium buyers.

Middle-market industry segments such as construction, real estate, technology and health care are among the individual areas the Zurich-based insurer focuses on, Mr. Verma said.

“What that allows us to do is really understand the customer, really develop risk insights that matter to them, really help them understand their exposures, and then tailor very specific programs for them,” he said.

For example, Zurich's coverage forms are tailored in a way that addresses a business' specific exposures in its particular industry. For a real estate customer, real estate-related additions will be in that the form. The same goes for other middle-market companies in other industries, Mr. Verma said.

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Part of Zurich's success in the middle-market space is its commitment to service, he said.

“Service is an important aspect,” Mr. Verma said. “We believe that, a lot of times, the middle-market space gets underserved.”

For middle-market policyholders with large exposures, Zurich's risk engineers are on-site helping companies to address risks and exposures. “We have a very strong risk engineering service, which not only allows you to assess risk, but also then to put some things around risk improvement.”

Zurich also interacts with middle-market customers through social media platforms, providing risk management tips as a storm approaches, for example.

For middle-market companies that don't have a dedicated risk manager or experienced insurance buyer, Zurich sponsors numerous educational risk management and insurance webinars.

But what sets the insurer apart from its competitors in the middle-market space is Zurich's financial stability, he said.

“From a marketplace standpoint, we believe if you are going to be a liability carrier, it is extremely critical have both the staying power and the financial stability. I think we've demonstrated both,” Mr. Verma said.

Another competitive edge for Zurich is its global reach, with offices in 180 countries around the world. “A lot of middle-market companies are now expanding internationally,” Mr. Verma said. “Having that international capability that we've built, not only for our large global clients, but also for our middle-market clients ... I think that's a huge part of the value proposition.”