Zurich sells German med mal book to runoff company

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. said Tuesday it had agreed to transfer its German legacy medical malpractice book of business to Dublin, Ireland-based runoff firm Catalina Insurance Ireland DAC.

The portfolio represents reserves of about $450 million as of December 31, 2016, Zurich said in a statement. The deal, which was handled by its Irish unit, is subject to regulatory and court approval, Zurich said.

Zurich Group CFO George Quinn said in a statement that the “transaction reduces risk and continues the process of simplifying the group and releasing capital from non-core activities.”

A Zurich spokesman said the company does not comment on the specifics of its transactions.

The business transferred to Catalina, which is a unit of Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd., relates to business that was placed into runoff in 2012 as a result of a re-evaluation of the business following a deterioration in reserves, the spokesman said.