Zurich Insurance Group reported record premiums for the first nine months of 2026 on Thursday, with growth across its property and casualty, life and Farmers businesses outweighing higher catastrophe losses.

Gross written premiums in property and casualty rose 7% on a like-for-like basis to $42.1 billion, the highest nine-month figure the Swiss insurer has recorded. Retail premiums grew 9%, while commercial insurance rose 5%, led by global specialty lines, up 9%, and the middle market, up 6%.

Life and Farmers also grow

Life premiums increased 3% to $28.6 billion, supported by an 11% rise in protection business, while premiums at Farmers Exchanges, the US policyholder-owned exchanges Zurich serves, rose 4% to $23.5 billion as policy numbers grew by 342,000.

Overall property and casualty rates rose 1%. Retail rates were up 4%, but commercial rates fell 1%, mainly in large property business, where Zurich said it was being selective about the risks it writes. The catastrophe loss ratio rose to 3.2% for the nine months, from 1.4% a year earlier.

Strong capital and the Beazley deal

Zurich said its estimated Swiss Solvency Test ratio, a measure of capital strength, stood at 271% at the end of September, up from 266% at the half year. Chief financial officer Claudia Cordioli said the group was confident it would exceed all of its targets for 2025 to 2027, which include compound annual growth of more than 9% and a core return on equity above 23%.

The update is the first since Zurich completed its acquisition of UK specialty insurer Beazley in early October, a deal the group says creates the world’s leading specialty insurer by premiums and gives it a presence in the Lloyd’s of London market. Zurich will hold an investor day on 17 November, including an update on integrating Beazley.