Throwback Thursday: Hiscox takeover; Zurich shake-up
Insurance Post’s Throwback Thursday steps back in time to March 1996 to remind you what was going on this week in insurance history when Hiscox bought a rival and Zurich restructured its broker division
7 March 1996: Hiscox’s Economic takeover
Hiscox took over Economic Insurance in a £35.5m deal to create an underwriting group with gross premium income of more than £500m.
Hiscox Group’s then chairman, Robert Hiscox, said the deal would help Hiscox develop fresh business outside of Lloyd’s.
Hiscox said: “We believe Lloyd’s is the best place to underwrite London market business however an insurance company has advantages when underwriting some business.”
Today Hiscox is a diversified international insurance group, listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in Bermuda.
The business currently has more than 3,000 staff across 13 countries and 31 offices.
Zurich restructuring
Zurich consulted staff on restructuring its broker operations.
Six broker offices faced total closure and up to 350 positions were set to be made redundant.
Frances Pilcher, Zurich’s corporate affairs manager at the time, said: “It is being done because we want to be better. What we are trying to do is to reduce the running costs progressively over the next few years.”
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