Zurich gets out of France

Swiss insurance firm Zurich Financial Services is to sell up its consumer operations in France in favour of concentrating on insuring businesses.

The group embarked on a massive expansion programme in the late 1990s which cost it dearly, leading to a $3.4bn loss in 2002 and more than 4,000 job cuts.

Now it is trying to pull back to what it sees as core operations, having returned to the black for the first half of 2003 to the tune of $601m.

As a result, its Eagle Star business in France, together with the rest of its life insurance business and all its non-life business aside from the corporate side, are being sold to Italian insurance group Generali.

The price is remaining confidential by agreement between the two firms, Zurich said.

The move in France follows a similar sale earlier this year in the Netherlands.