The insurance industry in general and Zurich Insurance as a company don’t face revolutionary change as a consequence of the pandemic, according to Zurich CEO Mario Greco. But the industry as such has to change of its own volition.

Mario Greco, CEO of Zurich Insurance, is urging for change in the insurance industry. He would welcome a stronger emphasis on companies’ social responsibilities, Greco told «SonntagsZeitung» (behind paywall).

As an example, Zurich has committed not to do any outsourcing for the sake of cutting costs alone. Zurich will only contract services to third-party providers if it doesn’t have the necessary competence to deliver in-house.

A Drop in Corporate Air Travel

A further step in the right direction will come about with the help of digitization, Greco said, adding that digital meetings were far more efficient, and of course much cheaper. The consequence of this is a substantial reduction in business travel going forward.

Corporate air travel will reach only about 50 percent of pre-crisis levels by 2022, he estimated, while private air travel is due to recover much more strongly.

Lower Bill for Private Clients

The Zurich CEO expects his private clients not to see much change in their insurance bills from the pandemic. The car insurance may even get a little cheaper, because the number of kilometers drivers clocked this year declined from a year earlier and because of fewer accidents as a consequence.

Corporate clients however face higher prices for their insurance coverage because of the larger number of catastrophes. Greco confirmed that climate change was a much bigger risk than the coronavirus.