Zurich Acquires Lebanon’s Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances

Zurich Financial Services Group announced that its subsidiary Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, has signed an agreement to acquire 99.98 percent of Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances SAL, a privately owned Lebanese insurer with branch operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Oman.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Zurich noted that Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances was established in 1951, headquartered in Beirut. It offers “general insurance solutions to retail and commercial customers in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Lebanon, and it also offers individual and group life insurance solutions to customers in Lebanon.

“At the end of 2009 Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances had gross written pre-mums of $49.1 million and net income after tax of $5.1 million. Through this transaction, Zurich will be in a position to offer its full product range to customers and distribution partners in these four new markets.”

Saad Mered, Zurich’s CEO Middle East, commented: “The acquisition of Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances marks a key milestone for us as we accelerate the expansion of our operations in the Middle East.

“It will give us access to personal and commercial customer segments in four important markets, and complements our existing general insurance presence in Bahrain and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC); through which we are already delivering tailor made insurance solutions to large corporate customers.

“We will combine Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances’s deep understanding of the region with Zurich’s global expertise to deliver market leading products and servicing to customers and distribution partners.”

Source: Zurich