Already a subscriber?QBE Insurance is hoping to shake off the last vestiges of a decade-long but ill-fated grab at the North American market with the closure of its middle-market business, ten years after first placing the division on the market with a strategic review.
“The closure of middle-market will serve to refocus North America’s strategy on those businesses which hold more meaningful market position, relevance and scale,” the company told investors on Wednesday. “The closure will have no incremental impact on appetite or strategy for North America’s three core businesses.”
QBE told investors it would begin allowing middle-market policies to expire, with premiums expected to begin reducing from this financial year before falling more substantially next year. The company will have to wear a restructuring charge of some $100 million before tax this year to account for the closure.
“Nearly all its competitors use agency distribution as a prime method of targeting SMEs in North America. When QBE acquired its mid-market business, Winterthur, way back in 2007, it too championed this method of distribution as a key attribute of its acquisition.
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Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »