Zurich Insurance Group intends to repurchase up to 1.8 billion Swiss francs ($1.9 billion) of its shares, which it announced on August 11. Today the insurer said in a statement that based on the November 16 closing price, the repurchase will be a maximum of 4.15 million shares consisting of 2.76 percent of registered share capital.

The program is scheduled to run from November 21 of this year until December 29 of next year and is being done for capital reduction purposes.

Strategic Plan

Today's announcement comes just days after Zurich unveiled its next three-year strategic plan slated to run from 2023 through 2025. Among other announcements, the company said it is maintaining what it calls an «attractive» dividend policy by targeting a payout ratio of around 75 percent of net income attributable to shareholders. 

For 2021, the insurer paid a dividend of 22 Swiss francs of which 20.35 francs came from available earnings, with the remainder paid out of capital contribution reserves.