1.

PERSONAL STATEMENT
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANIZATION

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers
in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range
of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurichs customers
include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including
multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in
Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich
Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I
American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on
OTCQX.
Zurich Asia Holdings Ltd (Zurich), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group
Ltd, has entered into an unconditional agreement to sell its entire stake of 40,113,628
ordinary shares in the Malaysian insurer MCIS Zurich Insurance Bhd (MCISZ) to
Koperasi MCIS Bhd.

The stake represents 40 per cent of the total issued and paid-up share capital of
MCISZ, said Zurich Insurance Group in a statement released in Hong Kong. Upon
completion of the sale which is expected to take place on May 5, 2014, the gross sale
proceeds to be realised by Zurich will be RM304 million or about US$93 million, it said.
The disposal of our stake in MCISZ will satisfy the commitment made to Bank Negara
Malaysia to rationalise our holding in two licences, following our acquisition of Malaysia

Assurance Alliance Bhd (MAA), said Geoff Riddell, Zurichs chairman for Asia Pacific,
Middle East and Africa.

In addition, it allows the company to focus exclusively on the development of its whollyowned subsidiary Zurich Insurance Malaysia, and resolves any customer confusion
arising from the fact that the Zurich brand has been carried, since the middle of 2012,
by two separate companies.

In 2011, Zurich acquired 100 per cent of the total issued and paid-up share capital of the
life and general insurer MAA and subsequently renamed it Zurich Insurance Malaysia
Bhd in 2012. The acquisition combined MAAs strong local heritage and market position
with Zurichs global insurance expertise

1.2

2.0

PERSONAL DETAILS

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUES ( INSURANCE POLICY)

Insureds have tremendous difficulty understanding most insurance policies. At times,

the most educated agents and insurance pros have trouble, according to
Insurancequotes.com.

According to an online Harris Interactive poll commissioned by InsuranceQuotes.com,

87 percent of drivers who currently have auto insurance said they had read at least part
of their auto insurance policies. Thirty-six percent of surveyed drivers who had read
their auto insurance policies found them to be somewhat or very difficult to understand.
Even though more than 30 states have enacted readability laws designed to simplify the
language in insurance policies including auto and home many consumers are
confused by how their policies are written, and have trouble determining whats covered
and whats not.

What makes it tough is the long lists of items that are covered or excluded. Despite
reading through the entire auto insurance policy, Alschuler hasnt been able to
determine whether she has coverage for rental cars. I suspect we dont, but it wasnt
listed in the optional coverage section either, she says.
Robert Hunter, insurance director at the Consumer Federation of America, sympathizes
with Alschuler. Hunter says that even policies written in plain English are above the
average persons grade level. There are so many twists and turns in the language that
you can read through the whole policy and not understand it.

State readability regulations

Beginning in the early 1980s, a number of states began to regulate the readability of
insurance policies. In many of these states, the language used in auto, life, health and
other insurance policies must pass the Flesch Reading Ease test, which analyzes the
number of syllables in words to determine reading comprehension by grade level.
Generally, the text should be readable for someone at an eighth- or ninth-grade
reading level.
The Flesch Reading Ease test measures text on a 100-point scale. The higher the
score, the easier it is to understand the document. For states that include Flesch in their
readability laws, the required scores range from 40 to 50.
Connecticuts definition of readable language means there must be a standard layout
and font, and the policy must avoid the use of unnecessarily long, complicated, or
obscure words, sentences, paragraphs, or constructions. If the entire policy is 10,000
words or fewer, the entire policy will be analyzed for readability; for longer texts, two
200-word samples per page will be measured. Although requirements differ slightly from
state to state, the general terms are relatively common to all of the states that have
readability standards.
The problem is, these regulations dont tend to make the policies any easier to read for
the average policyholder.
The Flesch test is a good starting point, but the structure of the policy itself is difficult
for the average consumer to understand, says Jeffrey Thomas, a professor at the
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. The relationships between coverage

and exclusions are often convoluted. Its not uncommon for people to assume that
something is covered and then find out its not when they need to file a claim.
What causes confusion?
For instance, many consumers dont recognize the difference between comprehensive
and collision coverage. If you ask someone what comprehensive means, they think its
everything, but it only covers certain damages to your car.
Generally, comprehensive coverage applies only to damages when the policyholder is
not driving the car, such as when a tree falls on it while its parked in your driveway. To
make a claim for damages that happen in an auto accident, youd need collision
coverage as well.
For instance, if a policyholder is involved in an accident while driving someone elses
vehicle, he may think that hell be covered under his policy, but the coverage may not
apply because of an exclusion buried in his policy.
To make sure his customers understand their policies, Couture goes over the details
with them in person.
When someone gets coverage, even if he says he knows whats covered, well almost
always go through the general provisions. Obviously, though, we cant go through every
single possibility.
How can client's get clarification?

If a clients not certain about what their auto insurance policy includes, help them
understand he details before they're in an accident and need to file a claim to find out
the answer. Get in touch with the carrier's customer service or agent relations area right
away. Its their job to ensure that you understand your policy, and know what it does and
does not cover.
What I recommend is that if (a client) feels worried about something in their policy, they
should write a letter to the agent to say, Heres how I interpret this. I want you to put it in
writing if Im right or not.
Also, state insurance regulators provide free assistance to consumers who dont
understand their policies. Kerry Hall, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department
of Insurance, says her agency runs a consumer hotline available to anyone in the state
where they can get free, unbiased information. The Texas Department of Insurance
provides a toll-free consumer help line as well. In addition, the departments website
supplies information to help consumers understand their insurance policies, spokesman
Jerry Hagins says.
Neither state tracks insurance complaints tied to policy readability, but both Hall and
Hagins believe the number received is small. State insurance regulators do address
such complaints with insurance companies

2.1
2.2

IDENTIFYING PROCESS