(Bloomberg) -- Zurich Insurance Group AG fell to the lowest inmore than three years after Switzerland’s biggest insurer putshareholders on notice that it expects a second straight quarterlyloss in its general insurance business.

Operating losses in the non-life unit will probably amount toabout $100 million for the last three months of 2015, the companysaid in a statement Wednesday. That reflects an estimated $275 million in claims from three stormsthat flooded thousands of homes in northern England,Scotland and Ireland in December.

The disaster came at a difficult time for Zurich, one ofthe world’s largest insurance companies with some 55,000 employees.The company is searching for a successor to Martin Senn, whoresigned as chief executive officer after the non-life unit posteda third-quarter loss of $183 million. That forced Zurich to abandona high-profile takeover bid for RSA Insurance Plc. and prompted anoverhaul of general insurance.

Zurich plans to speed up cost cuts and wants to exceed its 2016target of $300 million in savings, according to the statement. Thecompany will book $475 million in charges related to thosemeasures, mainly within general insurance.

“Expectations for the fourth quarter were rather low because ofongoing restructuring at the general insurance unit,” said DanielBischof, an analyst at Baader Helvea who recommends buying Zurich’sshares. “The extent of the hit they took is neverthelessdisappointing, and it remains to be seen whether this was a finalclean-up or more needs to be done to fix the unit.”

Zurich fell as much as 9% to 224.2 francs, the lowest sinceNovember 2012. The stock was trading 9% lower as of 12:38 p.m.after declining 23% over the 12 months through Tuesday.

Dividend plans

Zurich will appoint Mario Greco, the head of its Italian rivalAssicurazioni Generali SpA, as CEO, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported earlier thismonth, without saying how it got the information. TheNaples native had been shortlisted for the Zurich job when Senn washired in 2010, people with knowledge of the matter said at thetime. At Generali, Greco has cut costs, reduced debt and soldnon-strategic units to revive profit that stood at a nine-year lowwhen he took over in 2012.

A key question for investors is whether Zurich will cut itsdividend and how it will use $2 billion in excess capital it hadbefore Wednesday’s announcement. The insurer has paid out 17 francsa share every year since 2010 and has the highest dividend yieldamong Swiss stocks and European insurance companies.

“The arrival of a new CEO could lead to a final round of profitprovisioning,” Jefferies analyst Mark Cathcart wrote in a note toinvestors Wednesday.

Zurich will probably stick to its dividend policy, said Vontobelanalyst Stefan Schuermann, who maintained his hold rating butlowered his full-year outlook for earnings per share by 23% to 15.4francs.

Sylvia Gäumann, a company spokeswoman, said by phone that thedividend will remain “attractive” and “sustainable,” but declinedto comment on the possibility of a cut. She reaffirmed that thecompany is cutting jobs in the U.K. and Germany and said it isreviewing pricing methods and increasing the use of reinsurance inthe non-life unit.

Accident losses

Beyond natural disasters, the company incurred a “very high”level of large losses from accidents in the fourth quarter,including several significant property claims. The global corporateunit was affected, along with business in some European countriesthat weren’t identified in the statement.

The group also plans to write off $230 million in goodwill forits German life business and will record the charge outside offourth-quarter profit.

Zurich said it will provide more information on the non-lifeunit and on expectations for 2016 results when it reports on Feb.11. Operating results for the farmer and global life units “shouldbe in line with expectations,” the company said, adding that itscapital position remains “very strong.”

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