Switzerland-based Zurich Insurance Group said that it has completed its previously announced $700 million acquisition of Anoka, Minn.-based crop insurer Rural Community Insurance Services, or RCIS.

Zurich entered into the agreement to buy RCIS from San Francisco-based financial services company Wells Fargo & Co. on Dec. 18.

Zurich said it has been in the $10 billion U.S. crop insurance business for more than 20 years. The acquistion of RCIS shifts its long-standing position from a reinsurer into a 100% owner of an Approved Insurance Provider through the Federal Crop Insurance Program, the company said.

RCIS will now operate as a stand-alone unit within Zurich North America Commercial's Programs & Direct Markets business unit, Zurich said.

The purchase of RCIS gives Zurich a 20% share of a highly regulated market guarding farmers against weather-related losses, Vontobel analyst Stefan Schuermann wrote in a note after the deal was announced. It will provide about $1.6 billion in net earned premiums by 2017, adding 3.5% to Zurich's top line, he wrote.

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Zurich closes deal to acquire crop insurer RCIS

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