July 23--Zurich, a commercial property-casualty insurance company, will add 150 jobs downtown over the next few years, boosting its presence there to about 500 insurance and risk-management professionals.

The company's planned expansion downtown was announced Monday by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Most of the jobs are expected to be transfers from other Zurich offices, a company spokeswoman said.

At present, about 350 Zurich employees work downtown, and more than 2,500 work at its North American headquarters in Schaumburg. The parent company is based in Switzerland.

No financial incentives or taxpayer funds are involved, a company spokeswoman said.

The company's next step will be to identify which people and positions will be located in the company's downtown location at 10 S. Riverside Plaza. Zurich's Surety unit will be one of the first groups to increase its presence downtown.

"Many of our important customers and brokers are located downtown," said Mike Foley, chief executive officer of North America commercial for Zurich Insurance Group.

Zurich has a long history in the city. It insured the construction for the first section of the Chicago subway in 1930 and the 1933 World's Fair here.

Zurich opened its first U.S. headquarters in 1912 in the Chicago Loop's then-tallest skyscraper, the Insurance Exchange Building. In 1980, it moved its North American headquarters to Schaumburg.

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