Zurich and other European insurers to raise $5 bln in share sales

Zurich Financial Services AG, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group Plc and other European insurers will ask investors for at least $5 billion as investment losses mount and their shares plunge.

Zurich Financial last week said it plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion by selling shares after posting its biggest-ever loss.

Royal & Sun, which has said it will decide by Nov. 7 whether to sell shares, needs to raise 750 million pounds ($1.2 billion), according to Merrill Lynch & Co.

British insurer Legal & General Group Plc and FranceÂ's Scor SA have said they will tap investors too.

The 27-member Bloomberg Europe 500 Insurance Index has fallen about 46 percent this year.

(source: Bloomberg)

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