Zurich Insurance Group AG fell to the lowest in more than three years after Switzerland’s biggest insurer put shareholders on notice that it expects a second straight quarterly loss in its general insurance business.

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

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

“Expectations for the fourth quarter were rather low because of ongoing restructuring at the general insurance unit,” said Daniel Bischof, an analyst at Baader Helvea who recommends buying Zurich’s shares. “The extent of the hit they took is nevertheless disappointing, and it remains to be seen whether this was a final clean-up or more needs to be done to fix the unit.”

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

CEO Search

The December storms came at a tough time for Zurich, one of the world’s largest insurance companies with some 55,000 employees. The company is restructuring non-life — its biggest source of income from premiums — after the unit posted a loss of $183 million for the third quarter. Zurich was forced to abandon a high-profile takeover bid for RSA Insurance Plc., and Martin Senn has since stepped down as chief executive officer.

A key question for investors is whether Zurich will cut its dividend and how it will use about $2 billion in excess capital. The insurer has paid out 17 francs a share every year since 2010 and has the highest dividend yield among Swiss stocks and European insurance companies.

Zurich will probably stick to that policy, said Vontobel analyst Stefan Schuermann, who maintained his hold rating but lowered his full-year outlook for earnings per share by 23 percent to 15.4 francs.

Job Cuts

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

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 corporate unit was affected, along with business in some European countries that weren’t identified in the statement.

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