Zurich is to stop operating in the NSW compulsory third party market from March next year.

Interim CEO Rajbir Nanra says the decision “is driven by Zurich’s strategy to use its capital strength to focus on business lines in which we have particular expertise and a distinct market position”.

He says policyholders are in the process of being notified. All CTP “greenslip” policies issued by Zurich will remain valid and in force until their expiry dates.

Customers who hold Zurich CTP greenslip policies that expire before March 1 will have the choice of renewing their policies and remaining insured with Zurich until the policy expiry date or switching to another insurer.

Those who hold policies that expire on or after 1 March 2016 will need to switch to another insurer at the time their Zurich policies expire.

Mr Nanra says claims will be managed in the normal way and the decision to withdraw from the NSW CTP market does not impact any other Zurich product.

Nor is the move expected to impact on staffing levels.

The decision follows an earlier decision by Zurich to place its travel insurance for debit and credit cards into run-off.

Zurich says the withdrawal from the NSW CTP market is the “last significant stage” of Zurich’s transformation program in its Australian insurance business.