Zurich Insurance Chairman Josef Ackermann has resigned three days after the suicide of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier. The company has informed that the resignation has been accepted. Earlier, Josef Ackermann has served as head of Deutsche Bank.

Ackermann said that family of Mr. Wauthier believes that he has to share the responsibility for the suicide. Pierre Wauthier worked for 17 years with the third largest insurance group in Europe. However, Mr. Ackermann has said that the allegations are unfounded.

Vice Chairman Tom de Swaan will take over the responsibility as acting chairman while the insurer searches for suitable replacement. Zurich Insurance aimed to achieve strict performance targets in its recent statement issue on 15 August. The company posted 27 percent decline in second quarter profit, mainly due to payment for natural disaster claims.

Swiss police has indicated in initial investigation that the death of finance chief Pierre Wauthier appears to be a suicide. Last month, Swisscom head Carsten Schloter also committed suicide.