Germany’s insurers said they may back a government call to invest in infrastructure to help cover an annual €7 billion ($9.23 billion) taxpayer shortfall to repair roads and bridges. The GDV, the Berlin-based group that represents insurers including Allianz SE, …
Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, said second-quarter profit rose 45 percent helped by higher investment income. Net income advanced to €765 million ($1.02 billion) from €528 million [$706 million] a year earlier, the company said in a statement today. …
A report from A.M. Best concludes that “global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the property/casualty (P/C) and reinsurance industries continued at a steady pace in the first half of 2014.” Best said that, based on its research “35 P/C …
Warren Buffett had just taken control of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a textile maker he would build into one of the world’s largest insurers, the last time U.S. property/casualty carriers endured such low interest rates. That was almost five decades ago. …
“Continuing low interest rates and soft economic growth are contributing to a tough investment climate for insurance companies, but they’re still finding opportunities for a decent return if they’re willing to broaden their search,” according to industry executives at Standard …
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has deflected complaints from insurers worried that his revamp of how they meet obligations to policy holders will scare off investors, a ministry document released today shows. Schaeuble’s ministry is preparing a bill to secure …
As detailed in Part I, the reinsurance industry faces the task of partially reinventing itself to expand in those sectors where it can achieve growth. Property catastrophe coverage isn’t off the table, but it’s now an overcrowded field. Ever more …
Low interest rates are the biggest risk for European insurers and pension funds, weighing on sales of retirement products, the region’s top industry supervisor said. Interest rates are “putting pressure mostly on life insurers’ and occupational pension funds’ ability to …
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble issued an unusual warning to the European Central Bank on Thursday, saying rate decisions must not offer “false stimulus” and that monetary policy alone would not solve the euro zone crisis. The ECB cut interest …
