The reinsurance market is operating in a new reality of abundant capacity from traditional and alternative sources, low interest rates and thinner reinsurance margins, driven by intense competition against shrinking demand for reinsurance cover, according to A.M. Best’s annual special …
European insurers’ assets under management jumped 9.4 percent to €9.9 trillion ($11.15 trillion) in 2014 from a year earlier, trade body Insurance Europe said on Tuesday, mainly driven by increased investment by life insurers. European gross written premiums rose by …
European re/insurers are well positioned to withstand the current volatility in the stock markets, having made significant changes to their investment portfolios since the global financial crisis of 2008, as well as the subsequent European sovereign debt crisis in late …
Vienna Insurance Group AG, eastern Europe’s biggest insurer, said profit in the second quarter declined 8.6 percent as low interest rates in the region pushed down returns on its investments. Net income in the three months to June dropped to …
The pursuit of improved investment returns has become more important for European insurers after a lengthy period when their attention was more focused on non-investment sources of profit, according to a report published by A.M. Best. How an insurer might …
Specialty insurer and reinsurer AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd and PartnerRe Ltd agreed to sweeten the terms of their merger agreement to fend off a rival bid from Italy’s EXOR SpA. The companies agreed on Thursday to raise the special dividend …
The unexpected announcement in UK Chancellor George Osborn’s budget, which would raise the Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) from 6 percent to 9.5 percent starting in November, poses a problem for UK-based insurers. David Coupe, a partner in EC3\Legal, said: “The …
It’s around two months until the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo, where the reinsurers, brokers, carriers, lawyers, accountants and cat modelers discuss the state of their industry. That industry, until recently a rock solid bastion of the “we do …
The global insurance industry gained momentum in 2014, with total direct premiums increasing by 3.7 percent to $4.778 trillion after having stagnated the previous year, according to Swiss Re’s latest “sigma” study. The life sector returned to positive growth, with …
The low interest rate environment represents a significant challenge for insurers, according to a report published by A.M. Best. “European insurers are struggling to generate investment income as the majority of their invested assets are held in high-quality fixed-income securities,” …
