August 7, 2015
Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said second-quarter profit rose 15 percent as lower claims from natural catastrophes offset a drop in earnings at Pacific Investment Management Co. Net income increased to 2.02 billion euros ($2.2 billion) from 1.76 billion euros …
August 6, 2015
Europe’s push to promote asset-backed securities (ABS) hinges on persuading insurers to buy the debt by easing capital requirements, investors and analysts said. European Union and global regulators recently proposed criteria for identifying simple and transparent securitizations that could qualify …
July 10, 2015
UK regulators have asked property and casualty insurers to stress test their capital reserves against catastrophes, including a synchronized terrorist attack in London, New York and one other major city. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published the exercises last week …
July 10, 2015
The Bank of England will issue its verdict in December on the models insurance companies use to quantify risk and determine capital requirements as the industry prepares for the new European Union rules known as Solvency II. “I consider it …
July 2, 2015
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 …
June 23, 2015
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,” …
June 22, 2015
Aon Benfield Analytics’ Market Analysis team has released its latest Lloyd’s Update report, which assesses the market’s 2014 financial performance and latest developments. Key findings in the report include: The Lloyd’s market began 2015 with 92 active syndicates and slightly …
June 16, 2015
Low interest rates together with highly liquid and stable financial markets have prompted European insurers to tap the capital markets in their efforts to lower the cost of capital and optimize levels of risk-adjusted capitalization, according to a new report …
June 10, 2015
Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said it will shrink its administrative branch network in Germany as low interest rates and regulatory demands hurt industry profitability. About 360 jobs, or about 1 percent of employees in Germany, will be affected, mainly …
May 20, 2015
Solvency II – all 2000 plus pages of it – has been completed and is slated to go into force as of the first of January 2016. As befits a major reorganization of a major EU industry, it took a …