International insurance group Ageas saw a 17% year-on-year rise in net inflows to EUR 12.1 billion, with a 6% improvement in the net operating result to EUR 776 million in the first half of 2025, supported by commercial performance in both life and non-life, despite elevated weather-related claims.
Non-life inflows were up 26% in H1’26, hitting EUR 4.48 billion compared to EUR 3.616 billion in H1’25. Life inflows rose 12%, with solid growth across all segments, reaching EUR 7.596 billion from EUR 6.834 billion in H1’25.
Inflows from Belgium increased to EUR 3.51 billion from EUR 2.89 billion in H1’25, Europe grew to EUR 2.895 billion from EUR 2.06 billion, and Asia hit EUR 5.315 billion compared with EUR 5.224 billion in H1’25.
In a strong first half, the firm’s reinsurance third-party business continued to deliver strong growth in inflows of EUR 355 million compared to EUR 277 million in H1’25, supported by robust new business growth and a more balanced and diversified portfolio across business lines.
For H1’26, Ageas reported a net result of EUR 846 million, compared to EUR 677 million in H1’25, driven by excellent results across all lines despite adverse weather.
The reinsurance net result came down to EUR 52 million in H1’26 from EUR 87 million a year earlier, while non-life was EUR 240 million compared with EUR 263 million last year.. The net operating result in life increased significantly above last year’s level to EUR 629 million. The increase was driven by all segments, reflecting solid underwriting performance across the business and additionally supported by a higher investment result.
The non-life performance was impacted by weather-related claims in Belgium and Portugal, adding around 5 percentage points to the combined ratio of 95.2% for H1’26 compared to 92.1% in H1’25.
Assuming a full-year weather impact of around 3 percentage points on the Group Combined Ratio, and taking into account the effects of the sale of Ageas’s stake in Etiqa, including a net capital gain on disposal of around EUR 450 million and a reduced contribution of around EUR 30 million in 2026, the FY 2026 Net Operating Result is expected to exceed EUR 1.95 billion, says the firm.
Additionally, in H1’26, Ageas acquired the remaining 25% stake in AG Insurance from BNP Paribas Fortis, securing full ownership of its Belgian insurance subsidiary, strengthening its position in its core Belgian market.
Simultaneously, AG and BNP Paribas Fortis reconfirmed their leading bancassurance collaboration in Belgium for 15 years.
In May, Ageas acquired a 10% stake in Taiping Pension, expanding its long-standing partnership with China Taiping, and strengthening its presence in Asia’s largest Life & Pensions market.
Earlier this month, the insurer reached an agreement with Malayan Banking Berhad to sell its 30.95% stake in Etiqa for a total cash consideration equivalent to EUR 1.1 billion, with an estimated net capital gain after tax of about EUR 450 million.
Hans De Cuyper, Chief Executive Officer, Ageas, commented, “Ageas delivered a strong commercial performance in the first half of 2026, with growth in inflows supported by excellent Life sales across all regions and solid growth in Non-Life. This topline momentum translated into higher profitability with a 6% Net Operating Result increase, driven by excellent Life results and resilient Non-Life operations despite significant adverse weather in Belgium and Portugal. This performance reinforces our confidence that the full-year Net Operating Result will exceed EUR 1.95 billion.”
“Our strong operational delivery is also generating substantial cash. We now expect more than EUR 1.4 billion of cash upstream from our insurance entities in 2026, 49% above last year and ahead of our previous guidance, supporting the payment of a EUR 1.50 gross interim dividend per share in December.”
He continued, “At the same time, we continued to actively shape our portfolio. We completed the step-up to full ownership of AG Insurance, agreed the sale of our Malaysian stake to Maybank for EUR 1.1 billion, and expanded our presence in the Chinese pension market through our investment in Taiping Pension. These developments result in a successful transformation of our Group profile as part of Elevate27 and position us well to capture future opportunities and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”
