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interest rates
Bank rate cut to increase pressure on UK re/insurers: Moody’s
13th March 2020
Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service view the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to cut its base rate to 0.25% as a credit negative for UK insurers. The cut, which is designed to offset the economic shock of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, is expected to increase pressure on the UK insurance sector’s ... Read the full article
Global life sector stable despite low interest rates: Moody’s
12th December 2019
Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a stable outlook to the global life insurance sector in 2020, despite concerns about the adverse impact of low interest rates on profitability and solvency. Analysts believe the industry is supported by solid regulatory capital and relatively conservative investment portfolios, and has made efforts to adapt ... Read the full article
Moody’s outlook negative for European insurance in 2020
19th November 2019
Moody’s outlook for the European insurance sector in 2020 is negative, reflecting growing profitability and solvency pressures due to low interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainty, and rising environment, social and governance (ESG) risk. Analysts believe that low interest rates have weakened insurers’ Solvency II ratios in 2019, with many experiencing declines of ... Read the full article
Low interest rates hit French life sector solvency: Moody’s
16th October 2019
French life re/insurers’ Solvency II ratios declined during the first nine month of 2019 as falling interest rates signalled pressure on future profits, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Interest rates have fallen significantly in 2019, causing some large French life insurers’ Solvency II ratios declined between 15 and 23 percentage points ... Read the full article
Interest rates cause slowdown in re/insurance deal volume at Q2: PwC
20th August 2019
Re/insurance deal volume slowed down during the second quarter of 2019 as interest rates reversed course and declined toward multi-year lows, according to analysts at PwC. A recent report from the firm found that deal volume among re/insurance companies decreased by 22% compared with the first quarter of 2019 and was ... Read the full article
Re/insurers to benefit from specialty & investment tailwinds: Peel Hunt
18th March 2019
Rising specialty insurance rates and higher investment income due to an increase in U.S interest rates are expected to provide a welcome tailwind to the re/insurance industry in 2019, according to analysts at Peel Hunt. The firm also anticipates a stable reinsurance market ahead of the Japan and U.S renewals in ... Read the full article
China’s interest rate reforms to support life re/insurers: Swiss Re
22nd January 2019
Reforms to China’s interest rate regime are expected to help kick-start the savings-based life insurance products segment in the country and support the development of re/insurers’ asset management capabilities, according to a report from Swiss Re Institute. Analysts predict that China’s current two-track interest rate system will become uniform by the ... Read the full article
Higher reinvestment yields net positive for European re/insurers: J.P. Morgan
10th October 2018
J.P. Morgan has updated its forecasts for European re/insurers to reflect higher reinvestment yields, which it considers to be a net positive despite offsetting factors such as higher inflation, higher claims and higher combined ratios linked to rising interest rates. The firm’s forecasts leave earnings largely unchanged for now, as it ... Read the full article
Interest rate increases to support investment income long-term: Swiss Re Institute
8th October 2018
While insurers need to improve their underwriting results if they are to redress current profitability shortfalls and anticipated near-term shareholder equity decline, rising interest rates are expected to paint a brighter future and support investment income long-term, according to a report by the Swiss Re institute. Swiss Re expects U.S rates ... Read the full article
Re/insurers to benefit from rising interest rates, says Moody’s
1st October 2018
Rising global interest rates are expected to be credit positive for the profitability of global re/insurance companies, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s is anticipating solid economic growth for the G-20 countries in 2018 and 2019, driven largely by the U.S, but growth will likely peak at the end of this ... Read the full article
Economic momentum will not offset low insurance profitability: Swiss Re
9th September 2018
Current economic momentum is not enough to compensate for the phase of low profitability currently being experienced across most global non-life insurance markets, according to the latest sigma report from Swiss Re. The report found that insurers in major western markets and Japan need to improve underwriting margins by around 5 ... Read the full article
Outlook for German life re/insurance remains negative, P&C stable: Moody’s
10th August 2018
The outlook for the German life re/insurance industry remains negative due to a combination of low interest rates and high guaranteed returns attached to past policies, while modest price increases have helped the property and casualty (P&C) sector stay stable, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s recognised the relatively strong economic ... Read the full article
Japan’s life insurers offer answers to global peers in era of low interest rates: Moody’s
25th July 2018
In an era of perennially low interest rates life insurers should look to Japan, where the industry has remained largely profitable despite facing consistently low rates for over two decades, Moody’s says. The report states that Japanese life insurers have adjusted to perpetually low rates by developing highly-effective liability management strategies. Major ... Read the full article
P&C pricing growth slows, say analysts
16th July 2018
Reinsurance pricing trends for property and casualty (P&C) lines appear to have slowed over 2Q18, with mid-year renewals modestly weaker than at January 1 and rates ranging from flat-to-down to modest increases for most lines, according to analysts. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) noted that pricing trends were mixed overall, with ... Read the full article
PRA proposes Solvency II risk margin reforms to UK Treasury
8th June 2018
Sam Woods, Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), has proposed changes to the design of risk margin in Solvency II rules, which he has suggested are currently too sensitive to the level of interest rates. In a letter to Nicky ... Read the full article
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