Major European insurance groups perform well in 2016

The net result of the two leaders of the insurance sector, Allianz and Axa, worth 6.9 billion EUR (7.2 billion USD) for the former and 5.83 billion EUR (6.1 billion USD) for the latter are the highest.

Insurers like Generali and Prudential have also exhibited record operating results while Zurich Insurance is recovering. In an environment that is unfavorable to growth, the turnover has hardly risen or sometimes even decreased. Insurers are focusing more on the margins than on premium volumes, especially in life insurance, the class of business where an improvement of profitability of the new business has been noted.

In non-life insurance, combined ratios are good while solvency ratios remained quite high for Axa (197%) or CNP Assurances (177%). These same solvency ratios have increased for Allianz (218%) and Aviva (189%). In this context, share repurchase programs have been announced by the majority of insurers.