Fitch downgrades the non-life insurance outlook for 2016

Fitch Ratings has just reduced the outlook of the French non life insurance from «stable» to «negative» for the year 2016. Yet, the individual ratings of insurers remain unchanged.

The rating agency has justified its decision by the pressure experienced by the market due to growing competition stimulated by the increasing number of insurance comparators on the Internet.

In terms of figures, Fitch is expecting, for the year 2016, a deterioration in the combined ratio of 1% that is from 102% to 103% and a decline in premiums' growth from 2.6% to 1.6%.