Insurance

Total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters amounted to $ 175 billion in 2016, almost twice the $ 94 billion seen in 2015, the latest sigma study from the Swiss Re Institute says.

The losses in 2016 – both economic and insured – were the highest since 2012 and reversed the downtrend of the last four years. This was due to a high number of sizable disaster events, including earthquakes, storms, floods and wildfires in 2016, across all regions. Some events struck areas with high insurance penetration, which accounted for the 42% increase in insured losses. That also means that many people in those areas were better equipped to recover from the shock of a disaster, for example with prompt settlement of their insurance claims.

Zurich Insurance on Thursday posted a 74% jump in full-year net earnings as its core general insurance business rebounded under new chief
executive Mario Greco.
The Swiss insurer increased net profit for the year to $3.211 billion, just short of the average estimate of $3.315 billion in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts. Fourth quarter profit climbed to $685 million, after a $424 million loss in the same quarter the previous year.

Wholesale reinsurance provider Swiss Re today said it has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory approval to open a branch in India, the world’s second largest reinsurer said on Monday, part of the Swiss company’s growth aspirations in the world’s second most populous country.

The branch, which opens operations on February 1 in Mumbai, has been licensed to sell non-life, life and health reinsurance solutions directly to clients and brokers in India.

Zurich Insurance Group said Thursday it aims to boost profit and save about $1.5 billion over the next few years by cutting costs under its recently-installed chief executive Mario Greco.

The Zurich-based insurer also said it plans to maintain an annual dividend of 17 Swiss francs ($16.95).
The new plan replaces a previous goal to save at least $1 billion by the end of 2018. Zurich Insurance will also target a payout ratio of 75 percent of net income after tax, the firm said in a statement on Thursday.

Deutsche Bank sells the London-based insurance company Abbey Life to Phoenix Group for 935 million pounds (1.1 billion euros, $ 1.22 billion).

This was communicated by the German bank that took over Abbey Life in 2007, stressing that the operation will have a positive impact on capital of 1.1 billion euro. Although the transaction "will have a net positive capital impact," it’s expected to lead to a pre-tax loss of around €800 million "primarily resulting from impairment of goodwill and intangible assets."

Dagong Europe has published a commentary entitled Top 5 Europe Based Multiline Insurance Groups: Performance and Outlook. The new commentary analyses credit characteristics, the latest performance and trends of the top five composite insurance groups by premium volumes based in Europe, namely AXA, Allianz, Generali, Aviva and Zurich. The report looks at the peer group on aggregate basis to assess overall characteristics and trends and to lesser extent on individual basis, mainly to understand and explain the underlying drivers.