Dutch insurers ‘resilient’ to pandemic; SII ratios remain above 160%

Written by Adam Cadle

04/05/2021

Dutch insurers’ overall financial profiles were resilient to the coronavirus pandemic, Fitch Ratings has said.

Insurers’ Solvency II (SII) ratios remained above 160%, which corresponds to a Fitch credit factor score of ‘aa-’ or higher for regulatory solvency. Some insurers’ SII ratios declined, mainly due to net capital outflows and the inclusion of banking subsidiaries in solvency capital requirements. Fitch said it expects the sector’s capitalisation to remain broadly stable in 2021.

Fitch added: “The high quality of Dutch insurers’ fixed-income portfolios reduces the likelihood of material losses from credit migrations or increases in bond default rates potentially caused by the pandemic.

“We expect cautious repositioning to higher-yielding assets to continue, but this is unlikely to materially affect our view of insurers’ investment and asset risk metrics.”

Related Articles