US insurance companies' private equity investments grew in 2021 by 25.8% to $117.4bn, from $93.3bn in 2020 - the biggest year-over-year increase in recent years, according to AM Best

Munich Re has successfully placed its first green subordinated bond on the US market with a volume of US$1.25bn

Climate risks over time could lead to an average drag on annual profits for UK insurers and banks of around 10-15%, particularly if these risks are not managed effectively, PRA chief Sam Woods has warned, following the BoE’s 2021 Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenerio (CBES) published this morning

Waystone has been chosen as platform operator for the Lloyd’s of London investment platform

After the labelling of gas and nuclear as ‘green’ under the EU taxonomy, UKSIF has voiced its concerns that the UK may follow the same path

The UK’s latest supervisory climate stress test for insurers and banks is the world’s toughest yet, Fitch Ratings has said, with some institutions’ capital ratios under the 30-year scenarios likely to fall close to, or even below, regulatory minimums

The significant US equity market declines thus far in 2022 will have a “material impact on the BACV of US insurer common stock holdings”, particularly for P&C insurance companies who own 76% of the industry’s common stock holdings, the NAIC has said

Zurich has agreed to sell its business in Russia to 11 members of the unit’s team

Nippon Life has invested ¥2.6bn in transition bonds issued by Kyushu Electric Power

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has issued a recommendation to a Slovakian insurance company under the supervision of Národná banka Slovenska (NBS) over non-compliance with Solvency II rules

COVID-19 had a limited impact on US life/annuity insurance companies’ operating performance, according to AM Best, and those insurers with an assessment of very strong have not reported an operating loss in two decades

Generali’s net earnings decreased by 9.3% to  €727m in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021 due to the impact of €96m related to Russian fixed income instruments directly held by the group and €40m for the stake in Ingosstrakh

Aviva Investors has appointed Sam Tripuraneni as head of sustainable outcomes

M&G Investments has appointed Rana Modarres as impact director within the firm’s Catalyst team

SCOR has announced its first underwriting exclusions on oil

Aviva has recorded total general insurance sales of £2.1bn, up 5% on Q1 2022 and its best first quarter general insurance sales in a decade

Nippon Life has announced its director and managing executive officer Akiko Osawa has been appointed as a member of the Steering Group representing the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance

Just 35% of insurers have adopted advanced climate data analysis tools such as machine-learning-based pricing and risk models, and only 8% are on course to achieve climate resiliency, a new report has revealed

The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) has approved the adoption of the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts for use by UK companies

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has issued a public statement on the Transparency on implementation of IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts

The Government has halted plans to force corporates to disclose environmental impacts, removing the proposals from the Queen’s Speech

Key players within the US insurance sector are actively trying to weaken or delay emerging climate-related insurance regulation at both a federal and state level, new analysis from climate think tank InfluenceMap has shown

Ping An has helped to develop China’s first ESG disclosure standard, the “Guidance for Enterprise ESG Disclosure”, published by the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society (CERDS)

Zurich expects to exceed all its 2022 financial targets, as it has reported a double-digit first-quarter rise in premiums and said its losses from the Ukraine conflict were likely to be immaterial

PIC has completed a £130m debt investment with Raven Housing Trust, which will be used to finance the development of 630 homes by 2026

Seventy-two per cent of institutional investors expect the regulatory environment for crypto/digital to improve and become more constructive over the next two years, according to Nickel Digital Asset Management

Helvetia has reported a SST ratio of 260% for 2021, up from 193% the prior year

Gothaer is to invest an additional €200m in impact investments every year, it has announced in its latest sustainability strategy

The Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) “could augment the analysis of insurers’ capital by serving as a comparator benchmark across geographies”, Fitch Ratings has said

Dutch institutional investors, including insurers, have increasingly turned their attention to riskier high-yield (HY) bonds over their investment grade counterparts over the past two years, with most of the former abroad, according to De Nederlandsche Bank

French life insurance net inflows reached a level not seen in more than 10 years in Q1 2022, according to France Assureurs

US insurance companies reported $8trn in total cash and invested assets at year-end 2021, an increase of 7% compared to year-end 2020

US insurers’ EM investments totalled $42.1bn in bonds and stocks at year-end 2021, representing an approximate 2.5% decrease from $43.2bn at year-end 2020 and a decreasing trend in total exposure since 2018

The solvency ratio of the Italian insurance sector reached 260% at the end of 2021, compared to 243% in December 2020, and total premium income rose by 4%, Banca d’Italia’s Financial Stability Report has said

Mediterráneo Vida (MedVida) has signed terms to acquire CNP Partners, the Spanish subsidiary of the French group CNP Assurances

abrdn has appointed Raf Choudhury as investment director on the Asia Pacific Multi-Asset Investment Solutions (MAIS) team, further strengthening its offering for wholesale and institutional investors, financial advice groups and investment platforms in Australia and Asia

Varma has reported a negative return of -1.9% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022

Greek insurer Ethniki Insurance has appointed Achilles Sofroniou as its chief investment officer

European green, social and sustainability (GSS) bond issuance will reach between €1.4trn and €1.6trn by 2026, accounting for close to 50% of the total European bond issuance

Sanlam and Allianz have agreed to combine their current and future operations across Africa to create the largest Pan-African non-banking financial services entity on the continent

Macif has reported a turnover of €5.9bn for 2021, up 6.8% on the prior year

More than half of asset managers in Europe intend to prioritise growing the number of strategic partnerships they have with insurers over the next three to five years, Cerulli’s latest issue of The Cerulli Edge - Global Edition has shown

The UK government’s proposals to ease capital requirements under post-Brexit reforms of Solvency II are still unlikely to prompt life insurers to increase their risk appetites enough to affect their ratings, Fitch Ratings has said

The Insurance Asset Management Awards 2022 are now open to entries from firms across the insurance asset management space serving clients in the UK

The European insurance sector remains resilient, but macro-related risks are currently the main concern for the industry, remaining at a high level in current assessment reflecting the Russian invasion to Ukraine, EIOPA’s latest Risk dashboard has revealed

Nationwide Pension Fund, the closed defined benefit scheme for Nationwide Building Society, has completed a £172m buy-in with Canada Life

Rothesay has seen its total investment return fall from £4.6bn in 2020 to £48m in 2021

Markus Aho will take on the role of Varma’s chief investment officer on 1 June, and at the same time will become a member of Varma’s executive group

Allianz has committed to stop insuring and investing in new oil and gas fields, new oil power plants, new midstream oil infrastructure, and practices relating to the Arctic as of January 2023

The UK’s insurance industry will be able to invest tens of billions of pounds more in long-term UK infrastructure and green projects under proposals published today

MEAG has launched a new European core office property fund, with Munich Re and MAPFRE partnering as seed investors

MAPFRE has joined the Net-Zero Emissions Insurance Alliance (NZIA) with the aim of achieving greenhouse gas emission neutrality by 2050

Finnish pension insurance company Elo has announced that its investments returned -1.9% in the first three months of 2022, 5 percentage points below the 3.9% return recorded at the end of December 2021

NN Group has completed the acquisition of MetLife’s businesses in Poland, following the approval obtained by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego, KNF) on 14 April 2022

Finnish pensions insurer, Veritas, has detailed its sustainability work for 2021, which includes the development of its climate roadmap

The gap between the volume of responsible investment assets held in equity and other areas such as fixed income, real estate, and private markets will continue to narrow, according to Cerulli Associates

HM Treasury has launched a new UK Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT), with Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glenn, co-chairing alongside Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc, to develop the "gold standard" for UK businesses’ climate transition plans

The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) is strongly opposing a proposal by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings to disallow senior debt as a form of available capital, calling the draft plan “disruptive” and an “overuse of market power”

The results of the Bank of England’s (BoE) Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario (CBES) exercise will be published on 24 May, insurers have learned

The UK’s life insurance segment outlook has been revised to stable from negative

Eighty-eight per cent of institutional investor portfolios generate positive alpha from research – the process of investigating stock opportunities and adding winning positions, according to Inalytics

PIC has directly invested a further £50m of debt in the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), to fund sustainable projects

China is the new second-biggest climate investment market after Europe, according to a Morningstar report

AM Best is maintaining a negative outlook for the Italian life insurance market

Varma has invested €300m in low-emission Japanese companies through its ETF

German insurer, Barmenia, has chosen Schroders Capital to manage a €100m multi-private assets impact portfolio

US insurers’ year-end 2021 exposure to Russia (bonds and stocks) totalled $787m in book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) compared to $855m at year-end 2020, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

Fidelis has appointed Olivia Brindle as its new head of sustainability

The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), which includes the EBA, EIOPA and ESMA, have published a report detailing its joint work in 2021

A new report and web page detailing US insurance companies’ investments in fossil fuels has been issued by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, as part of his effort to protect consumers from the impacts of climate change

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) recorded a total green bond volume of €436m at the end of 2021, representing an increase of more than 83% compared to the previous year, its latest financial results have shown

The United Nations-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) has published its white paper Insuring the net-zero transition: Evolving thinking and practices, exploring how the insurance industry can support the transition to a net-zero emissions economy through its risk management and insurance activities

Financial institutions and supervisors should prepare for a possible deterioration of asset quality in the financial sector, and the impact of further increases in yields and sudden reversals in risk premia should be closely monitored on the back of geopolitical and environmental risk, the three European supervisory authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) have warned

UK inflation hits highest rate since 1992

CNP Assurances has recorded a group SCR coverage ratio of 217% in 2021 (+9pts versus 2020), with the rise mainly due to higher interest rates and bullish equity markets

The Solvency II review does not allow sufficient space for the PRA to make policy judgements independently and publicly, the IMF has argued

EIOPA is calling for changes to the insurance stress test disclosure regime, and considers that a change in the legal framework allowing it to disclose the results of individual undertakings is the only way to obtain the disclosure of individual information

Moldovan insurance companies accumulated gross written premiums amounting to 1,926.3m lei in 2021, an increase of 32.6% compared to 2020

Insurance Europe is “highly supportive” of the EC Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), but has stressed three key points, which would “facilitate the CSRD in working as intented”

A bipartisan group of US state insurance regulators led by Insurance Commissioners Ricardo Lara of California and David Altmaier of Florida have adopted a new standard for insurance companies to report their climate-related risks, in alignment with the international Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Allianz is the seventh insurer to reject the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), following recent statements from Munich Re, Hannover Re and SCOR

Goldman Sachs has acquired NN Investment Partners for €1.7bn

Schroders has completed the acquisition of a 75% shareholding in investment management firm, Greencoat Capital

Publicly traded US life/annuity insurance companies saw a strong recovery in 2021, with net income more than tripling to $32.5bn from 2020, driven largely by a 13% boost in revenue, AM Best has said

A premium of growth of 2.5% is expected in the German insurance industry this year, the German Insurance Association, GDV, has said

The Hartford has announced a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) for its full range of businesses and operations by 2050, in alignment with the Paris Climate Accord

Swiss life insurance premiums declined by 7% in 2021 to CHF 23bn following a larger fall of 23% in 2020, as persistent low interest rates continue to hit, Fitch Ratings has said

Germany’s general insurance industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% from $165.4bn in 2021 to $229.6bn in 2026 in terms of direct written premium (DWP), GlobalData has said

Varma’s CIO Reima Rytsölä has decided to leave his position at the insurance company in order to join Finnish state-owned investment company Solidium as CEO

Seventy-seven per cent of quant fund managers believe that to achieve above-average returns in the future accessing high quality data and having the technological capabilities to process it efficiently is becoming increasingly important, new research from SigTech has revealed

AM Best is maintaining its negative market segment outlook on the UK's non-life insurance segment

Munich Re has rejected the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), joining Hannover Re, SCOR, Swiss Re, Axa, and Zurich in publicly committing that they will not underwrite the pipeline

Dutch insurance company a.s.r. has acquired Nieuwe Hemweg wind farm in the Amsterdam port area from Vattenfall

French life insurance net inflows amounted to €5.9bn over the first two months of 2022, the first time this figure has been reached since 2016 in the same period, France Assureurs has revealed

The Ultimate Forward Rate (UFR) for the euro will remain unchanged at 3.45% as of 1 January 2023, EIOPA has said

US life insurers’ statutory capital, or total adjusted capital (TAC) grew 9.2% in 2021 to $478bn from $437bn as of YE 2020, Fitch Ratings has said

The ESG data needed to comply with the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is limited, according to Cerulli Associates

Member of the board of management of Allianz SE Günther Thallinger has joined the UN’s new High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities (HLEG)

Increased allocations to green or impact bonds are most expected among insurers in the EMEA region over the next 12 months, latest research has shown, while insurers in the Americas and Asia are expected to choose private equity as their favoured asset class

Investors and asset managers have the “opportunity of a lifetime” as they look to transition their portfolios towards net-zero, a senior adviser at the Bank of England (BoE) has stated

European and Asian insurers would do well to now consider an allocation to US taxable municipal bonds, new research published by DWS has argued

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has successfully invested €500m in green and social projects

EIOPA has submitted to the European Commission the draft amendments of regulations (Implementing Technical Standards - ITS) laying down supervisory reporting and disclosure requirements under Solvency II

More action by companies to tackle climate change is urgently needed, according to Climate Action 100+

CNP Assurances is suspending from 2022 any new investment in four companies that have an insufficient or non-existent thermal coal phase-out plan

The carbon footprint of Varma’s equity investments declined by 30% from 2016 to 2021, and listed corporate bond investments saw a carbon footprint decline of 23%, the insurer’s latest annual and sustainability report has revealed

AIA achieved a 31.4% decrease in the carbon footprint of its directly-managed, listed-equity portfolio in 2021, with performance recorded from 2018

Hong Kong’s life insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% from HKD543.5bn ($70.0bn) in 2021 to HKD748.6bn ($96.bn) in 2026, in terms of direct written premiums (DWP), according to GlobalData

Russia’s general insurance industry is expected to decline by 14% in 2022 due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, according to GlobalData

Insurance Europe has welcomed the EC’s European Single Access Point (ESAP) proposal, which it says will allow European insurers to “access robust, comparable and reliable financial and ESG data in an electronic machine-readable format”

AXA has stopped all new investments in Russian assets and stopped underwriting new insurance business with respect to Russian owned assets located in Russia

Sumitomo Life has invested AUD 200m (JPY 17bn equivalent) in a Climate Awareness Bond issued by the European Investment Bank

Lloyd’s of London has partnered with Schroders Solutions for a new market investment platform

MetLife has announced a set of 2030 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments to address the needs of the underserved and underrepresented through a mix of investments, products and services, supply chain, volunteering, and community efforts

Swiss insurance company, Helvetia, is aiming to obtain an MSCI rating of at least ‘A’ by 2025 concerning sustainability

Scottish Widows is adding an extra £1.5bn worth of exclusions to its investment policy, bringing its total divestment from firms posing ESG risk to almost £3bn

Hannover Re is the 5th and latest insurer to reject the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), joining Swiss Re, Axa, Zurich and SCOR in publicly committing they will not underwrite the pipeline

Seventy-eight per cent of institutional investors plan to reduce their exposure to traditional fixed income assets over the next 18 months, new research published by Aeon Investments has revealed

The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) have updated their joint supervisory statement on the application of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), including a new timeline, expectations about the explicit quantification of the product disclosures under Article 5 and 6 of the taxonomy regulation, and the use of estimates

US insurers held $1.46bn in Russian bonds or stocks as of year-end 2021, with 85.8% of that total invested in Russian sovereign debt, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence

Robeco has promoted Joshua Crabb to head of Asia-Pacific equities, taking over responsibilities from Arnout van Rijn as of 1 July 2022

Danish insurance and pension exposure to Russian assets dropped from DKK 9.2bn to DKK 2bn between the start of 2022 and 1 March, according to Insurance and Pension Denmark (I&P Denmark)

Rules to enhance and standardise climate-related disclosures for US investors have been proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Coronavirus is “slowing down” housing construction financing by German life insurers, GDV general manager Jörg Asmussen has warned

European insurers have welcomed a review by the EC on the European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIF) regulation, but have warned the asset class remains unattractive for long-term institutional investors

Aegon has completed the divestment of its Hungarian businesses to Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), with the gross proceeds of the transaction amounting to €620m

Zurich has announced the successful placement of CHF 400m of senior unsecured notes

The US life/annuity industry saw a 61% increase in net income to $36.2bn in 2021, according to AM Best

The total investment portfolio managed by European insurers in 2020 grew by 1.6% to €10,627bn, after a 4.9% increase in 2019, according to latest figures published by Insurance Europe

The Dutch financial sector had a direct exposure to Russia of approximately €11.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2021, with insurers’ exposure valued at €350m, latest figures published by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) have revealed

EIOPA has today published three categories of recommendations to supervisors and insurers based on the learnings and experience of its 2021 Insurance Stress Test

Forty-three per cent of global insurance companies have now made a public commitment to net-zero by 2050, a larger percentage than any other institutional and wholesale investor, research published by Robeco has revealed

Total US P&C insurers’ net premiums written (NPW) increased by 9.3% in 2021 to $70.94bn, compared with the previous year, according to AM Best

Europe’s insurers’ move away from traditional assets represents an opportunity for asset managers with specialist private-market expertise and strength in actively managed fixed income, according to Cerulli

abrdn has invested £31m on behalf of its strategic partner Phoenix Group in the refinancing of CORE Portfolio Investments (CORE), a 36MW portfolio of ground mounted solar assets located in south and west England and Wales

Zurich's chief operating officer John Keppel will be appointed to the role of UK chief sustainability officer which is a new position on the Zurich UK executive team

Total UK pension scheme buy-in and buyout volumes reached £28.6bn in 2021, making it the third-busiest year on record, according to Mercer and Aon

Swiss Re has announced an enhanced oil and gas policy which excludes insurance for most new oil and gas projects; expresses an ambition that by 2025 half, and by 2030 all, of its oil and gas premiums will come from companies with credible net-zero plans; and commits to develop an oil and gas policy for its treaty business by 2023

The general insurance industry in Vietnam is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% from VND60.15trn ($2.6bn) in 2021 to VND90.24trn ($3.5bn) in 2026, in terms of gross written premiums, according to GlobalData

Achmea has drawn up a Green Finance Framework becoming the first Dutch insurer to do so

BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has appointed Nadia Grant as head of global equities

Generali recorded €6bn of new green and sustainable investments in 2021, achieved one year in advance (target: €4.5bn)

Rothesay has agreed a funding arrangement with Molo Finance, the UK’s first fully digital mortgage lending platform, for the latter to launch its first residential product ‘FlexLife Mortgage’

The “dual objective” of an OECD paper aimed at institutional investors on managing climate risks “creates confusion” and should focus singularly on responsible business conduct (RBC), according to Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM)

Talanx’s net income exceeded the €1bn mark for the first time in 2021, and its net investment income rose to €4.7bn (€4.2bn), according to its latest financial results

US life insurance and annuity writers achieved record levels of capitalisation, maintained strong liquidity and posted improved earnings in 2021 despite historically low interest rates, inflationary headwinds and continued pandemic uncertainty, according to AM Best

PIC’s operating profit rose to £533m in 2021, up from £349m in FY2020, with larger values invested in privately sourced debt

“Moderate to significant dispersion” still exists in some internal model outputs when looking at market and credit risk, EIOPA has said

MAPFRE is to refrain from investing in coal, gas and oil companies that are not committed to an energy transition plan that limits global warming to around 1.5⁰C

Spanish lifesavings and annuity insurance company, Mediterráneo Vida (MedVida), has entered exclusive negotiations with CNP Assurances for the acquisition of its Spanish subsidiary CNP Partners

European insurers’ solvency ratios are estimated to have fallen by around two percentage points on average since the end of 2021 till 8 March, Moody’s has stated, reflecting a combination of lower equity markets, rising credit spreads and higher interest rates

A month after the European Commission approved the inclusion of fossil gas and nuclear energy into the EU taxonomy, 92 NGOs and CSOs, including BankTrack, have called on financial institutions to reject it, calling the system “greenwashing”

AM Best has moved its Country Risk Tier for Russia to CRT-5 from CRT-4 to reflect the significantly heightened geopolitical, economic and financial system risk in the country

MAPFRE’s Solvency II ratio stands at 206.3% as at 31 December 2021, compared to 192.9% a year earlier, including transitional measures

A lack of in-house ESG expertise is prompting institutional asset owners to seek support from investment consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIO), latest research published by Cerulli has revealed

Vienna Insurance Group’s (VIG) premium volume rose to €11bn in 2021, up by 5.5% from 2020, and profit (before taxes) increased by 47.8% to €511m in the same period

CNP Assurances has acquired from CDC Habitat a portfolio of over 7,600 affordable housing units of high environmental quality worth €2.4bn

The ABI has joined the UN’s ‘Race to Zero’ campaign

The average comprehensive solvency ratio of 179 Chinese insurance companies reviewed as part of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission’s (CBIRC) 14th meeting of the Solvency Supervisory Committee at the end of Q4 2021, was 232.1%, and the average core solvency ratio was 219.7%

The general insurance industry in Hong Kong is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% from HKD57.2bn ($7.4bn) in 2021 to HKD78.6bn ($10.1bn) in 2026, in terms of gross written premiums, according to GlobalData

Aegon will not make future investments in Russia or Belarus-based companies and has updated its Responsible Investment Policy accordingly

Insurance Europe’s board has voted to terminate the All-Russian Insurance Federation’s membership of Insurance Europe

The impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on US insurers’ direct investments to the two countries appears to be limited as they have less than $2bn in bonds exposed, according to AM Best, but insurers’ indirect exposures may be “more substantial”

Eighty-six per cent of institutional investors believe there will be more new structured credit issued in 2022 than there was in 2021, new research from Aeon Investments has revealed

Generali is resigning from positions held on the board of the Russian insurer Ingosstrakh, in which it holds a minority investment stake of 38.5%, it has announced

Global insurers and reinsurers generally have little direct business or investment exposure to Ukraine and Russia, but will face the secondary impacts of greater financial market volatility and higher energy prices, Moody’s has said

A coalition of NGOs and groups around the world are calling on financial institutions most exposed to Russian oil, gas, and coal to cease all ties, in solidarity with Ukraine over Russia’s invasion

Italian life and non-life premiums written for the first nine months of 2021 amounted to €110.2bn, a 10% increase compared to the same period in 2020

The US insurance industry held $111bn in oil and gas investments at year-end 2020, about 1.5% of the total cash and invested assets, according to data published by the NAIC

Hiscox has reported an investment return of $51.2m in 2021, a drop of 74% from 2020’s $197.5m, which the insurer said is due to the depressed yield on its short-dated bond portfolio, and the rising rate environment

The smaller deal size segment of the European life insurance consolidation market is growing significantly, Fitch Ratings has said, with at least eight small portfolio transfers and acquisitions announced in 2021, the highest number of the past six years

Aviva’s net investment income has risen from £14,971m in 2020 to £17,138m for the year ended 31 December 2021

AIG has announced a commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its global underwriting and investment portfolios by 2050, or sooner

Storebrand is freezing all Russian investments and sell out of Russia, due to the escalating situation in Ukraine

The value-adjusted return in the collective portfolio of Norwegian life insurers was 7.1% in 2021, up from 4.3% in 2020, as a result of stock market gains

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made a stark warning that even temporarily exceeding the 1.5C limit of the Paris Agreement will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be "irreversible"

UNIQA has reported a 28.2% rise in its investment income to €648m in 2021 (2020: €505.4m)

Finnish pensions insurer, Veritas, has reported a return of 12.6% for 2021, equivalent to €0.5bn

Total assets of China’s insurance companies amounted to RMB 24.9trn at the end of Q4 2021, an increase of RMB 2.6trn and up by 11.5% from the beginning of the year, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has said

French supervisory authority, ACPR, has published its first report on the governance of climate change risk in the insurance sector

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine likely will impact the global insurance industry “substantially in the near to midterm”, particularly given the “significant fallout in the capital markets and potential for widespread cyber attacks”, AM Best has warned

The general insurance industry in Taiwan is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from TWD200.1bn ($6.8bn) in 2020 to TWD277.0bn ($10.4bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP), according to GlobalData

Insurance and Pension Denmark (I&PD) has raised concerns about the speed of the green transition and has called on the government to draw up a comprehensive investment plan for the country’s transition

Twenty-seven per cent of institutional investors in Europe and the US believe that by October next year, under 10% of global fixed income will still be in negative-yielding territory with a further 21% believing that between 10% and 15% will have negative yields, according to research published by Aeon Investments

Schroders has announced that its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals have been formally validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

The UK Government plans to implement a material capital release by as much as 15% of the capital currently held by life insurers in order to allow more investment in long-term assets such as infrastructure, Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen has said

The US Department of the Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has joined the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)

European insurers have raised concerns about a number of aspects of EIOPA's climate change ORSA guidance

Swedish insurer Folksam Group has completed an investment of around SEK 3.8bn in a green bond from the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) aimed at financing sustainable development around the world

Finnish insurer Varma has reported a return on investments of 18.5% or €9.3bn in 2021, the highest annual return ever in its history

Finnish pension insurance company Elo has revealed that it made a return of 14% in 2021 on its investments

French life insurance premiums amounted to €151.1bn in 2021, a record level, and net inflows rose to +€23.7bn, a level not seen since 2021, according to latest figures published by France Assureurs

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has appointed Emmanuel Archampong as head of insurance, EMEA

Insurance Asset Management is delighted to invite readers to register for free for the 2022 Sustainable Investment Summit, a one-day conference that focuses on how return targets can be met through sustainable investing

CNP Assurances has strengthened its framework for investment in fossil fuels by making four commitments

Credit rating upgrades in the US P&C insurance segment bounced back to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, increasing to 7.7% of all rating actions compared with 5.3% in 2020, according to AM Best

Hungary’s insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% from HUF1,204.86bn ($3.91bn) in 2020 to HUF1,635.5bn ($5.67bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP), according to GlobalData

Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees has agreed a second longevity swap deal, which will cover a further £5.5bn of liabilities in the Lloyds Bank Pension Scheme No. 1

The total assets of Chinese insurance companies at the end of Q4 2021 amounted to 24.9trn yuan, an increase of 2.6trn yuan from the beginning of the year or 11.5%, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has said

M&A activity in the global insurance sector for 2021 was 418 deals, close to the heights of 2019 (419), and up from 407 in 2020, Clyde & Co has reported

German insurer group, Gothaer, has joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, and in doing so has committed to making its investment portfolio climate-neutral by 2050

Increased volatility and a material reduction in the funds held by insurers to withstand shocks are a likely outcome of any reforms to Solvency II that resemble those explored in the PRA’s Quantitative Impact Study (QIS), Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has argued in its latest report commissioned by the ABI

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has emphasised that Solvency II reforms could be used to enable more support from insurers for “productive finance and infrastructure investment”

“Simple solutions” could be adopted for the Solvency II risk margin to better align it with the specific features of the UK insurance market, PwC has argued

A bond meeting EU Green Bond Standard (EUGBS) requirements and is designated as an EU green bond should be able to keep its green bond status regardless of subsequent changes to the screening criteria of the EU taxonomy, Insurance Europe has argued

Zurich has reported its highest business operating profit and net income attributable to shareholders since 2007

The Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE) has become a supporting institution of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Principles for Sustainable Insurance (UNEP PSI)

For insurers to make appropriate investment decisions and comply with sustainability regulation it is vital that consistent, comparable and machine-readable sustainability data is available, and that it can be accessed and used efficiently, Insurance Europe has argued as part of its key messages on the EC’s proposals for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

Helvetia has become the second insurer in two weeks to ditch the Adani Carmichael mine

Storebrand has reported a group profit of NOK 1,367m in Q4 2021 and NOK 4,503m in 2021 overall

EIOPA has published its Supervisory Convergence Plan for 2022

LV= has confirmed that its discussions with Royal London over a potential merger have ceased

The general insurance industry in Australia is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from AUD73.29bn ($54.6bn) in 2021 to AUD99.87bn ($73.6bn) in 2026, in terms of direct written premiums, GlobalData has revealed

The three European Supervisory Authorities (ESA), EBA, EIOPA and ESMA, have called for “rapid action” to ensure that the EU financial services regulatory and supervisory framework remains fit-for-purpose in a digital age

Travelers has adopted a policy committing to not underwrite new coal-fired power plants

Rothesay has signed a 10-year carbon dioxide removal agreement with Climeworks

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company has invested AUD 180m in to the “Sustainable Development Bond” issued by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Fifteen of the world’s biggest insurers’ invested over US$7.9bn in oil and gas companies since 2019 which have current and/or planned operations in the North Sea, research conducted by Profundo has found

LV= has had “initial, exploratory discussions” with Royal London on a possible deal between the two firms

The Dutch Pension Federation has called for an ‘orange’ category for technologies that play a temporary role in the transition to a net-zero economy

Eighty per cent of asset managers expect increased demand for private equity mandates in 2022, and 75% expect demand for other private investment mandates, new research published by Cerulli has revealed

Talanx Group has announced that in 2021, its net income exceeded the €1bn threshold for the very first time, supported by increased earnings across its primary business and reinsurance operation

Scottish Widows has become the first UK insurer to publish its roadmap to net-zero, planning to invest up to £25bn into companies leading on decarbonisation and climate solutions by 2025

The UK's Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) has completed a second buy-in deal with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), covering £400m of liabilities across nearly 2,000 pensioners

Growing demand for UK bulk purchase annuities (BPAs) remains one of the best long-term opportunities across the European insurance sector, Moody’s has said

Sumitomo Life has invested JPY 10bn (AUD 120m) in a sustainability bond for Dutch Social Housing issued by BNG Bank to support the Netherlands to improve social housing conditions

Investments made by French insurance companies amounted to €2,664bn as of 31 December 2020, the equivalent of 116% of French GDP, France Assureurs has revealed

Ninety-one per cent of institutional investors have increased their allocation to structured credit investments across different asset classes over the past 18 months, and are likely to continue to do so in the next 18 months particularly in commercial real estate, new research has shown

Inflation is now the second biggest risk for US insurers in 2022, surging from 52nd place last year, a new survey published by Actuarial Risk Management has found

The life insurance industry in Indonesia is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9% from IDR173.0trn ($11.8bn) in 2020 to IDR265.3trn ($17.4bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premiums, according to GlobalData

European insurers’ exposures to macro risks have remained at a high level, while all other risk categories, such as insurance as well as profitability and solvency risks have stayed at medium levels, EIOPA’s latest risk dashboard based on Solvency II data from the third quarter of 2021 has shown

Insurers are among a diversfied investor base that has helped to raise $896m for NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG), a fund which focuses on the international solar infrastructure principally targeting projects in carefully selected OECD countries

Baloise Group has successfully placed a CHF200m senior bond due in February 2027

MetLife's subsidiary, Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, has completed two longevity reinsurance transactions valued at around $2.4bn with Phoenix Group

EIOPA has launched a public consultation on retail investor protection in relation to the sale of insurance-based investment products (IBIPs)

A pending regulation package that would formalise ESG requirements for Brazilian insurers is unlikely to impact international ratings in the sector, Fitch Ratings has stated

M&G has announced that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in responsAbility Investments AG

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has completed a £130m investment in Wirral Waters One (WWO), the cornerstone residential scheme for the broader development of Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, a 500-acre brownfield site and former dockland

EIOPA has published its third paper in a series of papers on the methodological principles of insurance stress testing

The US property/casualty (P/C) industry’s financial results through the third quarter of 2021 showed a return to normalcy following 2020, with year-over-year growth in direct premiums written of 10%, according to an AM Best special report

The microprudential supervision of liquidity risk must be based on company-specific analysis and frameworks which cannot be standardised at a global level, Insurance Europe has argued

Robeco has appointed Thu Ha Chow to the newly created role of head of fixed income Asia

The UN-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance has released the second edition of its Target Setting Protocol detailing that overall absolute emissions reductions for its 69 asset owners should range between 49% to 65% or beyond for the period 2020 to 2030

PIC has completed a £128m secured debt investment into the University of Birmingham, enabling it to transform its Pritchatts Park Student Village site into a 1,230-room low-carbon residential facility

AIA has completed its RMB12,033m (US$1,860m) investment in China Post Life for a 24.99% equity stake

CNP Assurances has successfully completed its first Tier 3 subordinated issue of the year, placing €500m worth of seven-year notes due 27 January 2029 and paying interest at 1.25%

The South Korean insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% from KRW220.5trn ($186.8bn) in 2020 to KRW262.5trn ($229.5bn) in 2025, in terms of direct written premiums, GlobalData has forecasted

The number of privately rated securities reported by US insurance companies totalled 5,580 at year-end 2021, an increase from 4,231 in 2020 and 2,850 in 2019, according to the NAIC

ClimateWise members continue to make progress in disclosing their preparedness and response to climate change, recording an average score of 68% in 2021, from 65% in 2020

MetLife has completed a $3.5bn longevity reinsurance transaction involving an unnamed UK pension scheme, using Zurich as an intermediary

This year is set to be the largest on record for pension scheme de-risking deal volumes, with £65bn of bulk annuity and longevity swap transactions anticipated, according to research from WTW

Aegon will cease investing in companies that derive 5% or more of their total oil equivalent production from oil sands, down from a previous threshold of 30%, it has announced in its updated Responsible Investment Policy

Turkey's general insurance industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.83% from TRY68.15bn ($9.72bn) in 2020 to TRY104.03bn ($11.25bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP)

The PRA has launched its second and final request for technical input concerning the Insurance Stress Test (IST) 2022

The interest of US insurance companies in incorporating ESG factors into their investment strategies grew significantly in the past two years, according to a new survey by Conning

The life insurance industry in Taiwan is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.4% from TWD3.16trn ($107.0bn) in 2020 to TWD3.23trn ($121.2bn) in 2025, in terms of direct written premiums (DWP), according to GlobalData

Canopius Group has hired Trevor Moss as head of investor relations

Tokio Marine Holdings is joining the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), as the first Japanese member

Fifty per cent of the total number of US insurers that filed annual statements with the NAIC at year-end 2020 reported outsourcing investment management, which for the most part was consistent with that of year-end 2019

The Solvency II review should correct the excessive capital requirements and artificial volatility for long-term business by aligning the measurements with the real risks faced by insurers; improve proportionality and avoid increasing costs and operational burden; and maintain the existing, well-designed supervisory ladder of intervention, Insurance Europe has said

Forty-three per cent of institutional investors and wealth managers say they now have a much more positive view of cryptocurrencies, and 35% have said it has improved slightly

Europe’s insurers are calling for a change in IFRS 9 to allow recycling for equities measured at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVOCI) to help ensure that profit and loss correctly reflects financial performance for all long-term investors

Registration is now open for the 2022 Sustainable Investment Summit, a one-day conference that focuses on how return targets can be met through sustainable investing

PIC has invested £129m with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to fund the development of a 676-bed student residence in Southwark, London

The majority of global insurers expect to enter unfamiliar asset classes over the next 18 months, latest research has shown, and there has also been a 120% rise in the proportion of insurers integrating ESG factors since pre-pandemic

Generali’s second largest investor, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, has resigned from the board citing that he was “prevented from making his own critical contribution and from ensuring adequate control”

All eight bulk annuity insurers have set net-zero carbon emissions targets for their asset portfolios, yet only two are signed up to the UK Stewardship Code 2020, analysis from LCP has revealed

Swiss Re has exited its shareholding in Phoenix Group Holdings by selling its remaining 66,199,917 ordinary shares in the savings and retirement company for approximately £440m

The PRA has laid out its insurance supervision 2022 priorities while stating that “insurers’ risk management needs to keep pace with the demands of a complex interaction of external risks, and with the changes insurers are making to their businesses, in order that the sector continues to be both financially and operationally resilient”

The EU is being urged to exclude gas from the EU Taxonomy by a group of over 370 investors.

Storebrand has invested in fintech company Quantfolio becoming the largest stakeholder

Legal & General Capital (Legal & General) and Hodge have invested £5.5m into Sero Technologies (Sero), an energy technology and services company supporting the transition to net-zero across the residential housing sector

Sixty-six per cent of UK institutional commercial real estate investors and property professionals have seen a decrease in both the capital and rental value of their portfolios due to poor sustainability performance

Phoenix Group has completed four bulk purchase annuity (BPA) transactions during the second half of 2021 covering £4bn of premiums, comprising £3.6bn of external deals and a further £0.4bn tranche of the group’s Pearl Pension Scheme

Hedge funds advanced in December 2021 to conclude a strong year dominated by uncertainty and high volatility, as managers navigated the dual challenges of increasing interest rates and inflation, as well as the impacts of the second year of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The aggregated SCR ratio of the Romanian insurance market after the latest Balance Sheet Review (BSR) has been recorded at 99%, down from 179% reported at the reference date, and the aggregated MCR ratio was 259%, down from 436%

Nearly one-third (31%) of US asset managers and institutional asset owners (32%) have made a formal commitment to a net-zero goal by 2050, new research has shown

The head of China’s largest life insurer, China Life Insurance Company, is under investigation by the China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”

Allianz Life has completed a reinsurance agreement with affiliates of Sixth Street, including Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company, and Resolution Life, for a $35bn fixed index annuity portfolio

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has named Nimisha Srivastava as its head of investments for North America

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has calculated that appropriate reform of Solvency II could increase its planned investment of £30bn in productive finance by 2030, to £50bn

Zurich Insurance Group has successfully placed CHF275m of subordinated notes

Demand for European equity funds is expected to persist in the near term, according to Cerulli

Increased insurer capacity and appetite in 2022 could see the current transaction size record in the pension de-risking market broken by £10bn+ ‘mega’ transactions, analysis from LCP has suggested

French life insurance net inflows stood at €2.3bn in November 2021, exceeding the threshold of €2bn for the second month in a row, a sequence that had not been observes for more than two years (in June-July 2019)

KPMG UK has appointed Trevor Jones as the new head of its insurance practice

Finnish insurer, Varma, has appointed Markus Aho as head of private investments

Crédit Agricole Assurances has announced the appointment of Florence Barjou as head of the investment department and Matthieu Lance as deputy. Both will be responsible for the real assets and shareholdings of the Crédit Agricole insurance subsidiary

The revised quantitative and qualitative requirements under the China Risk-Oriented Solvency System Phase II (C-ROSS Phase II) are expected to have significant impacts on the various insurance market segments, and are "credit positive", AM Best has said

UnitedHealth Group has taken top spot in AM Best’s ranking of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies for the seventh straight year, posting net premiums written (NPW) of $201.5bn

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has issued the ‘Regulations on the Solvency of Insurance Companies (II)’, a series of new regulatory rules aimed at preventing and resolving risks in the Chinese insurance industry, as well as maintaining the safe and stable operation of the market

The Netherlands’ general insurance industry is to reach $98.38bn in 2025, according to latest figures, growing from $72.08bn in 2020

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has agreed to the share ownership of its Hungarian operations with a state investment fund after months of negotiations, in order to salvage an €830m ($941m) deal to buy regional assets from Aegon NV

Zurich’s subsidiary, Zurich Investments Life S.p.A, has agreed to sell its life and pension back book, composed of both traditional and unit-linked policies, to the Portuguese insurance company GamaLife – Companhia de Seguros de Vida, S.A (GamaLife)

The notional value of US insurance industry derivatives, held predominantly by life/annuity insurers, has risen by 45% over the past five years and topped $3.3trn in 2020, according to AM Best

Europe’s asset management industry still has a long way to go before the integration of biodiversity-related risks into investment decision-making is standard,” a new report has shown

As a turbulent 2021 draws to a close, we count down the 10 most visited news stories on Insurance Asset Management over the last 12 months...

Nine EU insurers reported a regulatory solvency threshold of below 100% under EIOPA’s fixed balance sheet (FBS) assumption in its 2021 Insurance Stress Test

Total assets under management in Europe continued rising in 2021 and reached an estimated €31.3trn at the end of September, according to EFAMA’s latest Asset Management in Europe report

Finnish pension insurance company, Elo, has simplified its management structure following supervision by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA)

Mexico’s general insurance industry, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP), will grow from $15.4bn in 2020 to $20bn in 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2%

Aegon has reinsured an additional part of its longevity exposure in the Netherlands with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA)

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has proposed updates to the capital and reporting frameworks for insurance in response to the introduction of Australian Accounting Standards Board 17 Insurance Contracts (AASB 17)

FWD Group Holdings (FWD) has entered into subscription agreements with a number of investors to participate in private placements raising US$1.425bn in aggregate

Environmental risks are the top risk in terms of the highest expected increase in materiality for the insurance and pension sectors given that extreme weather events grow in intensity and frequency, EIOPA has said

Norwegian life and non-life insurance companies recorded improved profitability after three quarters in 2021 compared to a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, Finanstilsynet.

The proposed £530m sale of life and pensions business LV= to Bain Capital is now off the cards after mutal members voting in support of the deal fell below the 75% threshold

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched a consultation on guidance for running climate change materiality assessments and using climate change scenarios in an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)

The UK government must embrace reforms of at least a similar ambition as the EU Commission’s Solvency II Risk Margin or face a less competitive regime than its continental neighbours, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has warned

RSA has appointed Ken Norgrove as CEO, UK & International, effective 10 January 2022, subject to regulatory approval

a.s.r. is committing to a 65% reduction in the CO2 footprint of its investment portfolio, including the real estate investments and mortgage portfolio, by 2030

Institutional investors are positioning themselves to make tactical moves in 2022, with very few changes to their allocations overall, according to Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis IM)

AM Best has revised its US life/annuity insurance industry outlook to stable from negative, as the segment has experienced a number of improvements, including capital market gains and diversified earnings streams

AIA has announced its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and has also completed the entire divestment of directly-managed listed equity and fixed income exposure to coal mining and coal-fired power businesses, seven years ahead of schedule

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a three-year plan on how to integrate sustainable finance across its own work

Allianz Capital Partners, on behalf of Allianz Insurance Companies (Allianz), has signed an agreement to purchase from BASF a 25.2% stake in the windfarm Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ)

The average Solvency II coverage ratio, excluding transitional measures on technical provision, in the German life insurance sector fell to 198% at end-2020 from 254% end-2019, Fitch Ratings has said

Varma has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

The Association of British Insurers has further strengthened its board with the appointment of two new board members – Colm Holmes and Clare Bousfield

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has today published its Responsible Property Investment strategy and Net Zero Carbon pathway

The value of the nine-month admitted assets of life/health groups for the total US life/health industry increased 4.3% to $8.47trn, according to a new 2021 Best’s Rankings report

Total US property/casualty net premiums written increased by 9.9% in the first nine months of 2021 to $548.04bn, according to a new 2021 Best’s Ranking report

Resolution Life has entered into a reinsurance transaction with Allianz Life

Zurich has announced the successful placement of US$200m of senior unsecured notes

The outlook for Italian insurance in 2022 is neutral for the life sector and deteriorating for the non-life sector, Fitch Ratings has announced

Athene and Apollo have announced that Athene has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in consumer lending platform, Aqua Finance

Aegon has announced the appointment of Astrid Jäkel as its new chief risk officer (CRO)

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has issued new rules governing the risk management of insurance groups, stepping up supervision, limit holdings of non-core units and regulate their investments in other companies

Chinese insurance companies are unlikely to shift their investment portfolios significantly towards lower-rated bonds, despite a recent relaxation in credit rating requirements for their bond investments, Fitch Ratings has said

More than half of the largest European insurers have a SCR ratio of above 200%, according to AM Best’s latest insurance report

The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company and 20 financial institutions have signed the Japan Impact-driven Financing Initiative

Fitch Ratings has assigned a neutral outlook to the Spanish insurance sector for 2022, reflecting its expectation that the industry will maintain its strong credit fundamentals, in both the life and non-life insurance sectors

The UK life insurance sector outlook for 2022 is improving, driven by the more favourable operating environment for the sector as the economy recovers following pandemic-induced weakness, Fitch Ratings has said

Swedish insurance and occupational pensions association, Insurance Sweden, has set out five elements that it thinks should be achieved to further contribute to overcoming the climate challenge

Moody’s Analytics has announced the launch of an asset-liability management (ALM) solution for insurance companies

Monument Re has announced it has entered into an agreement to sell Robein Leven and its subsidiary Robein Effectendienstverlening to Chesnara

Allianz has announced it is investing €1bn in the roll-out of a fibre network in Austria

The winners of the Insurance Asset Management Awards 2021 were announced last night at a gala ceremony in London

The High Court has approved the transfer of an £11.2bn portfolio of annuities from The Prudential Assurance Company Limited to Rothesay

Zurich has announced the successful placement of US$500m of dated subordinated notes

The general insurance industry in Singapore is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% from SGDb4.4bn ($3.2bn) in 2020 to SGD5.6bn ($4.2bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premium (GWP), GlobalData has forecasted

Insurance Europe has welcomed the final endorsement of IFRS 17 by the European Commission, which includes an amendment concerning annual cohorts

With a decreasing number of capital add-ons at already a low level, EIOPA is to continue to monitor the usage of capital add-ons and pay particular attention on the proposals made by NCAs on how to make more efficient use of this tool in the future

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has launched the Task Force on Sustainable Finance (TFSF) in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)

Nippon Life has decided to invest US$20m in TPG Rise Climate, L.P., a dedicated climate investing fund managed by TPG

Global institutional investors have significantly raised their ambitions to implement net-zero commitments across portfolios over the last 12 months, according to the latest edition of the Aviva Investors Real Assets Study, with European insurers leading their North American and Asian counterparts

European private equity funds raised €52.4bn in H1 2021, according to Invest Europe, as long-term investors, such as insurers and pension funds, continued to target private equity in search of better returns for European savers

The total premium income in Italian life and non-life business in the first six months of 2021 has been recorded at €77.8bn, an increase of 14.4% compared to the first half of 2020

Asia ex-Japan asset managers now expect ESG and socially responsible investing (SRI) to become Asian insurers' most preferred strategies over the next 12 to 18 months dated from 2021, new research published by Cerulli has revealed

Zurich will no longer insure new greenfield oil exploration projects unless “meaningful transition plans are considered to be in place”

The general insurance industry in China is projected to grow from CNY1.36 trn (US$196.8bn) in 2020 to CNY2.13trn (US$313.0bn) in 2025, in terms of direct written premiums (DWP), GlobalData has forecast

Global insurance premiums are expected to reach new record levels in 2022, as heightened risk awareness in the wake of the pandemic is set to boost demand for protection

Dutch institutional investors have now overtaken households as the main investors in special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC)

Aflac has become a signatory of Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Securities lending collateral held by US insurers totalled about $55bn in book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) at year-end 2020, according to latest figures published by the NAIC

European insurers are raising concerns over EIOPA’s proposed changes to rules on technical provisions

RSA Insurance Group and Conduit Re have ruled out underwriting Adani’s controversial Carmichael coal project in Australia

The Geneva Association has appointed Christian Mumenthaler, CEO of Swiss Re, as its new chairman

Achmea Bank is to acquire a mortgage portfolio of €500m from a.s.r.

No global insurer expects to have a strategic asset allocation (SAA) to private markets of less than 5% by 2023, findings from a survey carried out by BlackRock have revealed

Institutional investors, including pension funds, are set to drive increased demand for actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Cerulli Associates

Aviva’s general insurance gross written premiums (GWP) have risen by 5% to £6.5bn for the nine months ended September 2021 (9M20: £6.2bn), reflecting “solid customer retention” and “new business wins”, its latest trading update has revealed

Zurich has seen its P&C gross written premiums rise by 11% for the nine months ended 30 September 2021, compared to the same period in 2020

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has appointed Hannah Gurga as its new director general

The Hartford is to invest $2.5bn over the next five years in technologies, companies and funds, which are advancing the energy transition and addressing climate change

Asset managers are placing greater emphasis on active ownership of their investments and increasingly engaging on ESG issues with the underlying companies in their portfolios, according to a newly released survey conducted by Russell Investments

Sixty-six per cent of institutional investors struggle with ESG rating agencies because they can provide wildly divergent ESG scores at a company level, new research published by SigTech has shown

HM Treasury has today published a consultation on the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review

Danish life insurance company, PFA, has expanded its property portfolio with the purchase of DKK 1.3bn worth of rental housing and commercial leases in Copenhagen

newhome.ch CEO Jean-Pierre Valenghi is to become the new head of real estate at the Baloise Group

Dutch institutional investors have doubled their share of mortgage loans granted to Dutch households from 10% in early 2014 to 20% in 2021, according to latest figures published by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB)

Allianz Group and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a partnership under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP)

The top 10 insurers in Singapore have increased their combined market share from 88% in 2017 to 95% in 2020, GlobalData has said

Beazley’s gross written premiums increased by 29% to $3,271m for the nine months ended 30 September 2021, compared to $2,534m in Q3 2020

Generali has sealed its €1.17bn ($1.36bn) takeover of Cattolica

The Bank of England (BoE) has announced it is to keep the base interest rate at 0.1%

Strong private equity returns in the third quarter have helped MetLife beat earnings estimates and overcome elevated claims related to COVID-19

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has pledged its support to the insurance and pensions industry in tackling climate change

European insurers’ exposures to macro risks remain at a high level, EIOPA has said

The FCA has today published a discussion paper on the classification of sustainable investment products and new sustainability disclosure requirements for asset managers

Just three insurers have adopted policies to stop insurance for much or all new oil and gas production projects, despite warnings from the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Insure Our Future has warned

Aegon has committed to transition its €156bn general account investment portfolio to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

A new set of risk-based capital (RBC) factors taking effect in 2021 could temper allocations to lower-rated bonds by insurers looking to capture higher yields, according to an AM Best report

Former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, is to present a scorecard displaying how well members of the financial community are meeting goals outlined in the net-zero emissions alliance

Prudential Financial has today announced its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions across its primary domestic and international home office operations by 2050

Global investors are still bullish on Asian fixed income despite heightened market volatility, new research has revealed

Varma has reported returns of 13.5% from January to September 2021, equal to €6.7bn in returns

Divesting from tobacco is complementary to achieving net-zero, according to Tobacco Free Portfolios director, Dr Bronwyn King

Almost a quarter (24%) of the 500 largest asset managers have set net-zero targets for their investments and more ambitious targets are planned, NN Investment Partners has found in its latest research

Capital frameworks should not be used to address the causes of climate change, the PRA has said

Finnish pension insurance company, Elo, has generated a return of 9.4% in the first three quarters of 2021, it has revealed

Open CNP, CNP Assurances’ Corporate Venture Fund, has taken a minority stake in MiTrust, a trusted European intermediary for sharing and minimising personal data

Insurance and Pension Denmark (I&PD) has praised the introduction of the new accounting standard, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 17, which will be used by listed companies in the European Union (EU)

Robeco aims to decarbonise its investments 30% by 2025 and 50% by 2030

The FCA said it won't stop insurer LV= from proceeding with the disputed sale of its pensions and life insurance business to US private equity company Bain Capital

Rothesay is to offer 25- and 30-year fixed mortgages to property buyers in the country through a partnership with a UK lender

Premium income from new business in the German life insurance industry “could rise by 6% to €10bn” for the full year 2021, according to the German Insurance Association (GDV)

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is not concerned about China Evergrande (Evergrande) being on the brink of default, given the US insurance industry’s “minimal” exposure to land development companies in the People’s Republic of China

UK life insurers that write annuities have allocated close to a quarter of their investment portfolios to illiquid assets, using them to fund financial obligations to annuity customers, Moody’s Investors Service has highlighted

The FCA has confirmed that it will be taking forward proposals to create a new type of open-ended authorised investment fund which will help support investment in assets like infrastructure and private equity

AM Best is maintaining a negative market segment outlook on Colombia’s insurance industry, owing mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to pressure the country’s economic activity

Insurance Europe’s Reinsurance Advisory Board (RAB) has appointed SCOR chair and CEO Denis Kessler as its chair

AXIS Capital Holdings is updating its fossil fuel underwriting and investment policy related to thermal coal, oil sands and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Chris Wallace has been appointed executive director of QBE’s UK Insurance business

Asset managers will have to start disclosing their environmental impact under new reporting rules outlined by the UK government this week

A second round of guides to help financial firms manage climate-related financial risk has been published by the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Company has decided to outsource a portion of its investment assets to Symetra Investment Management Company, for the purpose of increasing the group’s investment income over the medium to long term

Over half (53%) of investors believe that institutional investors will look to ‘dramatically increase’ the diversification of their portfolios over the next two years, according to Nickel Digital Asset Management

SCOR has signed up to support the energy transition and the Climate Transition Pathway (CTP) accreditation framework developed by Willis Towers Watson

Generali is to announce a “very ambitious” new three-year strategic plan on 15 December, and continues to look at Europe and Asia for possible M&A opportunities, its CEO Philippe Donnet has said

The president of the Italian Insurance Association (ANIA) has called on the insurance industry to play a “crucial role” in the transition towards a more climate-resilient society

Plans for an EU-wide insurance resolution framework are unlikely to affect EU insurers’ ratings in the near-term, Fitch Ratings has stated

Beazley has received approval from Lloyd’s to establish an ESG-focused Syndicate 4321

Legal & General has set out plans to combine its retail retirement and insurance businesses in 2022

Three Japanese insurance companies have joined the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), adding a combined US$1.4trn to total assets under management (AuM) and brings the total membership of the Alliance to 53

EIOPA has welcomed the Solvency II proposals of the European Commission (EC) to give mandates to the independent advisory body for further action on sustainable finance

Assets under management (AuM) at the world’s 500 largest asset managers have reached a new record of US$119.5trn, according to new research from the Thinking Ahead Institute

The US insurance industry reported book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) of $455.5bn in other long-term invested assets on Schedule BA as of year-end 2020, an increase of 13.4% compared to year-end 2019, latest figures published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have revealed.

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has warned that "significant work" remains to be done to 'mainstream' the consideration of climate-related issues in financial decision-making, despite growing global support

Aside from COVID-19, climate change is the single greatest global economic challenge today, according to European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) chair, Petra Hielkema

MS&AD has joined the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)

Ninety per cent of institutional investors are aiming to increase their allocations in one or more private asset classes over the coming year, Schroders Institutional Investor Study 2021 has found

Danish pension and insurance companies have adopted a common set of measuring principles to help reduce carbon emissions from their investments

An extreme rise in bond yields could cause the life insurance industry to liquidate investments reaching $1trn in the US and Europe, the IMF has warned

Generali has committed to investing €3bn in sustainable and green bonds by the end of 2022

Skandia is committed to allocating at least SEK 40bn in climate investments during this decade

Norway’s life insurance companies have seen their solvency capital adequacy fall to 235% as of 30 June 2021, a decrease of four percentage points from 31 March 2021 and nine percentage points from 31 December 2020, latest figures published by Finanstilsynet, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, have revealed

CNP Assurances has successfully placed €500m worth of notes due 12 October 2053 and paying interest at 1.875% until 12 October 2033

The French Insurance Federation (FFA) has reinforced the contribution of the insurance sector to the fight against global warming by launching a twofold initiative

Legal & General has agreed a £760m buy-in with the Sanofi Pension Scheme, securing the benefits of around 2,900 retirees

The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company has invested around JPY 11bn in green bonds issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

AIA chief investment officer Mark Konyn believes stock markets will outperform bonds for the rest of the year, but has warned about the potential impact of a global corporate tax deal on profit margins and economic growth

Varma has joined the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative

Just over half of all directors at 30 of the world’s largest insurance companies have affiliations to polluting companies and organisations, latest research has revealed

Marcus Blomberg has been appointed by Swedish pensions and insurance group Folksam as its chief investment officer, a newly-created position

MetLife has entered into a share purchase agreement with IGE (India) Private Limited (IGE) and Elpro International Limited (BSE: 504000; Elpro) to acquire their total combined shareholding of 15.27% in PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife)

Corporate bonds made up 65% of US life insurers’ bond portfolios and 45% of total invested assets as of year-end 2020, according to Fitch Ratings

Global insurance chief investment officers (CIOs) predict that overall investment yields on their portfolios will bottom out by the start of 2023, new research has shown

Government bonds, corporate bonds and collective investment undertakings together accounted for 74% of European insurance Solvency II investments in 2020, with equity making up a further 12%, according to figures published by EIOPA

The life insurance industry in China is projected to grow from CNY3.2trn (US$459bn) in 2020 to CNY4.5trn (US$665.7bn) in 2025, in terms of direct written premium (DWP), according to GlobalData

EU reinsurers are calling on the PRA to extend its Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) or wait until Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) review of Solvency II is finalised to make changes to reporting requirements and expectations in the UK market

European insurers’ outsourcing of investment management to non-affiliated asset managers continues to increase, albeit more slowly than in the past, according to Cerulli Associates

Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has joined the One Planet Asset Managers (OPAM) initiative

Mortgage loans reported by US insurers at year-end 2020 totalled about $626.5bn in book/adjusted carrying value (BACV), representing a 4% increase from $602bn in BACV at year-end 2019, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

Members of the Insure Our Future network and other social movements have sent an open letter to a number of insurers calling on them not to underwrite the proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal in Brunsbüttel, North Germany

Pacific Asset Management (PAM) has appointed Chris Price on a consultancy basis

Global Risk Partners (GRP) has completed the acquisition of Willis Towers Watson’s (WTW) commercial risk and broking business in Northern Ireland

The French life insurance sector is benefitting from a surge in unit-linked business, as receding fears over the pandemic are seeing investment appetite among customers “recovering strongly”, Fitch Ratings has stated

Phoenix Group has announced it is setting both 2025 and 2030 carbon intensity reduction targets for its investment portfolio