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

Climate change impact could result in a drop in insurers’ solvency ratios of 50%, according to a report published by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)

Allianz Investment Management has launched a new buffered outcome ETF with a six-month outcome period

EIOPA has announced that it welcomes the proposals of the European Commission on the review of Solvency II

US life insurers’ investment portfolios have “broadly withstood” the fallout from the pandemic, a report from Fitch Ratings has revealed

Aviva has announced the completion of the sale of its French business to Aéma Groupe

Resolution Life has announced that its Bermudian reinsurance platform, Resolution Re, has entered into a reinsurance agreement with Allianz Suisse

The French and Swiss insurance associations have joined the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance as supporting partners

The FCA has confirmed the arrangements it will require for the winding down of LIBOR at the end of the year

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has urged the government to reform MiFID II regulation in its review of the wholesale and retail investment market

Climate change is the top concern for both risk experts and the UK public, a new report from AXA has stated

Italian non-life insurers have reported strong underwriting profitability for the first half of 2021, Fitch Ratings has stated

European insurers are calling for refinements to facilitate more securitisation investment to underpin EU economic growth

Allianz has announced it is providing £240m in debt funding to support a 2.4m sq ft portfolio of build-to-core UK logistics assets

Athora has agreed a deal to acquire Italian life insurer, Amissima Vita, as part of its growth strategy focused on traditional life savings and pension products

Investors are increasingly using factor investing to incorporate ESG, a trend being driven by the pursuit of enhanced investment performance, according to research from Invesco

Insurance Europe has welcomed a consultation by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) on developing sustainability reporting standards

The life insurance industry in Japan is projected to grow from JPY28.7trn (US$269.2bn) in 2020 to JPY30.7trn (US$323.6bn) in 2025, in terms of direct written premium (DWP), according to GlobalData

Only a significant and permanent reduction of capital would allow European insurers to increase their contribution to financing the recovery and supporting the EU’s Green Deal and Capital Markets Union, Insurance Europe has argued

The European insurance sector’s growing interest in assets with ESG characteristics is likely to get a further boost from the European Commission’s proposal to lower Solvency II capital charges for longer-term business, Fitch Ratings has said

CNP Assurances has acquired its first agroforestry estate in Gers with the expertise of Société Forestière

The European Commission (EC) has today adopted a comprehensive review of EU insurance rules (known as Solvency II) so that insurance companies can scale up long-term investment in Europe's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

Germany is set to experience the highest level of passive ETF growth in Europe, due to institutional investors’ continued use of index funds and new regulation

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is being urged to reassess its workplan and prioritise a post implementation review of IFRS 17

Aegon and Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) have been informed that the Budapest Metropolitan Court has rejected their joint appeal challenging the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior's decision to block VIG's acquisition of Aegon's Hungarian business

Prudential has announced a share offer to raise up to 5% of its issued share capital, or approximately 130.8 million shares, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) through a concurrent Hong Kong public offer and international placing

Twelve investment consulting firms, representing assets of around US$10trn, have launched the Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative (NZICI), committing to support a global goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner

Liberty Mutual Insurance has commited to a 50% reduction of Scope 1 and 2 global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2019 levels by 2030, taking another step in its long-term strategy toward a low-carbon future

Rothesay has recorded a Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) coverage ratio of 202% at 30 June 2021, with a surplus capital of £3.6bn

A group of investors with £10.4trn AUM, which includes Amundi, Legal & General Investment Management and HSBC Global Asset Management, has set out a blueprint for oil and gas companies to achieve net-zero

Sumitomo Life Insurance Company has invested JPY 10bn in a gender bond issued by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Phoenix Group (Phoenix) has provided £50m in long-term financing to Barcud Cyf, a not-for-profit Welsh Housing association to build around 1,000 new energy efficient, affordable homes for people across the mid and West Wales region

Chesnara’s recently announced acquisition of Sanlam Life & Pensions UK highlights the return of consolidation activity in the European life insurance sector via smaller deals, Fitch Ratings has said

European insurers support future solutions to expand the current climate-related taxonomy, but have argued the priority must be its completion and supporting the transition

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has announced the launch of its latest version of strategic asset allocation software, Optimum SAA

Sun Life has announced the appointment of Alanna Boyd as senior vice-president and chief sustainability officer

Solvency II’s Matching Adjustment (MA) provisions should allow assets with ‘predictable returns’ rather than just ‘fixed returns’, ABI director of regulation Charlotte Clark has said

French life insurance net inflows for July 2021 were positive at +€1.1bn, up €1.4bn compared to July 2020, and exceeding the €1bn threshold for the seventh month in a row

Stress on the commercial mortgage loan (CML) portfolios of US life insurers alone will not drive rating downgrades, given strong industry capitalisation, current loan quality and historical loss experience, Fitch Ratings has said

The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company has invested around JPY 16.5bn in a blue bond issued by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Phoenix has appointed Valeria Piani as head of stewardship, a newly formed position, as the company further enhances its responsible investment and stewardship expertise

Solvency II is not a challenge, but rather “a success” and “an opportunity”, EIOPA's new chairperson Petra Hielkema has said

Over £1trn held by around half of UK institutional investors is exposed to “significant” climate risks, new analysis from LCP has found

The Danish pension and insurance sectors have adopted common and clear measurements for CO2 emissions following the creation of the government’s climate partnerships, Insurance and Pension Denmark has revealed

US insurers’ CLO exposure increased by around 23% to $192.9bn in book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) from about $156.9bn at year-end 2019, according to the NAIC’s Capital Markets Bureau

SCOR intends to reduce its excess liquidity from 16% to 9% by year-end, and is actively diversifying invested assets into value-creation assets which are expected to represent over 10% of total invested assets by the end of 2022

Achmea is investing €4m in the Land Life Company reforestation programme which will offset the CO₂ emissions of its operations

Baloise Group has successfully placed a CHF senior green bond for a size of CHF 200m in alignment with its newly established Green Bond Framework

The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) is in support of extending the EU Taxonomy ‘beyond green’ but has stressed that a black-list based approach must be avoided

Total assets of insurance companies in China rose by RMB 1.64trn (7.4%) to RMB 24trn from the beginning of the year to the end of Q2 2021

AXA IM Alts has announced the successful close of an approximate €400m collateralised loan obligation (CLO), known as Adagio EUR CLO IX

Zurich is taking global measures to accelerate cuts in carbon emissions from its operations, reflecting the urgent need to respond to the climate crisis

Global P&C premiums are expected to more than double to US$4.3trn in 2040 from US$1.8trn in 2020, according to Swiss Re Institute’s sigma study

The US life/health industry improved its risk-adjusted capitalisation in 2017-2019 due to strong growth in available capital, particularly in 2019, according to a new AM Best report

The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), in collaboration with the UN-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), has announced the launch of a working group comprising leading insurance and reinsurance companies to develop the first global standard to measure and disclose insured greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

UNIQA’s investment income increased by 42.8% to €307.2m in H1 2021 (January to June 2020: €215.1m)

Norwegian life insurance companies’ total profit increased from 0.1% of average total assets (ATA) in H1 2020 to 0.6% of ATA in H1 2021, mainly as a result of increased investment income, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, Finanstilsynet, has said

The aggregate unadjusted debt-capital ratio of publicly traded P&C insurers and reinsurers in the US has been recorded between 22% and 25% since the beginning of 2013, latest figures show

CNP Assurances has signed the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and has set new targets over the next five years to protect biodiversity

Munich Re has launched a green subordinated bond with a volume of €1bn

Ping An Insurance has denied it has been ordered by the regulator to halt sales of property-related alternative investments, following a report published by Reuters

Zurich intends to exercise its option to redeem CHF 200m of subordinated debt

Petra Hielkema has started in her new position as chairperson of EIOPA today

The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) of the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit public input on FIO's future work relating to the insurance sector and climate-related financial risks

Nippon Life Insurance Company has decided to sign green loan agreements with Japan Logistics Fund and IINO Kaiun Kaisha

Storebrand has entered into an agreement to acquire Capital Investment, a Danish real estate asset manager and investment advisory headquartered in Copenhagen

Fitch Ratings has completed a review of approximately 70 insurance groups that has resulted in favourable actions for about 80% of the cohort, mainly outlook revisions to stable from negative

Finnish pension insurance company, Elo, generated a return of 7.8% in H1 2021, equating to €2,007.5m

Columbia Threadneedle Investments is to appoint Richard Watts as chief investment officer (CIO), EMEA, as part of the expansion of its leadership team following the completion of the acquisition of the BMO Financial Group’s EMEA asset management business, expected in Q4 2021

AIA has formed a strategic partnership with global investment manager, GLP, to invest in the global logistics real estate industry and related opportunities

China Life chose to outsource its investments in senior credit bonds due to the “complicated and challenging” external environment and an “unsteady and imbalanced” domestic economy in H1 2020

Swiss Re has signed the world’s first and largest 10-year carbon removal purchase agreement with direct air capture and storage worth US$10m

A new report by the French bank Societe Generale makes the case that insurers who reduce coverage for the oil and gas sector could become eligible for an additional ‘green’ valuation premium

Storebrand Livsforsikring AS ("the company") has successfully completed the issuance of a Restricted Tier 1 bond issue in the amount of SEK 900m, with a substantial oversubscription

Global insurance M&A activity held steady in H1 2021, with the number of completed deals globally dipping to 197 compared with 201 in H1 2020

Norway’s KLP generated a return of NOK 7.2bn in the first half of 2021, it has revealed

Net income for the US life/annuity (L/A) insurance industry soared in the first half of 2021 on reduced expenses, rising to $18bn from $1bn in the same prior-year period, according to a new AM Best report

The US P&C industry has recorded a 6.4% increase in net investment income in H1 2021, compared with the same prior-year period, AM Best has reported

Almost 40% of Asian institutional investors plan to make significant cuts to domestic fixed income allocations over the next three years, instead turning their attention to international asset and alternatives markets, thus creating huge opportunities for asset managers

Aegon has completed its share buyback program to "neutralise the dilutive effect of the 2020 final dividend paid in shares and certain share-based variable compensation plans for senior management", as announced on 7 July 2021

Premiums in Luxembourg’s life insurance market have increased by 30% over H1 2021 compared to an identical period in 2020 due to products with guaranteed returns (growth of 32.67%) and products in units of account (growth of 29.57%)

The general insurance industry in Japan is projected to grow from JPY11.1trn (US$104.1bn) in 2020 to JPY12.6trn (US$133.1bn) in 2025, in terms of gross written premiums (GWP), according to GlobalData

AIG Life & Retirement has announced that Tim Heslin has been named president, US life insurance

Prudential Financial has made a $200m commitment through the Prudential DEI portfolio to private equity investments constructed with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens

The Australian life insurance industry was valued at $24.1bn in 2020 in terms of GWP

US life insurers’ net portfolio yield decreased by 103bps, from 5.32% in 2010 to 4.29% in 2019, New England Asset Management (NEAM) has said

NN Group is to sell its asset manager NN Investment Partners (NN IP) to Goldman Sachs Group for total cash proceeds of €1.7bn

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has recorded a solvency ratio of 267% as at 30 June 2021 and €37.5bn in investments

US publicly traded life/annuity (L/A) insurers have seen their aggregate unadjusted total debt-to-capital ratio decline since 2011 to 24.1% at year-end 2020, with total debt outstanding decreasing by around $8bn (or 8.1%) to $91.4bn

The European reinsurance sector is experiencing favorable pricing conditions and growing revenues, as improving market conditions bolster underwriting profitability, Moody’s Investors Service has said in its latest report

Fifty-five percent of institutional investors and wealth managers are “very concerned” about the threat of inflation, with almost half (47%) of professional investors stating institutional investors will increase their allocation to gold for hedging benefits

Ageas’s insurance net result has increased from €491m to €521m year-on-year, according to its financial statements as at 30 June 2021

Fidelis has appointed Victor Riega as its first head of sustainability

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

US insurers and fund advisers should consider newly proposed guidance from insurance regulators on funds’ use of derivatives in the context of regulatory capital treatment of a fund’s units, shares or interests, law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has said

Assets under management in China grew by 34% in 2020 and net inflows increased 21.8% year-on-year, highlighting a “huge opportunity” for managers that can capitalise on it, Cerulli has said

The PRA has written to CFOs of life and general insurers introducing a qualitative questionnaire aimed at supporting the development of potential Solvency II reforms

HSBC Holdings has agreed to acquire French insurer Axa's Singapore assets for $575m

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes have hit $40bn in the first half of 2021, estimates from Swiss Re have indicated

The European Commission has granted the competition law clearance for the acquisition of Aegon’s businesses in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by Vienna Insurance Group (VIG)

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has reached an agreement to sell its reinsurance arm Wills Re to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co (Gallagher)

QBE Insurance Group’s strong H1 results have reduced the uncertainty of a recovery in the insurer's financial performance, Fitch Ratings has stated

Aviva has announced it is to commence a share buyback programme of its ordinary shares for up to a maximum aggregate consideration of £750m

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has announced that its broker-dealer, MML Investors Services (MMLIS), has entered into a placement agent agreement with technology and investment solutions provider, NYDIG, for a bitcoin fund

The Talanx Group has announced that its gross written premiums rose by 9.4% year-on-year to €24.1bn in the first half of the year

Northwestern Mutual has announced a new $100m impact investing fund to deliver on the company's commitment to addressing inequality and the racial wealth gap in the US

Regulatory changes allowing certain German funds to invest up to 20% of their assets in cryptocurrencies could see demand for cryptocurrencies increase, Fitch Ratings has stated

The direct written premiums for the top 10 insurers in the South Korean life insurance industry grew by 4.1% in 2020 after declining at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3% during 2015-19, GlobalData has found

Around two thirds of institutional investors have increased their use of sustainable thematic investment strategies in the past three years, according to a new Coalition Greenwich study

French life insurance net inflows for the month of June 2021 were positive at €1.4bn, exceeding the €1bn threshold for the sixth month in a row

Mercer has announced a global expansion of its sustainable investment (SI) capabilities by an additional 30% to meet growing demand from clients looking to manage investment risk and return linked to climate change and ESG drivers

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have called on the UK’s institutional investors to create a green ‘Investment Big Bang’ for long-term growth

US insurance companies reported high-yield bond exposure with a book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) of $286bn as of year-end 2020, an increase of 25.7% compared to year-end 2019, latest research published by AM Best has shown

AIG’s total consolidated net investment income for Q2 2021 was $3.7bn, up 9% from $3.4bn in the prior year quarter primarily due to strong private equity returns, partially offset by lower gains on fair value option bonds

Australian insurers are well positioned to withstand a very severe economic downturn while still meeting their commitments to policyholders, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has said

Sun Life's net income has increased by 73% to $900m in Q2 2021 compared to a year earlier, due to market related improvements and higher interest rates

Legal and General (L&G) has reported a 14% growth in its operating profit to £1.079m for H1 2021, compared to £946m for the same period in 2020

New German rules on institutional investment in crypto assets will ‘open the gates’ for mass adoption of the asset class, Global Digital Finance (GDF) has said

The PRA has today written to the largest PRA-regulated life and general insurers setting out the timelines and high-level scope for the Insurance Stress Test 2022 exercise

More institutional investors are looking to outsource aspects of the investment process due to increased regulation and complexity, according to Mercer Germany

Generali’s solvency ratio has increased by 7 percentage points from 224% to 231%, according to its latest consolidated results as at 30 June 2021

Hiscox has reported a $133.4m profit in H1 2021 compared to a $138.9m loss in H1 2020

Caisse des Dépôts and CNP Assurances have announced the signature of a binding agreement with Engie for the acquisition of an additional 11.5% stake in GRTgaz

European insurers’ exposures to macro risks remain at a high level, while all other risk categories remain at a medium level, EIOPA has said

Eighty per cent of hedge fund managers expect institutional investors to increase their allocation to quant strategies in the next 12 months, new research has shown

Lloyd’s of London has set out how the insurance industry will partner with critical industries to support and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy, with the launch of its new report Insuring a sustainable, greener future

Fifty-three global investors under the direction of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) have set a new baseline of expectations for companies to produce net-zero transition plans, ensure director accountability and link to AGM shareholder vote

Folksam’s target of reducing the carbon footprint of equities, corporate bonds and real estate by 29% by 2025 remains fixed despite its investment in steel company SSAB increasing the firm’s carbon footprint by 5%

The British American Tobacco UK Pension Fund has completed a second buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), insuring a further £400m of pension liabilities

Aegon UK is now firmly committed to a 50% reduction in its carbon emissions by 2030

EU insurers’ IFRS 17 financial statements will not be as helpful for users as they could be, as they will lack certain profitability information unless they routinely show accounting data for cohorts of contracts grouped by origination year, Fitch Ratings has argued

European insurers are calling on EIOPA to minimise any detrimental impacts resulting from an immediate switch from IBOR-based to OIS-based risk-free rate curves subject to appropriate liquidity and proximity preconditions

The French Insurance Federation (FFA) believes that many proposals from EIOPA concerning the ongoing Solvency II 2020 review appear disputable, not only in terms of efficacity, but also in terms of need and impact

New Zealand's Reserve Bank – Te Pūtea Matua – is welcoming views on an interim Solvency Standard for insurers, which will determine the minimum amounts of capital that insurers must hold

Low bond yields created difficult conditions for Beazley in H1 2021, as the return for the fixed income part of the insurer’s portfolio was close to zero

Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) have agreed to terminate their proposed $30bn (£21.5bn) merger following an “impasse” with the US Department of Justice

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a consultation on the amendments of supervisory reporting and disclosure requirements under Solvency II

Forty-seven per cent of European insurers are expected to increase their allocations to emerging market debt over the next 12 months, according to a new report from Cerulli Associates

Covéa Insurance has announced the appointment of Adrian Furness as its new chief executive officer

Allianz has established a new division for Global Commercial insurance, effective from 1 July 2021

New York Life has announced a $50m investment to support the preservation of affordable housing rental properties throughout the US, via an equity investment with IMPACT Community Capital

Hiscox has announced that its group chief executive, Bronek Masojada, has informed the Board of his intention to retire at the end of the year, after 21 years in the role

Total assets under management in the life insurance arm of Skandia amounted to SEK 570bn in June 2021, compared with SEK 519bn at the turn of the year, and the solvency ratio amounted to 190%, compared with 171% at the beginning of 2021

Rothesay has launched its Pathway to Net Zero plan with commitment to a 20% reduction in the carbon intensity of its investment portfolio by 2025

Aspen has appointed Aileen Mathieson as group chief investment officer (CIO), effective 15 November 2021

The PRA has launched its Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) for the Solvency II review

A total of 25% of UK life insurers’ total available capital (TAC) was supported by Solvency II-eligible subordinated debt at end-2020, but overall capital quality has weakened over the past few years, Fitch Ratings has said

Zurich UK has switched almost $1bn of its investment portfolio into a new ESG benchmark as it continues to take action to curb carbon emissions

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published its supervisory statement on Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

MAPFRE has seen its total written premiums grow by 6.2% in the first half of the year, the company has announced

Liberty Mutual Insurance will be applying for regulatory approval to acquire Malaysian insurer AmGeneral Insurance Berhad (AmGeneral)

The number of private equity (PE) owned US insurers totalled 117 at year-end 2020, with the total cash and invested assets for these insurers recorded at $487bn in book/adjusted carrying value (BACV), up from $344bn at year-end 2019

Athene Holding Ltd (Athene), an affiliate of Apollo Global Manageemnt, Inc., has acquired Foundation Home Loans

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has announced its commitment to be net-zero by 2050 across all sources of emissions, including within its £50bn investment portfolio which backs pension payments to the company’s 275,000-policyholders

Four in five institutional investors plan to increase their exposure to fixed income assets over the next three years, according to Aviva Investors

Travelers has made a strategic minority investment in Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published a statement on supervisory practices and expectations in case of breach of the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR)

ESG factors were considered the primary driver in 13% of AM Best’s global rating actions during the 12-month period ending in March 2021

Conning has announced the addition of a range of ESG and climate-change indices into its GEMS® Economic Scenario Generator software

Sampsa Ratia has been appointed director in charge of real estate investments at Varma

The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative has expanded to 128 investors managing $43trn with 41 new asset managers, representing $6.8trn in assets joining

Global life and P&C insurers are planning to accelerate their use of automation over the next five years, according to a new survey

Lloyd’s has appointed Eleanor Bucks to the newly created role of chief investment officer, established in order to build and lead the marketplace’s new investment platform for the market

Zurich has announced that Urban Angehrn, group chief investment officer (CIO) since July 2015 and a member of the group’s executive committee, has tendered his resignation

The European Commission (EC) has approved Aon’s planned $30bn acquisition of Willis Towers Watson (WTW), conditional on the former’s compliance with divestment measures

Eight of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers have established the UN-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) as founding members, committing to transition their insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050

MAPFRE has launched its first renewables fund, MAPFRE Energías Renovables I FCR, further leveraging the ongoing strategic alliance with Spanish energy company, Iberdrola, towards creating sustainable investment products

Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has announced it will implement a global exclusion policy that includes a dedicated coal policy and will target controversial weapons

Hitting the Paris climate targets won’t be possible without a carbon removal the size of oil and gas, Swiss Re has said

Skandia has announced plans to increase its green investments as it becomes the first Swedish company to join the Danish public-private Climate Investment Coalition (CIC)

EIOPA has proposed methodological steps which support the need to formalise an approach to re-assess and, where needed, recalibrate parameters for the natural catastrophe risk module of the Solvency II standard formula on a regular basis

The PRA has published a consultation paper (CP) setting out its proposed changes to the Solvency II reporting requirements and expectations

The European Commission (EC) has published its new Sustainable Finance Strategy

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has unveiled its Climate Change Roadmap for the insurance and long-term savings industry

Forsikring and Pension (Insurance and Pension Denmark) has outlined six proposals designed to support greater investment in the Danish green transition, and particularly in Power to X (PtX) work

European insurers’ median return on assets (ROA) lowered from 0.59% in 2019 to 0.38% in 2020 and the median return on excess of assets over liabilities decreased from 7.9% in 2019 to 5.5% in 2020, according to EIOPA’s latest Financial Stability Report

Moody’s Investors Service has raised its outlook for the UK life insurance sector to stable on the expectation that capital levels and earnings will remain robust over the next 12 to 18 months, as the UK economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the bulk annuity market remains buoyant

Sweden's Skandia has invested SEK 1.5bn in P Capital Partners Transition Partner Fund, a new credit fund with a focus on sustainability

Norwegian life insurer, KLP, has divested NOK 275m from 16 companies with connections to Israeli settlements in the West Bank

China’s insurance industry’s total assets increased by 13.3% in 2020 to RMB23.3trn (US$3.5trn), up from 12.2% in 2019, despite slower premium growth during the pandemic, Cerulli has said

The life insurance industry in India is projected to grow from INR5.7trn (US$81.4bn) in 2019 to INR8.0trn (US$98.5bn) in 2024, in terms of gross written premium (GWP), according to GlobalData

NN Group has agreed to acquire MetLife’s business activities in Poland and Greece, for a total consideration of €584m

Institutional investors’ concerns that investing sustainably may hamper performance have fallen for the fourth consecutive year, as the COVID-19 crisis sharpened the focus on this space, Schroders Institutional Investor Study 2021 has found

The UK Government wants to see a Solvency II regulatory regime that is more "proportionate and flexible", providing a "sound foundation" for insurance firms to provide long-term capital to the economy including investment in long-term productive assets

Groupama successfully placed its first subordinated green bonds for a principal amount of €500m

Baloise has become a partner of the Swiss Climate Foundation

The private equity industry has significantly increased its exposure in the US life/annuity (L/A) insurance industry over the last decade, with private equity-owned or sponsored insurers’ admitted assets growing to $604.1bn in 2020 from $67.4bn in 2011, according to a new AM Best report

AIA Group has agreed to invest RMB12,033m (US$1,860m) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, AIA Company Limited, for a 24.99% equity stake, post investment, in China Post Life Insurance

The current low interest rate environment raises concerns that US life insurers “will overreach” for yield and “increase their downside risk to a large market shock,” Fitch Ratings has said

SCOR has announced an upcoming strengthening of its fossil fuel exclusion policies

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has announced the retirement of Colin Moore from the firm as global chief investment officer

Generali has updated its strategy for climate protection and plans to make €8.5-€9.5bn of new green and sustainable investments between 2021 and 2025

AXA, CNP Assurances and Aviva France are among a group of investors brought together by Finance for Tomorrow to launch the first investor coalition for a just transition to low-carbon economies

The top 20 global public insurance companies reported aggregate revenue of $1,923.9bn, a year-over-year (YOY) decline of around 5%, in their top-line performance in 2020

New Zealand’s insurance industry has recorded an investment return of 4.9% for March 2021 up from 4.6% a year earlier

Global insurance industry group ClimateWise, convened by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, has released a white paper exploring the potential contribution of innovative insurance products in the transition to a net-zero economy

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has amended the Decision on the collaboration of the insurance supervisory authorities of the Member States in the European Economic Area

New York's life insurers generally have greater exposure to carbon intensive sectors than P&C and health insurers, a new report published by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS or NYSDFS) has revealed

Finnish pension insurance company, Elo, achieved an investment return of 3.9% in Q1 2021, equal to €996.4m, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Sven Lixenfeld will succeed Patrick Dahmen and take over responsibility for the life insurance and investment management board division in the private and corporate insurance Germany division of the Talanx Group on 1 September 2021

Covéa is targeting an acquisition of AXA’s non-life reinsurance operations, which would be the Bermuda headquartered AXA XL Re division

Generali has placed a new Euro denominated Tier 2 bond due in June 2032

All but one of the 18 reporting members of Insurance Europe showed an increase in their investment portfolio in 2020, preliminary figures have shown

MS&AD has adopted a policy to no longer insure or invest in new coal power plants, becoming the first Japanese insurer to make this move

At the invitation of the Prince of Wales, Lloyd’s has brought together leaders from a number of the largest and most influential global insurance firms to form an Insurance Task Force (ITF) as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, to drive progress as a group and accelerate the pace of industry transitions towards a more resilient and sustainable future

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is to publish a narrow-scope amendment to IFRS 17 'Insurance Contracts'

Norway’s largest life insurance company, KLP, has divested NOK 9m from Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited on the basis of the company's connection to Myanmar's military, which breaches the fund's responsible investment policy

MetLife is to originate $500m in social and environmental impact investments by 2030

Swiss Re has reduced its shareholding in Phoenix Group Holdings, acquired in the sale of ReAssure in 2020, by selling an approximately 6.6% stake for £437m through an accelerated bookbuilding process

Private equity holdings by the US insurance industry grew by 14.8% in 2020, with the life/annuity insurance industry seeing its highest value in five years, at $71.7bn, according to a new AM Best report

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has appointed Marion Le Morhedec as global head of fixed income, effective immediately

Just 2% of asset managers ‘never’ incorporate climate risk into their decision-making process, latest research has shown

Aviva and WWF have started a new climate-focused partnership to focus on shifting the financial sector to net-zero, and are calling on the Government to mandate UK regulated financial institutions to develop credible transition plans that align with net-zero and the Paris Agreement

Korean non-life insurers DB Insurance, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, and Hana Insurance, which have provided nearly half of the total US$52bn coal underwritings by Korean insurance companies, have said they will now cut ties with coal power

A number of sustainable investment funds in Luxembourg and Switzerland have been accused of greenwashing by Greenpeace

Folksam has increased its ownership in steel company SSAB, corresponding to 5.2% of the voting rights and 2.1% of the share capital

Sixty-two per cent of European insurance company CFOs expect to participate in M&A in the next two years, up from 40% in early 2020, Moody’s Investors Service’s has said

China's reinsurance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% during 2019-24, according to GlobalData, following the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission's (CBIRC) recently proposed revisions to the reinsurance regulatory regime

Phoenix Group has become the first UK insurer and the largest insurer to date, to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

Insurance Europe has published its response to a roadmap consultation by the European Commission on its supervisory data strategy for the EU financial system

Insurance Europe and Invest Europe have published a joint position paper calling on the European Commission to make improvements to SII to remove unnecessary barriers that undermine insurers’ ability to invest in long-term equities

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Aon’s proposed $30bn (£21.5bn) acquisition of Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

The Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) has reported its recommendations to the Prime Minister on how the UK can reshape its approach to regulation

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is planning a Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) for the Solvency II review, and has warned insurers of the high-quality data they will soon be expected to share in a tight window

Phoenix Group has discontinued talks regarding the potential sale of its European businesses, Phoenix Europe

Sam Woods has been reappointed by Her Majesty the Queen as deputy governor of the Bank of England with responsibility for prudential regulation, and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) will divest from four companies, including insurer AIG, due to their insufficient action to address the risks posed by climate change

Moody’s Investors Service has changed its outlook for the global life insurance sector to stable from negative for 2021

Eighty-four per cent of European institutional investors are starting to adopt thematic approaches in their portfolios, according to a survey by Vontobel Asset Management

Six US insurers in Q1 2021 picked up shares of digital currency investment vehicles offered by Grayscale Investments, LLC, S&P Global Market Intelligence has said

Insurance commissioners Mike Kreidler of Washington and Ricardo Lara of California have formally asked all insurers that are currently required to report to them annually on climate change to start reporting their climate risks in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has provided £175m (€203m) of senior secured
debt funding, as sole investor, for a further 18 solar parks

Investors managing more than $41trn in assets have released a new joint statement to all world governments urging a global race-to-the-top on climate policy and warning that laggards will miss out on trillions of dollars in investment if they aim too low and move too slow

State Street has appointed Jason Knight as global head of the firm’s insurance segment

Varma has invested €230m in the Sustainable Climate Corporate Bond Funds of State Street Global Advisors

Private debt is to take on a “more significant role” in investors’ portfolios in 2021, according to NN Investment Partners (NN IP)

Aon’s $30bn bid for Willis Towers Watson is expected to get the EU antitrust go ahead by early July, according to reports

French insurers, Covéa and SCOR, have announced the signing of a settlement agreement following a series of legal battles

The regulatory risk-based capital (RBC) ratios of non-life insurers in Sri Lanka is expected to normalise in the medium-term, according to Fitch Ratings

Schroders and German insurer, Gothaer, are to jointly offer an ESG orientated open real estate fund

Legal & General has agreed a £17m full scheme buy-in transaction with John Good & Sons Limited Pension Scheme

Two insurance regulators have called on US insurers to start reporting their climate risks in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, has said that Glasgow COP26 must “signal the end” of coal

Phoenix Group has announced the appointment of Michela Bariletti as new chief credit officer within its asset management team

French mutual insurer, Macif, has confirmed its intention to raise Euro subordinated debt in the capital market to finance part of its Aviva France acquisition

The Bank of England (BoE) has published details of its Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario (CBES) to explore the financial risks posed by climate change for the UK’s largest banks and insurers

Insurers are supporting French tech companies with investments that will reach €3.2bn by the end of 2021, according to the French Insurance Federation

Aegon UK has announced that it has now moved more than £5bn of its workplace default assets into ESG strategies

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has declared that Danish firm, Gefion Insurance, has failed

The total cost facing the global insurance industry to implement IFRS 17 is estimated to be between $15bn and $20bn, according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

The US property & casualty (P&C) industry saw its net underwriting income fall in first-quarter 2021 by 53% as compared with the same prior-year period, according to preliminary financial results

DWS Group and Assicurazioni Generali SpA are among the suitors that have submitted initial bids this week for the asset management arm of NN Group NV

The demand for equity funds reached an all-time high in Q1 2021, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)

French net life insurance inflows were positive for the month of April 2021, at €1.6bn, and reached €6.4bn for the first four months of the year, the French Insurance Federation has said

The trend of alternative investment managers (Alt IMs) partnering with and/or investing directly in life insurance companies is expected to continue, Fitch Ratings has said

Trans Mountain insurer and Lloyd’s of London syndicate Argo Group has pledged to cut ties with the existing Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline when its current insurance policy expires on 31 August 2021, and to not insure the Trans Mountain Expansion Project

Intact Financial Corporation (Intact) has announced the successful completion of its joint bid with Tryg A/S (Tryg), to acquire RSA Insurance Group for a total cash consideration of approximately £7.2bn

Insurance Europe’s general assembly has unanimously voted to extend the mandate of Andreas Brandstetter as president for a further three years

PPM America (PPM) has announced the addition of senior managing director, Andrew Coupe, who will lead the firm’s newly expanded US Insurance distribution efforts

Groupama Asset Management has appointed Xavier Hoche as chief investment officer (CIO)

The Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE), has announced that Galit Saar, head of group regulatory affairs and senior adviser for the Swedish mutual Länsförsäkringar AB has been elected to the AMICE Board by AMICE’s Annual General Meeting of members

Germany’s life insurance coverage ratio has been recorded at 374%

Large Swiss banks and insurance companies will now have to provide qualitative and quantitative information about risks they face from climate change, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has said

NFU Mutual has selected Invest|ProTM from Financial Risk Solutions (FRS) to support the investment administration of its £6bn unitised life insurance business

Tokio Marine Holdings has announced its new initiatives for achieving carbon neutrality for its business activities by 2050 by reducing CO2 emission toward 2030 and by increasing the share of renewable sources in its power consumption

US insurance companies had $36.9bn in ETFs in general accounts as of 31 December, an 18.4% increase from the year before, according to a report from S&P Dow Jones Indices

The European Council has appointed Petra Hielkema as the chairperson of EIOPA

The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance has announced the addition of five new members managing nearly US$1trn of assets between them

American International Group (AIG) has named Geoff Cornell chief investment officer, replacing Douglas Dachille who is leaving the company, effective 30 June

Superior capital-adjusted returns under Solvency II and resilient performance during the COVID-19 crisis is making Asian investment grade bonds particularly attractive to European insurers

Insurance companies are lagging behind the finance sector’s push to embrace ESG investment, with few of the world’s largest insurers considering climate change, biodiversity loss and human rights violations in their underwriting decisions

Over three quarters (78%) of European institutional investors and wealth managers expect to see an increase in the use of ETFs to access Chinese asset classes over the next three years

The availability of data is the single greatest test UK financial sector firms expect to face over the next five years in order to address climate risk, according to a survey of leading financial institutions by Willis Towers Watson (WTW)

Allianz Holdings CEO Jon Dye is to step down after eight years at the end of November 2021, and will be replaced by Colm Holmes, currently CEO of Aviva General Insurance

UNIQA’s investment income increased by 67.4% to €150.1m in Q1 2021, compared to the same period in 2020

The PRA is considering ways in which the process of obtaining authorisation for new insurers can be made more efficient whilst still ensuring appropriate prudential standards

Forty-five per cent of European institutional investors and wealth managers expect more corporate credit downgrades and defaults over the next nine months, new research commissioned by fixed income ETF provider Tabula Investment Management Limited has said

The PRA has today published its 2021/22 Business Plan, setting out its strategy, workplan, and budget

A Solvency II (SII) capital charge of 100% should apply to any equity and corporate bond investments in new fossil fuel assets among (re)insurance companies, Insure Our Future has argued

The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled plans to make its corporate bond purchase scheme (CBPS) more 'green' as the UK government aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050

MS&AD Insurance Group has set a goal of net zero CO2 emissions by FY 2050 to resolve the global risk of climate change

US insurers reported holdings of Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) capital stock with a book/adjusted carrying value (BACV) of $6.3m in 2020, up from $5.2bn in 2019, latest figures published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have shown

Results from the climate change stress tests carried out by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution show very modest financial impacts for French financial institutions, Fitch Ratings has said

The UK government is consulting on amendments to the insolvency arrangements for insurers, which would enable authorities to better manage insurer distress in an orderly manner

Royal London has announced the appointment of Vidur Bahree as group investment director

Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook for the US life insurance industry to stable from negative

SCOR CEO Denis Kessler has decided to relinquish, for personal reasons, his duties as CEO at the end of this current term of office, which is due to expire at the General Meeting of 30 June 2021

Climate scenario analysis will be key to net-zero success, BoE executive director Sarah Breeden, has said

ABI director general Huw Evans is to stand down from his current role at the end of the year

Italian insurance group Unipol Gruppo has selected the Moody’s Analytics Climate Pathway Scenario Service to facilitate its efforts to embed climate risk into its Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)

Manulife Investment Management has named Christoph Schumacher as global head of real assets, private markets, responsible for defining the firm's private real assets strategy and growth of investment solutions

Phoenix Group Holdings has confirmed that it is in "advanced discussions" in respect of a potential sale of its European businesses, following rumours and press speculation

Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has issued an update to its coal policy, following a report exposing its insurance of coal power plants in the Czech Republic and other EU countries

Total assets of China’s insurance companies amounted to RMB 24.3trn at the end of Q1 2021, up by 4.1% from the beginning of the year, latest figures have shown

Japan Post’s net income rose by 10.2% in the year to end-March 2021, its latest financial results have revealed

CNP Assurances has reported a consolidated SCR coverage ratio of 217% as at 31 March 2021 versus 208% at end-2020

Resolution Life has completed its recent round of capital raising, adding a further c.$1.6bn

Swiss Life Holding AG (Swiss Life Holding), Swiss Life (Liechtenstein) AG (Swiss Life Liechtenstein), Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd (Swiss Life Singapore) and Swiss Life (Luxembourg) S.A. (Swiss Life Luxembourg), collectively known as the Swiss Life Entities, have admitted to conspiring with US taxpayers to hide assets and income in offshore accounts

Insurers are “predestined partners” for the green transformation of the economy and sustainable infrastructure, GDV general manager Jörg Asmussen has said

The US insurance industry reported $7.5trn in total cash and invested assets at year-end 2020, an increase of 7.7% compared to year-end 2019

Beazley has recorded an investment return of $27m for Q1 2021 compared to a loss of $55m in the same period last year

Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) have signed a definitive agreement to sell Willis Re and a set of WTW corporate risk and broking, and health and benefits services, to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) for $3.57bn

Aegon NV has reported a significant decline in net profit for Q1 2021, though still ahead of market expectations

Zurich’s Swiss Solvency Test (SST) ratio rose by 19 percentage points over Q1 2021 to 201%, driven by favourable market conditions and the successful placement of US$1.75bn of subordinated debt

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has joined UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI)

KLP has secured “solid returns” of NOK 4.7bn in Q1 2021, with value-adjusted returns on customers’ funds of 1.5% and a book return of 1.4%

Everest Re has announced that Jim Williamson, executive vice president and group chief operating officer will assume additional responsibilities as the head of the Everest reinsurance division effective immediately

Aegon has announced that Maarten Edixhoven will step down as CEO of Aegon the Netherlands and member of the management board

Skandia is investing SEK 600m in a new bond issued by the City of Gothenburg

The general insurance industry in India is projected to grow from INR1.9trn (US$27.7bn) in 2019 to INR2.9trn (US$36.4 bn) in 2024, in terms of gross written premium (GWP), according to GlobalData

Italian total life and non-life premium income was €143.4bn in 2020, a decrease of 4.3% compared to 2019, according to Italy's IVASS

French net life insurance inflows were positive at +€1bn in March 2021, the French Insurance Federation (FFA) has said

Manulife has announced a net zero emissions by 2050 commitment across its full range of investments and operations

Metlife’s net investment income has been recorded at $5.3bn for Q1 2021, up 74% from Q1 2020, driven by increases in the estimated fair value of certain securities that do not qualify as separate accounts under GAAP and higher variable investment income primarily due to higher private equity returns

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched its 2021 insurance stress test for the European insurance market today

Storebrand has delivered a quarterly profit of NOK 870m in Q1 2021, driven by continued growth in assets under management (AUM) and insurance premiums

Insurers’ exposures to macro risks remain at a high level while all other risk categories remain at a medium level, according to EIOPA’s Risk Dashboard based on the fourth quarter of 2020 Solvency II data

Talanx has recorded a return on investment of 3.5% in Q1 2021, up from 2.7% a year earlier

Insurance Asset Management is delighted to present a must-attend day and evening of networking, discussion, and celebration of the UK and global insurance investment space; designed for insurance companies, providers and individuals alike

Allianz has become the majority shareholder in Jubilee General Insurance Limited in Kenya

Against a background of increased legislative and regulatory scrutiny of companies’ sustainability practices, investor pressure is emerging as another important driver of environmental, social and governance (ESG) action, particularly for reinsurers, new research from AM Best has suggested

Green bonds are the most popular choice of sustainable fixed-income options for institutional investors, according to NN Investment Partners (NN IP)

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has progressed its work on the comparability assessment project – an initiative that will ascertain whether the Aggregation Method (AM) provides comparable outcomes to the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS)

Talanx Group is aiming to reduce CO2 intensity in its liquid investment portfolio by 30% by 2025, it has announced

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

BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has appointed Olivier de Larouzière as chief investment officer for global fixed income

French insurers have been urged to speed up their response to climate change by France’s banking regulator (ACPR)

EIOPA has launched a consultation on Interbank Offered Rates (IBOR) transitions