(Finance) – I leading insurance groups in Europe they managed to protect profits and capital from the challenges related to high inflation and rising interest rates in 2022. This is stated by Fitch Ratings in a new report, highlighting that Allianz, AXA And Zurich they have demonstrated strong pricing power thanks to their dominant market positions and limited exposure to interest rate risks due to very strong asset-liability management.
Fitch argues that inflation has negatively impacted the business car of the three insurance groups, in particular, as the prices of spare parts have increased significantly and the frequency of claims has increased. The new business volumes in the branch life they were affected by the intensification of competition from banks and the decline in household savings rates. Income from investments they decreased in response to fair value adjustments on bond portfolios.
“Significant non-life price adjustments, changes in the life business mix and a moderate positive correlation of solvency ratios to interest rates have mitigated the effects of the difficult macroeconomic context“, reads the analysis.