European insurers invested €9,8 trillion in economy in 2015

European insurers had almost €9,8 trillion invested in bonds, company shares and other assets in 2015, an increase of 1.7 percent from 2014, according to figures published by Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation.

Solvency II regulatory regime in theory should give greater freedom to insurers to invest their assets optimally for policyholders, according to Insurance Europe, but insurers are concerned that the risk-based measures do not capture the long-term nature of their investments, and can exaggerate risks and capital requirements.

Insurance Europe suggests this makes it needlessly expensive for insurers to invest in the right way on behalf of their customers and can also undermine their ability to provide long-term investment and stability in the European economy.

Michaela Koller, director general of Insurance Europe, said: “Solvency II is already very conservative. There have recently been calls to make it even more so, through changes to the ultimate forward rate. This would seriously limit insurers’ ability to maintain their role as Europe’s largest long-term institutional investors.

“Instead, policymakers should take time to assess how well Solvency II is working, and to ensure that its capital requirements actually match the risks insurers face, so that they can continue to make significant long-term investments in our economy.”

The figures showed that the volume of claims and benefits paid out by Europe’s insurers in 2015 increased by 2 percent in comparison to the previous year to €976 billion.

Life benefits increased by 1.7 percent in 2015 to €649 billion, non-life claims paid increased by 2.3 percent to €222 billion and health claims paid grew 4.3 percent to reach €101 billion.
Koller added: “These figures underline the unique protection that Europe’s insurers provide to our society and economy.”