A report by rating agency Moody’s has found that expansion in Asia could benefit European insurers’ credit ratings.
While the agency said that European insurer’s operations in Asia are generally currently small enough to be credit neutral, this could change in the future, according to Antonello Aquino, a Moody's senior vice president and author of the report.
"For most European insurers, their current presence in Asia ex-Japan remains too small to affect their overall financials, and thus their credit profiles," he says.
"Nevertheless, we believe that over the longer term, European insurers' credit profiles might benefit from a profitable expansion in Asia, due to the added geographical diversification and profitability benefits that this would bring to their portfolios."