Country Profiles

Hungary: The regulator’s angle

Hungary has been focused on growing its life market – and according to Koppány Nagy, the National Bank of Hungary’s (MNB) director for Insurance, Pension Funds and Intermediaries Supervision, there is an upward trend being observed.

Poland: Mass lapse potential

Poland is exploring the use of new techniques for its life insurance markets. But the make-up of the country’s life products means it will not be pushing into reinsurance anytime soon, the financial regulator, the KNF, says.

Italy: Private equity can be a force for good

Italy has experienced one of the more negative episodes in the private equity-insurance saga in recent times. Despite this, PE can play a constructive role in the market, says Rita Laura D’Ecclesia, Member of the Board of Directors at the country’s regulator, IVASS.

Portugal: All about risk

Joao Santos, Managing Director of Risk at Fidelidade, offers a risk and capital perspective on Portugal’s life insurance market.

Switzerland: Exploring reinsurance

Switzerland has been at the vanguard of Europe’s asset intensive investigations. Daniel Weijand, Supervisory Policy & Legal Expertise at the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, gives his take on where the market might be headed next.

Netherlands: A longevity model

The 2023 Netherlands Future of Pensions Act, which required all Dutch defined benefit pensions schemes to move to a defined contribution model by 1 January 2028, has been a major catalyst for what is now one of the biggest longevity risk transfer markets in Europe.

Germany: All about consolidation

Germany could be on the cusp of a consolidation boom, after the path was cleared for a significant back-book transaction this year. Analysts believe deals of about €25 billion will hit the market in 2026.

Longevity reinsurance is booming in the Netherlands. What are the drivers and will the rest of Europe follow suit? What occupation should you pursue if you want to live longest? According to the panel on longevity at Life-Re Europe, librarian might be a good bet. That was the occupation of Prudential Financial’s oldest living pension risk transfer (PRT) annuitant, who started receiving payments from the insurer way back in 1929, when the insurer transacted what it calls the first pension buy-out contract of its kind – and the start of its PRT business – with the Cleveland public library. The librarian in question has no doubt retired now, however longevity continues to occupy the minds of insurers and pension plans around the world. At Life-Re Europe, a longevity panel debated the recent boom...

The European consolidation wave

It has been long talked about but consolidation could be coming to Europe in a big way as participants from Viridium and Frankfurter Leben discussed at Life-Re Europe.

The PRA’s funded re clampdown

Has the PRA crashed the funded re market? That is the question many are asking following its recent proposal to hit the UK’s funded re business with a 10% capital charge.

Europe’s need for AIR

Asset intensive reinsurance (AIR) has taken hold in life markets around the world. Europe, though, is a different story. But does Europe really need AIR?

Life-Re Europe 2026 round-up

Life-Re Europe held its first event in April. From longevity to reinsurance, assets to regulations, the forum covered a manifold range of key topics for the European life insurance market.

Country Profiles