Moody’s said that the sector remains relatively robust overall with no credit rating impact to date for European insurance companies due to their positive underlying performance and improved asset risk hedging.
"Aside from depressed investment returns, the H1 2008 earnings of the major European insurance and reinsurance groups have been notable for the relatively strong performance of the underlying insurance business, in both non-life and life. This is in contrast to some other financial institutions," said Dominic Simpson, a Moody's Senior Credit Officer and co-author of the report.
The degree to which European insurers have been affected by volatility in the global financial markets varies widely. Moody's report, titled "European Insurers' H1 2008 Results: No Overall Credit Impact, But Moody's Continues to Monitor," cover such differences, and their implications, for the sector, the rating agency said.