Insurance & Reinsurance equity research

Explore the most viewed and latest equity research and media content for companies within the Insurance & Reinsurance sector. Stocks in this sector provide insurance and broker services within life insurance, full line, and reinsurance.

  • 05 Mar 20
No big issues for 2020

Aviva announced an operating profit of £3,184m (up 6% yoy) and an IFRS profit after tax at £2,663m, better than expected. The main source of operating earnings improvement was the reduction in net expenses in the UK digital business by £165m regarding 2018. The cash remittance reached £2,597m, and the insurer is on the right track to deliver one of the key 2022 targets: remitting £8.5-9bn over 2019-22. We keep our positive opinion on the stock.

Companies: Aviva Plc
  • 16 Nov 17
Asian earnings drive the group’s performances

Prudential’s 9M 17 Life new business profit increased by 17% to £2,469m. The Asian business posted a growing new business profit increase of 15% lfl (up 24% as reported) to £1,616m. APE sales increased by 5% (up 14% as reported). Eastspring AuM reached £44.3bn. In the USA, Jackson’s new business profit increased by 17% (up 28% as reported) to £619m. In the UK & Europe, M&G Prudential delivered external asset management net inflows of £9.9bn. In addition, continued demand for risk-managed solutions has driven life insurance APE sales growth of 25%, with new business profit up 31% to £234m. This includes APE sales growth of 32% from PruFund-backed products, which generated net inflows of £6.6bn. M&G Prudential’s total AuM increased to £336bn. The estimated group shareholder Solvency II surplus at 30 September 2017 was £12.8bn, equivalent to a cover ratio of 201%.

Companies: Prudential
  • 20 Nov 19
All tied in with the UK Life division

Aviva presented its strategy for 2019-22. The insurer will continue to simplify its structure, reduce costs (£300m by 2022) and debts (£1.5bn) and pay a progressively increasing dividend. The insurer aims to generate operating cash of £7.5bn over 2019-22 with remitted cash to the group by different business units of £8.5-9bn, of which 50% by the UK Life division. FY 19 will benefit from lower longevity reserves with a positive impact within the range £300-400m. No convincing strategy.

Companies: Aviva Plc
  • 04 Mar 20
Resilient business model

L&G released operating profit from continuing divisions of £2,514m, up 17% yoy. All business units posted an upward trend in earnings. The profit excludes the mortality release of £155m and the Mature Savings and General Insurance businesses (£11m). Net profit stood at £1,834m. The proposed dividend is 12.64p/share, bringing the annual dividend to 17.57p. The Solvency II ratio stood at 184%. We keep our positive opinion on L&G, the business model of which allows it to benefit from increasing numbers of deaths.

Companies: Legal & General Group

Latest Content

Safe investment in a time of crisis

Since France reported its first COVID-19 infection, CNP’s share price has lost 60.4%. However, the insurer has a resilient balance sheet and a strong capital position. Its coverage strategy against pandemic risks and the highly attractive valuation metrics make the company one the best picks in the market.

CNP Assurances

  • 23 Mar 20
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Confirmed targets despite difficult 2020

A fifth consecutive year of operating earnings higher than €2bn was expected, but the impact of the Coronavirus is the most pursued information now. The company said that it is not possible to assess fairly the impact of the virus, but it confirmed its strategic plan’s targets. The proposed dividend was €0.96/share and the Solvency II ratio is high at 224%. We keep our positive opinion on the company but we will adjust down our figures for 2020-21.

Assicurazioni Generali

  • 13 Mar 20
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Good 2019 figures, strong profit growth due to one-off tax effect

• Net profit attributable to shareholders rose by 32% to CHF690m due to a positive one-off tax effect • The switch from tax expenses to a tax credit (income) in 2019 is attributable to the effects of Switzerland’s cantonal tax reform • Total equity and investment gains benefited from the favourable financial markets in 2019 • The dividend per share proposal increased from to CHF6.00 for FY2018 to CHF6.40 for FY2019

Baloise Holding

  • 12 Mar 20
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FY 2020 will not be easy

The positive market movements (£19.5bn) offset the net outflows of £1.3bn. The adjusted operating profit before tax reached £1,149m, down 21.9% yoy. The insurer benefited less from longevity assumption changes (£126m vs. £441m in 2018) in the Heritage business and the lower Asset Management fees margin (38bp vs. 40 bp in 2018) in the Savings and Asset Management one. The current context has led to a decrease in the Solvency II ratio by 10%, but the capital position remains resilient at 166%.

M&G

  • 10 Mar 20
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No big issues for 2020

Aviva announced an operating profit of £3,184m (up 6% yoy) and an IFRS profit after tax at £2,663m, better than expected. The main source of operating earnings improvement was the reduction in net expenses in the UK digital business by £165m regarding 2018. The cash remittance reached £2,597m, and the insurer is on the right track to deliver one of the key 2022 targets: remitting £8.5-9bn over 2019-22. We keep our positive opinion on the stock.

Aviva Plc

  • 05 Mar 20
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Good 2019 results, profit pushed by positive one-off tax effect

• Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 25% to CHF539m due to a positive one-off tax effect • The drop in the tax ratio to 5% in 2019 is attributable to the one-off effects of Switzerland’s cantonal tax reform • Investment result was up from CHF581m for 2018 to CHF1.88bn for 2019 • Dividend per share proposal increased from to CHF4.80 for FY2018 to CHF5.00 for FY2019.

Helvetia Holding

  • 04 Mar 20
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Resilient business model

L&G released operating profit from continuing divisions of £2,514m, up 17% yoy. All business units posted an upward trend in earnings. The profit excludes the mortality release of £155m and the Mature Savings and General Insurance businesses (£11m). Net profit stood at £1,834m. The proposed dividend is 12.64p/share, bringing the annual dividend to 17.57p. The Solvency II ratio stood at 184%. We keep our positive opinion on L&G, the business model of which allows it to benefit from increasing numbers of deaths.

Legal & General Group

  • 04 Mar 20
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Good 2019 results, in line with company's guidance but slightly below consensus

• Net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 18% to €2,714m for 2019 • Net result of the p&c reinsurance business increased by 38% to €1.56bn for 2019 • The dividend proposal rose from €9.25 per share for FY2018 to €9.80 per share for FY2019 • A new share buy-back programme of €1bn was announced two days ago

Muenchener Rckvrrgs Gsllcht Mhn AG in mu

  • 28 Feb 20
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Good 2019 figures, substantially increased dividend

• The net profit attributable to shareholders rose by 11% to CHF1199m in 2019, supported by a CHF49m tax effect • Net earned premiums were pushed by the Swiss portfolio acquisition (+29%) • The DPS proposal rose by 21% to CHF20.00 for FY2019 • Swiss Life will start a new share buy-back programme of CHF400m from March 2020 to May 2021

Swiss Life Holding

  • 28 Feb 20
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Sharply improved business

After a disappointing 2018, RSA recovered in 2019. The underlying pre-tax profit increased by 14.8% to £565m and the group’s operating result was £597m, up 15.4% yoy. The restructured UK & International business performed well with operating earnings of £220m. The combined ratio was 93.6%. The Solvency II coverage ratio stood at 168%, above the targeted range of 130-160%. The insurer announced a final dividend 15.6p/share, bringing the total dividend to 23.1p, up 10% yoy. Our figures will be revised up.

RSA Insurance Group

  • 28 Feb 20
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