LONDON (Reuters) – European insurers' solvency is deteriorating because of persistently low interest rates and market turmoil triggered by the euro zone debt crisis, the region's insurance regulator said on Monday.
Europe's top 20 insurers are in good overall financial health with average capital reserves at 200 percent of the required minimum, but their solvency ratios have “started slightly to decrease,” EIOPA said in its twice-yearly financial stability report.
Insurers generate income to make payments to their customers by investing in bonds and equities, and the sector has suffered a drop in revenue as rock-bottom interest rates have dragged down yields on high-quality government debt.
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