Insurers suffered on all sides last year as sovereign bonds had to be written down, catastrophe claims (such as those from the Japanese earthquake) emptied coffers, and Europe's austerity measures cut demand for savings products. Worse, rock-bottom interest rates forced many to slash guaranteed returns on popular investment policies, exposing them to stiff competition from banks.
Axa, Europe's second-largest insurer, was no exception. It was knocked by a bigger-than-expected €387m write-down on its holdings of distressed Greek debt that's a 78% haircut. Its economic solvency ratio also dropped from 178% to 148% as of the end of December.
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