A.M. Best Conference to Highlight European Insurance Markets

Europe's insurers contended with flat or falling premium income in 2008 and this year are looking to repair balance sheets and boost capital on the wake of the global financial crisis.

How European insurers fared through the crisis and what is next for them will be on the agenda at A.M. Best Co.'s 2009 Review & Preview-Europe conference, to be held Oct. 14 at the Grange St. Paul's Hotel in London. A.M. Best analysts, along with senior executives from the insurance industry, will look at the most pressing issues facing insurers across the London market, Europe and the world.

According to A.M. Best's 2009 Review & Preview-Europe report, Western Europe's nonlife insurers were hit in 2008 by investment losses, rising claims costs, increased competition and generally flat demand for their products. But A.M. Best has also found that the nonlife sector was able to weather the crisis well, partly because of its strong financial position going into the crisis.

Europe's life insurers will have to repair battered balance sheets and raise capital following what A.M. Best describes as "one of the worst years ever for the global industry in most major markets." The investment incomes of Europe's life insurers was particularly hard hit by the crisis.

Findings in A.M. Best's Review & Preview-Europe include:

--Construction and commercial property premiums written were particularly hard hit due to a drop in construction, shrinking investment in manufacturing and plant closures;

--Unit-linked products saw significant policy surrenders and withdrawals in 2008;

--Central and Eastern Europe's technical results and profitability deteriorated due to high realized investment losses and lower revaluations as claims and expenses continued to rise;

--Western Europe's 2008 nonlife premiums as a percentage of gross domestic product by country was flat or declining; and

--The asset-liability mismatch under the International Financial Reporting Standard fair-value rules tends to exacerbate negative financial performance.

The conference will be chaired by A.M. Best's managing director of global financial services Roger Sellek. Scheduled speakers include nonlife general manager Miles Trotter and life general manager Vasilis Katsipis.

Jose Ribeiro, director of international markets and business development for Lloyd's; Manuel Bauer, head of global life at Allianz S.E.; and Paul Jardine, chief operating officer of Catlin Group, will discuss building a global platform to access emerging markets.

Ed Noonan, chairman and chief exeucitve of Validus Re; Clive Tobin, CEO of Torus; and Barbican Insurance Group CEO David Reeves will participate with A.M. Best John Andre in a discussion of new companies in the current environment.

A panel discussion on market conditions moderated by A.M. Best director of global financial services Nick Charteris-Black will hear the views of Adrian Clark of Aon Benfield, Nick Frankland of Guy Carpenter and Russell Merrett of Hiscox London Markets.

Other presentations and panel discussion topics will include enterprise risk management and capital management and investment and product strategies, post-crisis.

For more information on A.M. Best Co.'s 2009 Review & Preview ? Europe Conference, or to register, please call +44 (0) 207 397 0261 or e-mail europe.marketing@ambest.com.

Visit www.ambest.com/reviewpreview/europe for the latest updates on conference speakers and sessions.

Conference places are limited, so please register at www.ambest.com/reviewpreview/europe/register.asp.