Europe's insurers paid out a total of EUR 975 billion in claims and benefits over the course of 2015, the equivalent of EUR 2.7 billion per day, according to figures released by Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation.

The figures, which were published in the federation's annual "European Insurance in Figures", show that - despite an unfavourable economic environment - the European insurance industry paid out 1.6% more than in 2014.

Michaela KOLLER, director general of Insurance Europe, commented: "The volume of claims and benefits paid out by Europe's insurers demonstrates the importance of insurance, which underpins every aspect of European life and business."

The figures also show that:

• Insurers remained Europe's largest institutional investors, with EUR 9,897 billion invested in the economy.
• The European insurance market, which is the largest in the world, continued to grow in 2015, with total premiums increasing by 2% to EUR 1,207 billion.
• However, average insurance penetration (gross written premiums as a percentage of GDP) decreased slightly in Europe from 7.62% in 2014 to 7.41% in 2015.

KOLLER added: "To be able to continue to play their vital role, insurers need a robust and workable regulatory framework. Insurance Europe is committed to working with regulators and supervisors - both in Europe and globally - to ensure that framework not only protects and gives confidence to policyholders, but also allows insurers both to adapt their products and services to reflect changing policyholder needs and to invest in ways that benefit the European economy as a whole."