Greek insurers will pay over EUR 33.7 million in compensation for the devastating fires that hit Attica on 23 July 2018, according to the first estimate of the Hellenic Insurance Companies Association (EAEE).

At the end of March 2018, the Greek insurance market totaled EUR 999.5 million, up by 3.5% y-o-y, according to the preliminary market figures published by the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies (HAIC).

 The exit comes after the collapse of the Ethniki sale to Exin and the failure of another deal.

Following the failure to sell its insurance arm, NBG - National Bank of Greece announced it would continue the process for the sale of ETHNIKI Insurance with the final bidders, wrote local media.

Exin, the aspiring owner of Greece's largest insurer Ethniki, appears to have received a boost from an unlikely source as it continues its odyssey to raise EUR720mn to buy a majority share of the firm.

Two Chinese groups have renewed their interest in buying a majority stake in National Insurance, Greece's largest insurer, after a EUR 718m sale agreed with Calamos-Exin, a US-Dutch partnership, collapsed last month. Fosun Investment and Gonbao Investment, the second- and third-ranked bidders, "have returned to the reopened sale process" said one source close to the situation.

One more fight has been won by cab companies, this time in Greece, where a new piece of legislation that might push car-sharing service Uber out of existence in the country has been adopted.

Greece's National Bank (NBG) said on Thursday that a potential deal to sell a 75 percent stake of its wholly-owned insurance subsidiary to EXIN Financial Services Holding had expired a day earlier.

Exin is "close" to being in a position to make a fully financed bid for Greek state-owned insurer Ethniki and still has a superior value proposition to the Chinese bidders lining up to challenge it, the group's CEO Matt Fairfield has told The Insurance Insider.

Exin has lost exclusivity in the race to buy Greek state-owned insurer Ethniki and will now have to fight off competition from Chinese bidders including Fosun, The Insurance Insider understands.

Greece's National Bank is exploring all options on the sale of a majority stake in its wholly-owned insurance unit after a deal to sell the subsidiary to Netherlands-based investor Exin expired on Wednesday, the banks's CFO said.

China's FOSUN expressed its interest in Greece's largest insurer ETHNIKI a few days before the deadline for the EXIN Group to implement the deal for the acquisition of 75% of ETHNIKI from National Bank of Greece - NBG.

The Greek government may opt to list a portion of Ethniki's equity on a public market if Exin's offer to acquire the insurer falls flat, local press reports indicate.

According to the year-end market figures published by HAIC - the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies, the Greek insurance market totalled EUR.3.78 billion at the end of 2017, up by 0.05% y-o-y.

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The sale of the Greek largest insurer to the American-Dutch consortium CALAMOS-EXIN remained under the question mark after CALAMOS Family Partners had filed a legal action against EXIN Financial Services Holdings, wrote ekathimerini.com.

The management of National Bank of Greece is considering waiting out the nine-month period of the provisional agreement with Exin Financial Services Holdings BV for the sale of Ethniki Insurance to see whether the deal falls through.