French group AXA is in advanced talks to sell its CEE operations to Austria's Uniqa Insurance Group AG, said Bloomberg quoting people familiar with the matter and thus putting again under the limelight a market rumour started in the fall of 2019.

Cyber risks, climate change, managerial responsibilities, safety of bank transactions and new paying methods will be the topics of the "A New Era of Risks: Impact on business and property" conference, that will be held on the 1st of April in the hotel Crowne Plaza in Belgrade.

At the end of December 2019, MetLife reported net income of USD 5.7 billion for the full year (+15%) and a net income of USD 536 million (-73%) in the last quarter alone.

Victor DUBROVIN has been appointed the vice-president of the All Russian Insurance Association (ARIA). He will, among other things, develop life insurance and digitalization of the insurance market, ASN reports.

In 2019 almost 90% of car owners (33.8 million people) got MTPL discounts (bonus-malus coefficient less than 1) and 48% of all car owners (18.3 million people) had discounts of 20% or more, according to Igor YURGENS, the president of the Russian Association of Motor Insurers (RAMI).

Kazakhstan's insurance market is showing positive growth dynamics: assets in 2019 increased by 15%, to KZT 1.2 trillion, liabilities - by 13%, up to KZT 653 billion (which is 54% of the total assets), equity increased by 8%, to KZT 553 billion, as Madina ABYLKASYMOVA, the Chairman of the Agency of Kazakhstan for regulation and development of the financial market stated.

According to the data of the Financial Rating of Armenian insurance companies, prepared by ArmInfo, total net profit of local insurers in 2019 increased 7.3 times (vs. a decline by 67.6% in 2018), and reached AMD 1.4 billion (USD 3 million).

GWP of the Kazakh insurance market increased by about 32% y-o-y in 2019, to KZT 508.5 billion (EUR 1.19 billion), while the net premiums went up even by 43%, as the data, published by the National Bank show.

Last year, the Estonian insurance market posted aggregate GWP worth of EUR 493.83 million, 10.56% down compared with the previous year, according to FY2019 preliminary market figures published by the Estonian National Statistics Board.

The Turkish insurance industry totaled TRY 69.24 billion (EUR 10.37 billion) in premiums in 2019, according to data released by the Turkey Insurance Association (TSB). The figure represents a nominal increase in local currency of 26.69% over 2018, while the same indicator calculated in European currency was 14.90% due the deprecietion of Turkish Lira against Euro.

Hannover Re grew its premium volume in traditional property and casualty reinsurance by 14.0% adjusted for exchange rate effects in the treaty renewals as at 1 January 2020. The price increase for the renewed business amounted to 2.3%.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hitted eastern Turkey on 24 January can generate losses for insurers, mentioning that about one third (35%) of houses localised in the affected province (Elazig) had been insured, informed Middle East Insurance Review quoting local officials

General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re), the state reinsurer of India, announced they will expand their business in Russia.

The President of the Management Board of GENERALI Polska companies Andrea SIMONCELLI was recognized by Gazeta Bankowa as the Insurance Manager of the Year. This title was awarded by the Competition Jury for successful acquisitions and consolidation of the insurance market in Poland, as the Italian insurer informed in a statement.

Aon plc announced the acquisition of Cytelligence Inc, a Canadian-based cyber security firm that provides incident response advisory, digital forensic expertise, security consulting services and cyber security training for employees to help organizations respond to cyber security threats and strengthen their security position.

After 20 years, the PZU Group leaves the PZU Tower in Warsaw. The largest Polish insurer has signed a letter of intent with the Skanska Group, which assumes renting space in the Generation Park complex. Several thousand PZU employees will move to the headquarters temporary location in the second quarter of 2022.

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) closed year 2019 with a net profit of USD 184 million, 1.1% higher than 2018's level (FY2018: USD 182 million).

Aon announced the 2019 results of the fourth quarter and the full year. The figures of the fourth quarter (3 months) show an increase of 4% in the consolidated revenues, to USD 2.885 billion (4Q2018: USD 2.770 billion).

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019.

The key issues affecting the Middle East insurance market were analyzed, at the end of January 2020, at the "InsureTek Middle East 2020" event, a one day conference and awards gala.