Polish insurers' aggregate GWP was up by 0.6% y-o-y to PLN 16.35 billion (~EUR 3.80 billion) in the first quarter of 2019, financial indicators from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) showed. Official figures also revealed that the amount of paid claims/indemnities during the period was PLN 10.2 billion, representing a decrease of 2.7% y-o-y.

In the first quarter of this year, the Lithuanian insurance market grew by 6% y-o-y to almost EUR 232 million, while the value of payments expanded by more than 8% to EUR 125 million, according to figures published by the Bank of Lithuania.

The Financial Supervisory Authority announced it has approved Leslie J. BREER's appointments as CEO of GOTHAER's Romanian unit. Together with Cosmin ANGHELUTA (Deputy CEO / Sales Chief Executive) - he will implement the company`s 3 yrs mid-term strategic plan, already approved by its Board of Directors in March 2019.

Regulation on state support for insurers to provide compensation in case of drought damage has been approved in Latvia. It will contribute to the development of agro insurance, according to the Latvian Association of Insurers.

According to the forecast of the largest Russian rating agency, Expert RA, GWP in e-insurance, excluding MTPL, will reach RUB 19-20 billion (~EUR 0.26-0.28 billion) by the end of 2019, the agency reports.

Tas Insurance Group, one of the TOP-5 insurers of Ukraine, generated GWP of UAH 707.45 million (~EUR 23.64 million) from January to May 2019, which is 34.8% more y-o-y, Forinsurer reports.

Total insurance market's assets at the end of 1Q2019 increased by about 13.5% y-o-y, to AZN 1.4 billion (~EUR 0.73 billion), Ibrahim ALISHOV, Acting Chairman of the Board of Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan (FIMSA) said in Baku at the 9th Forum "Insurance in Azerbaijan: Trends & Opportunities".

In May, 2019, GWP of Kazakh life insurance companies increased by 33.6% (to KZT 71 billion/~EUR 167 million) y-o-y, Allinsurance.kz reports.

In June 2019, Zurich announced actions towards reducing climate change, by expanding existing thermal coal policy, committing to utilize 100% renewable power until 2022 and signing Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees Celsius Pledge.

Swiss Re announced that the company has become a Supporting Member of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF), the global representative body of the cooperative and mutual insurance sector.

ZURICH Insurance Group announced that Amanda BLANC, CEO EMEA and Bank Distribution and a Member of the Group's Executive Committee, has tendered her resignation.

LLOYD's of London announced today that Jennifer RIGBY has been appointed Chief Operations Officer (COO).

The Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) has been included again in Austria's VONIX sustainability index for the 2019/20 period. The listing was officially announced at the end of June 2019.

Trust Re, the regional reinsurance company headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 1989, announced that The Company is satisfied with its 30-year growth and remains committed to fulfilling all its obligations.

LLOYD's, the world's insurance and reinsurance market, announced the appointment of Mark COOPER for the newly created role of Head of Market Development for the European market, and Amit KHILOSIA as the new Regional Head, Africa.

German insurer ALLIANZ announced changes to its board of management following Helga JUNG's decision to not extend her appointment and retire at the end of December 2019 after 26 years at ALLIANZ and having served as member of the board of management for eight years.

One of the most important insurance events within the Caucasus region - the "Insurance in Azerbaijan: Trends & Opportunities" Conference took place today, 28 June 2019, in the capital city of Azerbaijan - Baku.

Total market GWP from January-April 2019 amounted to AZN 265.3 million (~EUR 139.12 million), while total paid claims reached AZN 66.7 million, Trend reports with reference to the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA).

On 19 June 2019, Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) successfully completed the privatisation process of Nova Ljubljanska banka, d. d. (NLB). The Republic of Slovenia will remain the largest shareholder of NLB, with a 25% stake plus 1 share.

According to the most recent figures available on the CNB website (Czech National Bank), the local insurance industry totaled about CZK 41.8 billion (~EUR 1.6 billion) at the end of March 2019, down by 4.2% y-o-y.