Czechia, Poland and Romania, VIENNA Insurance Group's largest markets in the CEE were the main drivers of its good 1Q2018 results. VIG targets for year-end GWP of about EUR 9.5 billion and profit before taxes of EUR 450 - 470 million.

ALLIANZ has announced that it has completed the sale of part of its traditional life insurance portfolio in Taiwan to CHINA Life Insurance Co.

Lloyd's announced its Brussels unit has received license approval from the National Bank of Belgium. Vincent VANDENDAEL will take up the post of CEO of the newly established Lloyd's Brussels in addition to his role as Lloyd's CCO.

In Q1 2018, Slovene TRIGLAV Group posted a consolidated profit before tax of EUR 27.5 million or 8% more than in the same period last year, while the net profit was up by 5% y-o-y to EUR 23.3 million.

The global insurance industry will grow more strongly than the global economy in 2018 and 2019, as global reinsurer MUNICH Re recently forecasted. In 2030, the global insurance market is expected to reach a volume of EUR 7.9 trillion.

The global insurance broker WTW - Willis Towers Watson said that China's Banking Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) has approved Willis Insurance Brokers to be the first fully licensed foreign broker to transact all insurance business in China.

SAVA Re Group saw high premium growth both in Slovenia and in its international markets in 1Q2018. GWP rose by 4.4% y-o-y to EUR 167.0 million. The Group wrote 32.1% of the target premium income for the full year 2018.

Hannover-based TALANX Group announced its Q1 GWP was up to EUR 10.6 billion, 8.3% up y-o-y, while the Group net income dropped by 8.4%, to EUR 218 million "mainly as a result of the one-off effect of the US tax reform as well as the higher share of profits attributable to minorities".

German insurance group ALLIANZ announced its 1Q 2018 operating profit was down 6.0% to EUR 2.8 billion. "The main drivers for the decrease were EUR 142 million currency translations and EUR 148 million benefit in the prior year related to our corporate pension administration".

Adris group's insurance arm, CROATIA Osiguranje, posted a net profit of HRK 101.5 million (~EUR 13.7 million) in 1Q2018, up 50% y-o-y. Its consolidated GWP went up by 7% y-o-y, to HRK 1.10 billion (~EUR 148.6 million).

Insurance Europe's 10th International Conference, taking place today, 24 May, in Madrid, Spain, focuses on "Overcoming underinsurance" and gathers insurance professionals and representatives of authorities from all over Europe.

PensionsEurope believes that private pension saving should be encouraged to compensate for potential lower state pension benefits. In particular, we support a regulatory environment encouraging workplace pension membership, Matti LEPPALA, Secretary General CEO, PensionsEurope & Chair, OPSG of EIOPA stated on 16 May, at FIAR.

Are the insurers and the brokers ready for the GDPR challenge? What effects will GDPR have on the Romanian insurance industry and on consumers? What are the main issues in implementing GDPR? These were just a few of the topics debated during the GDPR Workshop taking place at FIAR 2018.

The second part of the REINSURING NATCAT RISKS Conference taking place at FIAR 2018 focused on the best solutions for closing the NatCat insurance gap. Christian KREUTZER, Head Market Underwriting CEE, Swiss Re Europe, and Evgeny POTOKOV, Senior Underwriter South Eastern Europe, SCOR Global P&C Deutschland were among the speakers that joined the debates.

NatCat exposure versus coverage, the largest natural catastrophe risks affecting Europe, as well as the best solutions for closing the insurance gap were just a few of the topics analyzed during the REINSURING NATCAT RISKS Conference taking place at FIAR 2018.

The second day of debates at FIAR 2018 started with The Brokers' Conference, the event dedicated to the mediation market in Romania and in the CEE region. The first part of the conference focused on a market overview and also analyzed the challenges of the IDD implementation, as well as the potential impact of IPID for MTPL and PAD.

The 21st edition of the International Insurance-Reinsurance Forum was officially opened on Monday night, with the XPRIMM Reinsurance Awards.

The INSURANCE IN A DIGITAL WORLD Conference, taking place at FIAR 2018, brought into debate the impact of digitization on the insurance industry. The first part of the conference focused on risks & opportunities of digitalization for both industry and consumers, as well as case studies and best practices: BigData & IoT, BlockChain, Peer-to-Peer, and AI.

During the second part of the Insurance Market Trends Conference, taking place at FIAR 2018, the debates focused on the current situation in Romania and the sustainable development for a growing and stable insurance market, as well as the challenges and opportunities for the local insurers.