How life insurers reinvent themselves in times of need

Munich, Frankfurt The need is increasing from year to year, as the letters from life insurers to their customers have shown impressively in the past few days: R + V Lebensversicherung, number two on the market behind the long-run Allianz, will reduce the current interest rate in the coming year from 1 .75 to 1.55 percent. Competitor Zurich, which is also one of the top 5 on the market, goes down from 2.0 to 1.8 percent. And the equally large Ergo Vorsorge life insurance reduces the current interest rate from 2.35 to 2.2 percent.

In the low interest rate environment that has persisted for more than a decade, the high guarantees that insurers have promised their customers in the past have become a financial burden. “Low returns and the associated reinvestment risks represent the greatest challenges for the life insurance sector,” says Stephan Kalb from the Fitch rating agency.