"European Insurance Giants See Share Prices Swoon From COVID-19"

From PYMNTS.com:

The stock prices of Europe’s big commercial insurers are taking it on the chin as claims mount amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The EURO STOXX Insurance Index is down more than 21 percent as of Monday morning (Aug. 17) year to date, compared to 11.2 percent for the broader STOXX Europe 600 index.

The share losses by Europe’s top insurers come amid a jump in claims from the businesses for which they provide coverage, as firms have been forced to cancel events and suffered hits to their bottom lines, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The insurers have also seen their own investment portfolios take a hit amid stock market volatility, as their solvency ratios – a key measure of their financial strength – are also falling, the Journal reports.

Stock price volatility is also up dramatically for Europe’s largest insurers, with annualized volatility hitting 48.3 percent for the year to date as of the end of July, according to the EURO STOXX Insurance Index. That compares to a three-year average of 24.4 percent.

European insurance stocks have also faced higher volatility than other European companies, with annualized volatility on the Euro STOXX index hitting 36.4 percent, up from a three-year average of 19.5 percent....

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