Bundesbank Paper Flags Risks of Ultralow Rates to German Insurers

No kidding. Second only to the fact that the insurers have probably screwed up the longevity numbers à la the British,* is the fear they won't earn enough to meet the obligations they have incurred.
From MoneyBeat;

A dozen German life insurance companies wouldn’t be sufficiently funded to face even a mild stress scenario in which German government bond yields decline further and stay super low, according to a paper released Monday by Germany’s central bank.

“The present analysis shows that a persistent low-interest-rate environment harbors a potential risk to the stability of the life insurance segment,” a pair of Bundesbank economists wrote in a study looking at year-end 2012 data from 85 German life insurers.

The study included what the authors called a “mild stress scenario” in which German Bund yields stayed at levels that have persisted in Japan “for an extended period.” Twelve of the 85 German life insurers wouldn’t be able to meet their own funding  requirements by 2023 under this scenario, the authors found. The study didn’t identify individual companies....MORE

*See for example at Artemis:
Potential flaw in UK mortality data may impact longevity re/insurers