- EIOPA says private equity buyers of European insurers must prove they plan to support policyholders over decades, not exit after a short holding period.
- Regulators are scrutinizing affiliated investments, private credit exposure, intragroup transactions and reinsurance structures that might shift risk away from buyers and toward policyholders.
- Private equity ownership remains small across the EU at 2.4% of insurance assets, but some markets show higher exposure, including Greece at about 20%, Portugal and Luxembourg at 16%, and the Netherlands at 13%.
Europe’s insurance watchdog says private equity firms seeking to buy insurers must prove they plan to support policyholders for the long run, not extract quick gains and exit.
Petra Hielkema, chair of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, said private equity ownership brings capital, expertise and more competition to the sector. The test sits in the investment horizon and the post-deal plan.
Alternative asset managers have pushed further into insurance as they seek predictable income and access to large asset pools managed for customers. The model has drawn closer attention from supervisors and investors after recent pressure in private markets.
Regulators want evidence that new owners will not move policyholder money into riskier affiliated investments or leave insurers weaker at exit. Hielkema said supervisors need clear answers on the buyer’s post-acquisition strategy.
EIOPA coordinates insurance supervisors across the EU’s 27 member states. It plans to finalise a supervisory statement to help national regulators assess takeovers by private equity firms, which often target exits after roughly five years.
Prospective buyers will need to explain how long they expect to remain invested. Insurers carry promises to customers that stretch across decades, so a short holding period raises obvious supervisory questions.
Regulators will also review ownership structures, intragroup transactions and investment strategies that might expose policyholders to new risks. Private credit sits high on that list. So do complex reinsurance deals that shift risk to affiliated entities, sometimes in offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands.
British regulators are also preparing tougher capital treatment for funded reinsurance, a structure used by life insurers to transfer blocks of liabilities to reinsurers.
Private equity ownership remains limited across the EU overall, but the average hides heavier exposure in some national markets. About 20% of Greece’s insurance market has links to private equity. Portugal and Luxembourg stand near 16%, and the Netherlands at 13%.
- Private equity investors took control of 37 EU insurers between 2014 and 2024 and exited 11, according to EIOPA. That left 26 private equity-owned insurance groups with about €260 bn, or $303 bn, of assets under management. The figure equals 2.4% of the EU insurance market.
- The US market shows a larger shift. The number of private equity-owned US insurers rose from 90 in 2018 to 137 in 2024, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Those insurers held $704 bn in cash and invested assets, equal to 7.8% of the industry total.
Petra Hielkema said regulators might intervene when an insurer becomes too dependent on one investor or on transactions with affiliated companies. That kind of concentration risk gets uncomfortable fast.
For supervisors, the concern is control, related-party exposure and whether the balance sheet still protects policyholders after the deal maths has been worked through.
Hielkema also warned that some investors overestimate how easily US and British insurance models transfer into continental Europe. Insurance products differ. Customer behaviour differs too, and regulation doesn’t move in lockstep.
