Europe’s four largest primary insurers, Allianz, AXA, Generali and Zurich, delivered strong 2025 results. Moody’s said the pace is likely to slow as main growth supports weaken and geopolitical and economic risks start pressing on earnings.
The group reported combined net profit of €32 bn for 2025, equal to an average year-on-year increase of 14%. Moody’s said that result points to a very strong earnings base.
Operating profit also rose, up 9% on average, with support coming from all major business lines. P&C did most of the work.
Moody’s said all four insurers still show strong diversification by line of business. Allianz, AXA and Zurich generate most of their profits from P&C. Generali’s earnings mix remains more balanced between P&C and L&H.
Earnings from operations with lower correlation to insurance stayed broadly steady against the prior year.
- Allianz drew 19% of operating profit from asset management.
- Generali got 15% from wealth and asset management.
- Zurich’s Farmers segment contributed 25% in 2025.
- AXA’s asset management share came in at 2%, limited to the first half of the year before the sale of AXA IM to BNP Paribas closed on 1 July 2025.
Geographic spread remains another strength, Moody’s said. Allianz and AXA expanded in their domestic markets. Generali and Zurich held roughly steady. All four keep large operations across Europe, and Zurich has a stronger US presence than its peers.
Commercial lines, reinsurance and trade credit insurance also give the group broader global exposure. It’s a wide footprint, and it still matters.
Even with tools left to support earnings growth, Moody’s expects momentum to moderate as several big drivers lose force. At the same time, the agency said geopolitical tension and a more uncertain macro backdrop are starting to raise the risk of earnings volatility.
Moody’s said the four insurers still expect margin improvement and higher insurance revenue, with both feeding future earnings. Still, the agency reads the outlook as more cautious than it was a year earlier.
It also pointed to added reserving prudence across the group, which should support reported claims ratios even if underlying claims trends worsen, including in a year when natural catastrophe losses move back toward long-term averages after a relatively benign 2025.
Retail pricing momentum is also expected to slow through 2026 as getting ahead of claims cost trends becomes harder. Some insurers had argued they were still able to push through healthy price rises in 2025 because local rivals had more ground to make up.
Moody’s said competition now looks more likely to intensify as markets return to underwriting profit. The UK already showed signs of that last year.
In commercial lines, pricing momentum remains uneven across business lines and target segments. Moody’s does not expect a strong broad-based improvement.
