Q3 2026 : European insurers kept their nerve on equities

The past five years offered European insurers several opportunities to retreat from equities.

The pandemic was followed by inflation, the fastest monetary tightening in the euro’s history, war in Europe and repeated bouts of market volatility. At the same time, bonds became investable again, offering insurers a less capital-intensive source of returns.

A substantial retreat from equities would therefore have been understandable.

At first sight, it did not happen.

European insurers continue to hold significant equity portfolios. But the apparent stability deserves closer examination. Market values alone cannot tell us whether insurers have been buying or selling.

When equity markets rise faster than insurers’ reported holdings, a stable portfolio value can actually imply net disposals. Conversely, falling markets can conceal purchases.

There is a second complication. “Equities” encompass very different exposures: listed shares, strategic participations, private equity and investments benefiting from specific long-term regulatory treatment. Their economic purpose differs substantially.

The important finding may therefore be less dramatic than either “insurers are buying equities” or “insurers are retreating from equities”.

They appear to have preserved equity exposure while changing what sits underneath it.