BNP Paribas turns cautious on European insurers after 2025 rally

Prudential

12/01/2026 09:00

** Last year's performance may be hard to repeat in 2026 as European insurance stocks' valuations look stretched, Exane BNP Paribas says

** It says pricing conditions are weakening across reinsurance and commercial P&C lines, while falling U.S. and UK bond yields could weigh on earnings

** The brokerage cuts Britain's Prudential PRU.L and Italy's Poste Italiane PST.MI to "neutral" from "outperform" after both rose more than 60% last year

** It also cuts Swiss Life SLHN.S to "underperform" from "neutral", citing a substantial re-rating despite weaker recent results

** It upgrades French reinsurance company SCOR SCOR.PA to "outperform" from "neutral", citing the potential for improved capital generation to drive a stock re-rating

(Reporting by Laura Contemori)

((Laura.contemori@thomsonreuters.com))