The profit shares of some life insurers are increasing.
This is a message that reads something like: man bites dog.
The fall in interest rates in recent years has been serious.
He brought a boring but solid - only sometimes scandalous in sales - industry to the edge of its existence, but not over it.
Thanks to the wise actions of financial regulators and the prudence of many managers, the worst thing for customers in a difficult situation has been when their provider has parted with its policyholder portfolio and transferred it to a buyer.
At the same time, the basic mechanics of life insurance helped: As a capital collection point, it invests billions for customers.
Before the financial crisis, she secured high interest rates on the capital market, which consumers could still be credited with when caution had long since forced the industry to build up additional capital buffers.
In this way, life insurers did better than the market average for a long time, the hardship came only from the guarantees, not from the system of collective pots.
Now that is shifting;
Insurers have accumulated hidden burdens.
The market interest rate rises, the investment portfolio bears less interest than current securities on the financial market.
The challenge for the industry remains great, but the signs are completely different than in the years of cheap money.