Generali, the Trieste-based insurance company, is expanding into the Bulgarian insurance market by acquiring a 51% stake in the Orel-G group which is the leading player on the Bulgarian health insurance sector through its subsidiary Zakrila which has a 60% market share. It owns in particular a private general hospital and has concluded agreements with 270 health institutions. The company also has a life insurance subsidiary, Orel-G AD (which has a 10% market share) and an auto insurance arm. It generated 28 million euros in life insurance premiums in 2005, up by 30% in one year. Orel-G distributes its products via a network of 8 000 salespersons, 87 sales offices, and via local banking partners for life insurance products. As a result of this deal and its recent acquisitions in Serbia, Croatia and Ukraine, Generali will have almost 4 million customers in ten Central and Eastern European countries. The aim of this strategy is to expand into markets with strong growth potential, where the regulatory environment is favourable to insurance. In Bulgaria, premium growth has averaged 25% a year since 2000.

The American Treasury is to step up its aid to American insurance companies, by enlarging access to the TARP (Trouble Asset Relief Program), previously reserved for life insurance companies controlling a commercial bank or a savings bank.

The European Insurance Committee will carry out stress tests on the leading European insurers in 2010.