S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of insurance news stories and more published throughout the week.
Macro level
* The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority launched its fourth stress test of the European insurance sector, which will assess for the first time participants' exposure to cyberrisk.
* The rise in the number of potholes in the U.K., dubbed a "pothole epidemic," has cost insurers £4.2 million in claims since the start of 2018.
Bottom lines
* Allianz Group reported first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of €1.94 billion, up from €1.82 billion in the year-ago period.
* NN Group NV reported first-quarter consolidated net result of €399 million, down from €435 million in the same period in 2017.
* CNP Assurances SA's first-quarter attributable net profit rose to €313 million from €302 million a year earlier.
* Ageas SA/NV reported first-quarter net result attributable to shareholders of €247.7 million, up from €110.2 million in the year-ago period.
* Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG posted first-quarter consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders of €57.4 million under International Financial Reporting Standards, down from €69.5 million in the year-ago period.
* PZU SA reported IFRS first-quarter net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company of 640 million zlotys, down from the restated 940 million zlotys a year earlier.
M&A corner
* Generali unit Generali CEE Holding BV reached an agreement to conduct exclusive negotiations with KD Group financna družba d.d. to acquire 100% of Adriatic Slovenica Zavarovalna druzba d.d.
* AssuredPartners London agreed to acquire Lloyd's of London broker B&W Brokers Ltd., subject to regulatory approval expected in the coming weeks.
* Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC acquired Germany-based specialty marine insurance broker OWL Marine Insurance Brokers.
Game plans
* Allianz German insurer is developing plans to wind down its Iran-related business because of potential U.S. sanctions on the country.
* Scor SE is restructuring its large corporate risks insurance unit, Scor Business Solutions, as part of its current three-year "Vision in Action" strategy.
* U.S.-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has submitted an application to the Central Bank of Ireland for the authorization of a new insurance subsidiary in Dublin.
* Japan's Toa Reinsurance Co. Ltd. is planning to launch a new underwriting platform in Switzerland to enable writing European third-party business.
* Hansard Global Plc established Hansard Worldwide Ltd., a new insurance company in the Bahamas.
Bigwig moves
* Dušan Quis was appointed chairman of the management board at Allianz pojištovna a.s. with immediate effect. The executive, working for Allianz since 2016, replaced Jakub Strnad.
* Generali appointed Antonio Tedesco head of group asset liability management and strategic asset allocation. Tedesco was most recently head of asset management project as well as head of capital management at Poste Vita SpA.
* Bupa named Roger Davis nonexecutive chairman, replacing Alexander Leitch, who will step down at the end of 2018. Also, Lawrence Churchill will resign as senior independent director May 16. Clare Thompson, who joined the board in May 2015, will succeed Churchill as senior independent director.
In other news
* Axa has completed the IPO of U.S. subsidiary Axa Equitable Holdings, Inc. and declared that the financing needed for the acquisition of XL Group Ltd. is now secured.
* The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, or Finanstilsynet, advised subscribers of compulsory insurance policies issued by Alpha Insurance A/S to take out new policies with other insurers as soon as possible because the Danish insurer has gone bankrupt.
* Zurich Insurance Group AG's U.K. arm agreed to cover more than £2 billion of pension liabilities for the U.K. National Grid Electricity Group of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme.
Featured during the week on S&P Global Market Intelligence
Ageas to get solvency boost if BNP Paribas retains Belgian insurer stake: Ageas' solvency ratio will rise by around 10 percentage points should BNP Paribas decide not to exercise an option to sell its stake in a Belgian insurer that both entities own, according to Ageas' CEO.
Allianz could miss ROE target but CFO 'highly confident' of underwriting goal: Giulio Terzariol said during a first-quarter earnings call that the German insurer would be "close to" yet "slightly below" its 13% return on equity target for 2018.