Generali's headline numbers for the first half of 2026 look solid. Gross written premiums (GWP) grew 5.8% to €53.4 billion and the consolidated operating result rose 11.2% to €4.5 billion. The adjusted net result climbed 13.7% to €2.5 billion.
The number worth paying attention to sits inside the P&C segment.
Natural catastrophe losses consumed 3.6% of Generali's P&C combined ratio in the first half of 2026, up from 1.7% in the same period last year. That near-doubling of the cat load is what pushed the group's P&C combined ratio from 91.0% to 91.5%. Strip out the cat impact and the underlying attritional loss ratio actually improved 0.4 percentage points to 64.3%.
Generali's P&C gross written premiums grew 6.3% to €20 billion in H1 2026, with non-motor lines up 5.8% across all main areas and motor premiums rising 6%, led by Germany and the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. The P&C operating result grew 4.7% to €2.14 billion, and prior year development contributed favorably at -3.3% of the loss ratio. The undiscounted combined ratio, which removes the benefit of claims discounting, was 93.8%.
In its results, Generali said it would reinforce its flexible approach to tariff adjustments in P&C given a general increase in natural catastrophe events. The group flagged non-motor lines as its primary P&C growth focus going forward.
That pricing signal matters because it comes against a broadly softening market. Global commercial property rates fell 12% in the second quarter of 2026, according to Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index, the eighth consecutive quarter of declines.
A carrier absorbing a heavier cat load while signalling tariff flexibility is one where brokers placing property risk should expect renewal conversations to become more detailed. Generali is not pulling back from the market, but it is telling brokers it intends to price more carefully within it.
The broader cat trend is not Generali-specific. Aon's 2026 Climate and Catastrophe Insight found that natural disasters caused an estimated $260 billion in economic losses in 2025, with more than half remaining uninsured. Swiss Re has separately warned that long-term global insured losses from natural catastrophes are growing at 5 to 7% annually in real terms.
Away from P&C, life net inflows reached €8.3 billion in H1 2026, a 33.9% increase that Generali described as a record figure for a first half. New business value rose 21.1% to €1.9 billion, and the life operating result grew 8.8% to €2.2 billion.
Asia was the primary driver of life volume growth, with traditional savings premiums in the region up 57.8%. Germany contributed too, with traditional savings up 59.8%. Protection and health net inflows grew to €2.6 billion, led by Germany, Asia, and Italy.
The asset and wealth management operating result grew 31.3% to €735 million. Banca Generali's contribution rose 45.8% to €401 million, supported by higher performance fees of €126 million, against €42 million in H1 2025.
The adjusted net result rose 13.7% to €2.5 billion. Adjusted earnings per share reached €1.68, a 14.3% increase on the prior year period. On a standalone Q2 2026 basis, the consolidated operating result was €2.3 billion, up 14.5% year-on-year.
The group's Solvency II ratio stood at 216% at June 30, down 3 percentage points from 219% at the end of 2025. Generali attributed the movement to regulatory changes, market variances, and the €500 million share buyback, which is scheduled to begin on August 10.
Group chief executive Philippe Donnet said life and P&C both continued growth in operating result and technical profitability in the half, and acknowledged the higher impact of natural catastrophes.
Total assets under management reached €944 billion, up 4.9% from the end of 2025. Normalized capital generation rose 4% to €2.4 billion.
