Insurer Allianz sees $11b profit this year

FRANKFURT, Feb 24 (AFP): German insurance giant Allianz said Thursday that it foresees an operating profit of eight billion euros (US$11 billion) this year, give or take half a billion. Allianz chief executive Michael Diekmann told a press conference in Munich, southern Germany, that uncertainty caused by new European capital requirements for insurers made it hard to give a more precise outlook. "For the 2011 exercise, we foresee an operating profit of eight billion euros, give or take 500 million owing to uncertainties," Diekmann said. Shares in the biggest European insurer were then hammered in midday trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Allianz was exposed to a maximum of 300 million euros in losses from the earthquake Tuesday in New Zealand and torrential rains in Australia early this year, its boss acknowledged. But "that is a very provisional estimate," Diekmann said. He underscored optimism for the full-year but warned a new set of EU capital requirements known as Solvency II needed to be clarified because they might entail risks for some of Allianz's activities. "Owing to uncertainties over Solvency II we cannot make any large acquisitions," Diekmann noted. The new regime is to take effect in 2013, but some details must still be finalised and an insurer might have to raise its capital significantly, which would undermine earnings and make some activities unattractive, he explained.