Ageas reports strong Life performance and resilient Non-Life results in H1 2026
Ageas reported a strong first half of 2026, with total inflows reaching EUR 12.1 billion, up 17% year-on-year, and a Net Operating Result of EUR 776 million, up 6%. The performance was mainly driven by strong Life results across all regions, while Non-Life remained resilient despite significant weather-related claims in Belgium and Portugal.
Life inflows increased by 12% to EUR 7.6 billion, supported by strong commercial performance across Belgium, Europe and Asia. The Life Net Operating Result rose to EUR 629 million, driven by solid underwriting performance and a higher investment result. The Contractual Service Margin (CSM) reached EUR 11.1 billion, with operating CSM growth of 3.6%. Value of New Business increased by 5% to EUR 554 million, while the New Business Margin stood at 7.9%.
In Non-Life, inflows increased by 26% to EUR 4.5 billion. Weather-related claims in Belgium and Portugal added approximately five percentage points to the Group combined ratio, which reached 95.2% compared with 92.1% in H1 2025. Despite this impact, Ageas reported healthy underlying technical profitability and disciplined underwriting, with a Non-Life Net Operating Result of EUR 240 million.
From a capital perspective, Ageas reported a Solvency II ratio of 195% at the end of June and Operational Capital Generation of approximately EUR 1.1 billion. The Group expects the sale of its Malaysian activities to add around 23 percentage points to its Solvency II ratio upon completion.
Ageas also continues to expand the use of AI in pricing and underwriting, with more than 300 AI use cases deployed across the Group. In the UK, its Dynamic Pricing engine uses advanced AI models to continuously optimise insurance pricing and support underwriting decisions.
Looking ahead, Ageas expects its full-year 2026 Net Operating Result to exceed EUR 1.95 billion.
Belfius Insurance reports resilient H1 2026 results despite severe weather
Belfius Insurance reported a net result of EUR 130 million in H1 2026, down from EUR 161 million a year earlier. The decline was largely driven by exceptional weather conditions, including the most severe hailstorm of the past five years. Excluding this impact, Belfius indicates that the contribution from its insurance activities would have remained broadly stable year-on-year.
In Non-Life, premium income increased by 4.0% to EUR 494 million, with growth across all distribution channels. Bancassurance premiums rose by 5.5%, DVV by 2.9% and Belfius Direct Assurances by 9.8%, while new policy sales through Belfius Direct Assurances increased by 39%, mainly driven by motor and home insurance.
In Life, premium income decreased by 11.5% to EUR 957 million, although the Pension and Protection segments recorded growth of 10.4% and 4.1% respectively. Total Life insurance reserves increased by 3.2% to EUR 17.0 billion, supported by growth in both the Invest (+5.5%) and Pension (+2.5%) portfolios.
From a capital perspective, Belfius Insurance maintained a strong Solvency II ratio of 193% at the end of June 2026, compared with 201% at year-end 2025, confirming a robust solvency position despite the more challenging operating environment.
Belfius is also pursuing further digitalisation and international expansion in insurance. The acquisition of French insurtech Leocare marks a first step beyond Belgium and is intended to strengthen Belfius’ technology- and data-driven insurance model.
Ethias delivers strong H1 2026 growth and maintains robust solvency
Ethias reported a strong first half of 2026, with a BGAAP net result of EUR 145 million, up EUR 43 million year-on-year and EUR 10 million above expectations. Total premium income reached EUR 2.517 billion, representing growth of more than EUR 400 million, or 18%, mainly driven by strong Life business performance.
Despite several significant weather events during the period, the Group maintained a profitable growth trajectory and reported financial results ahead of expectations. Its regulatory Solvency II ratio stood at around 200% at the end of June 2026, in line with the Group’s objectives. The ratio is calculated using the standard formula and includes a projected dividend of EUR 154 million, prorated over six months.
Beyond its insurance activities, Ethias continued to strengthen its role as a long-term investor in the Belgian economy. Investments in Belgium reached approximately EUR 5.8 billion, with a particular focus on strategic infrastructure linked to mobility, the energy transition and digitalisation.
The Group is also reinforcing its technology ambitions through Keyes and Ethias Ventures, with initiatives focused on sovereign cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and AI. These developments form part of Ethias’ broader Values 29 strategy, which combines profitable growth with long-term economic, social and technological impact in Belgium.
KBC reports strong H1 2026 insurance performance and improved combined ratio
KBC Group reported a net profit of EUR 1.71 billion in H1 2026, up 9% year-on-year, following a second-quarter result of EUR 1.15 billion.
From an insurance perspective, the insurance service result increased by 11% year-on-year to EUR 341 million, including EUR 229 million from Non-Life and EUR 112 million from Life. The Non-Life combined ratio improved to 85%, compared with 87% for full-year 2025, reflecting continued strong technical profitability.
Commercial activity also remained strong. Non-Life insurance sales increased by 9% to EUR 1.59 billion in the first half of the year, with growth across all main insurance classes. Life insurance sales rose by 18% to EUR 1.97 billion, supported by higher sales of both unit-linked and guaranteed-interest products.
In the second quarter, the Non-Life insurance service result was affected by higher claims related to storms and industrial fires, although this was largely offset by higher insurance revenues and a better reinsurance result. The Life insurance service result, meanwhile, increased by 9% quarter-on-quarter and 10% year-on-year.
KBC Insurance also strengthened its solvency position, with its Solvency II ratio increasing to 231% at the end of June 2026, compared with 227% at year-end 2025. At Group level, the fully loaded CET1 ratio stood at 14.4%.
Looking ahead, KBC upgraded its 2026 guidance for insurance revenues before reinsurance to approximately +9% year-on-year, while maintaining its target for the Non-Life combined ratio at below 91%.
ING Belgium delivers strong H1 2026 growth with higher profitability and increased risk costs
ING Belgium reported a strong first half of 2026, with profit before tax rising by 28.7% to EUR 523 million. The performance was supported by solid commercial momentum, customer growth across all segments and a more diversified income base.
Total income increased by 8.1% to EUR 1.81 billion, while net interest income rose by 4.6% to EUR 1.18 billion. At the same time, continued growth in investment activity pushed assets under management to EUR 54.9 billion, up 14% year-on-year, contributing to higher fee and commission income of EUR 533 million.
Profitability also benefited from disciplined cost management. Total expenses decreased by 4.2% to EUR 1.11 billion, despite continued investment in the franchise and the rollout of a new banking platform. As a result, the cost/income ratio improved significantly to 62.6%, from 70.7% a year earlier.
From a risk perspective, risk costs increased to EUR 155 million, compared with EUR 86 million in H1 2025. ING attributes the increase mainly to ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty and its prudent provisioning approach, while noting that risk costs remain within the expected range for its EUR 119 billion portfolio.
Commercial momentum remained strong across all segments, with customer acquisition up 31% among private individuals, new Private Banking inflows more than doubling, and the number of Business Banking clients in the starters segment increasing by 68%. These developments further strengthened ING Belgium’s customer base and supported the continued diversification of its revenue mix.
Allianz delivers record operating profit and strong insurance performance in H1 2026
Allianz Group reported a strong first half of 2026, with operating profit reaching a record EUR 9.4 billion, up 8.6% year-on-year. Shareholders’ core net income increased by 15.5% to EUR 6.4 billion, while core earnings per share rose by 17.5% to EUR 16.44.
In Property-Casualty, total business volume increased by 5.3% to EUR 49.6 billion, while operating profit rose by 9.1% to EUR 4.9 billion, supported by both the insurance service and investment results. The combined ratio remained at an excellent 91.4%, slightly improving from 91.5% in H1 2025 and ahead of the Group’s 92–93% full-year outlook range.
In Life and Health, operating profit increased by 2.4% to EUR 2.9 billion. The new business margin stood at 5.4%, remaining above Allianz’s ambition of at least 5%, while value of new business reached EUR 2.4 billion. Adjusted for foreign exchange effects and the disposal of UniCredit Allianz Vita, new business volumes increased by 3%, with 91% of sales generated in Allianz’s preferred, capital-efficient business lines.
The Life/Health Contractual Service Margin (CSM) increased to EUR 57.3 billion, from EUR 55.7 billion at year-end 2025, with normalized CSM growth of 2.7%, keeping Allianz on track towards its full-year growth ambition of around 5%.
Allianz further strengthened its capital position, with the Solvency II ratio increasing to 225%, compared with 218% at year-end 2025, supported by strong capital generation. Annualized core return on equity reached 20.7%.
Following these results, Allianz confirmed its 2026 operating profit outlook of EUR 17.4 billion, plus or minus EUR 1 billion.