Eurovita

A sharp rise in European Central Bank interest rates reduced the market value of Eurovita's government bond portfolio, triggering mark-to-market losses. Simultaneously, a surge in policyholder redemption requests created a liquidity squeeze that IVASS determined Eurovita could not meet without intervention.

Five major Italian insurers — Generali, Intesa Sanpaolo Vita, Poste Vita, UnipolSai, and Allianz — created a new entity called Cronos Vita Assicurazioni S.p.A. to absorb Eurovita's policy portfolio, protecting roughly 350,000 policyholders from losses.

Private equity firm Cinven acquired Eurovita from JC Flowers & Co. in 2017 and pursued an acquisition-led consolidation strategy targeting Italian life insurance portfolios. Cinven ultimately committed to buying back Tier 2 bonds held by GIC as part of the 2023 restructuring negotiations.

Eurovita was not technically insolvent but faced an acute liquidity crisis from the mismatch between policyholder surrender options and illiquid bond holdings. IVASS used administrative powers to freeze redemptions and broker a private-sector rescue, testing Italy's resolution framework for the first time at this scale.

Eurovita's portfolio consisted primarily of Italian government bonds and Tier 2 bank bonds, along with a book of traditional savings and unit-linked life insurance policies sold through Italian banking channels. The firm also maintained corporate offices in Milan and Rome.