Last year's stockmarket crash hit the earnings of Generali's German unit, practically halving its first-quarter investment income to 270 million euros from 530 million euros a year earlier, dpa quoted the insurance company as saying today. The Italian-owned Generali Germany, based in the western city of Aachen, posted first-quarter net earnings of 30 million euros, off from 65 million euros in the first quarter of 2008, after writing down the value of its diminished stocks and bonds. Operationally, business was solid, according to the insurer, with personal insurance premiums up 6 per cent to 4.2 billion euros in the quarter, while health insurance revenues rose 7 per cent. Property and accident income fell 1 per cent year-on-year.
