Allianz SE (AZ), Europe's largest insurer by market capitalization, Wednesday cut the expected rate rises it can demand on average from customers for property/casualty insurance contracts that are up for renewal this year.

Chief Financial Officer Helmut Perlet said on conference calls that Allianz now expects average rate rises of 0.6% for the full year across major areas of its portfolio, down from a previous forecast of an average rate rise of 1.5%. The new forecast is due to lower than previously expected rate increases in some continental European markets such as Germany, France and Italy, Perlet said.

In the first quarter, the average rise for renewed contracts was 0.8%, Perlet said.

Overall, Perlet noted that "renewal prices (are) starting to rise after almost three years of soft markets."

Company Web site: www.allianz.com

-By Ulrike Dauer, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500; ulrike.dauer@dowjones.com