LONDON (Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group lowered its recommendation on European insurance stocks to "market-weight" from "overweight," writing that growth in life insurance will continue to weaken due to increasing pressure on the consumer.

Analysts at Credit Suisse said there was continuing pressure on property and casualty insurance and reinsurance prices.

"We expect some strength in the insurance sector relative to banks during the course of the results season," wrote analysts. "We would use this strength to move to a more neutral weighting."