Generali could take advantage of the expected shake-out of Europe’s insurance sector as a result of the global financial crisis to make an acquisition, according to the Italian insurance group’s co-chief executive.

Giovanni Perissinotto, who heads Generali’s domestic business and is one of two chief executives at the Trieste-based group, said insurance assets could start coming on to the market “sooner rather than later”. One reason for this, he said, was that Europe’s bancassurance model was becoming a casualty of the crisis. Some prime examples of the model, such as ING and RBS, are being forced to shed their insurance units as the price of state aid.