Insurance Journal » Italy

U.S. ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ Europe’s Debt Woes Worry G20

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:06:00 +0000

Leading world economies pressed the United States on Sunday to act decisively to avert a rush of spending cuts and tax hikes, warning that the so-called fiscal cliff is the biggest short-term threat to global growth. Unless a fractious Congress …

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Best Reports Italy’s Non-Life Insurance Sector Faces Shifting Landscape

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:46:36 +0000

The Italian non-life insurance market faces changes as the sector is subject to new legislation and industry consolidation, while the country’s ongoing economic challenges constrain demand for coverage, according to a new report from A.M. Best Co. Best explained that …

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Swiss Re Reports Italian Insurance Market at ‘Crossroads’ of Change

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:05:13 +0000

According to Swiss Re’s latest study - The Italian insurance market: opportunities in the land of the Renaissance – “Italy stands at the crossroads of economic and social change, and therefore offers interesting opportunities for the insurance industry.” The report …

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ECB Head Sends Strong Signal Bank Will Act to Protect Euro Zone

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:32:21 +0000

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his sights. Fears about the euro …

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Germans Say “Nein! No! Non!” Ahead of Euro Summit

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:13:58 +0000

EU leaders go into a Brussels meeting today, Thursday June 28, more openly divided than at any time since the euro crisis began, with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel showing no sign of relenting in her refusal to back other countries’ …

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Euro Zone’s Big Four Agree on $163 Billion Growth Boost; Split on Euro Bonds

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:52:54 +0000

The leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain agreed on Friday on a €130 billion ($163 billion) package to try to revive economic growth in Europe but differed over whether and how to launch joint bonds to combat the euro …

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Italy Regulators Conditionally Approve Unipol – Fondiaria-SAI Merger

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:04:34 +0000

Italy’s antitrust and insurance regulators have given conditional clearance for a plan by insurer Unipol to take over its loss-making peer Fondiaria-SAI, removing most of the regulatory hurdles hanging over the deal to create Italy’s No. 2 insurer. Unipol agreed …

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G20 Backs Europe’s Plans for Euro Zone Overhaul to Fight Crisis

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 10:30:45 +0000

Europe won support from world leaders on Tuesday for an ambitious, but slow-moving, overhaul of the euro zone, even as pressure built in financial markets for quicker solutions to its debt crisis that threatens the world economy. European countries showed …

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World Economies Prepare for Panic after Greek Elections

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:15:25 +0000

Authorities in the world’s major economies are preparing for a possible market storm or public panic after cliffhanger Greek elections this weekend, officials said on Thursday, should radical leftists win and cast doubt on the nation’s future in the euro …

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German Chancellor Merkel Rejects ‘Miracle Solutions;’ Spain’s Debt Costs Soar

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:16:18 +0000

Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed pressure on Thursday for Germany, Europe’s most powerful economy, to underwrite debt or guarantee bank deposits in the euro zone, as Spain’s soaring borrowing costs raised new alarm. Spain’s 10-year bond yield hit a euro lifetime …

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Aon Benfield May Cat Report Highlights Italian Quakes; $6 Billion Econ. Loss

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:08:42 +0000

Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, has released its latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during the month of May. Published by Impact …

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Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region: AIR Analysis

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:26:04 +0000

AIR Worldwide has released its preliminary analysis of the earthquake which struck the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy in the early hours on Sunday, May 20. The US Geological Survey issued a “moment magnitude estimate of 6.0 for the event. …

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Costa Concordia Salvage to Begin in May

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:39:39 +0000

The salvage operation to move the capsized Costa Concordia away from the island of Giglio, where it ran aground three months ago, will begin next month, an official said on Thursday. Civil Protection official Fabrizio Curcio told reporters at a …

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OECD Says Euro Zone Public Debt Crisis Far from Over

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:28:52 +0000

The euro zone’s public debt crisis is not over despite calmer financial markets this year, the OECD said on Tuesday, with a warning that the bloc’s banks remain weak, debt levels are still rising and fiscal targets are far from …

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Bondholder Group Sees Over $131.8 Trillion Greek Default Risk

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:07:28 +0000

A disorderly Greek default would probably leave Italy and Spain needing outside help to stop contagion spreading and cause more than €1 trillion ($1.318 trillion) of damage to the euro zone, the group representing Athens’ bondholders warned. Greek private creditors …

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Fondiaria Battle Heats up as Funds Table Offer; AXA Interested

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:32:13 +0000

The battle for control of Italian insurer Fondiaria-SAI heated up on Wednesday when two private equity funds tabled a rival offer to one brokered by top investment bank Mediobanca to rescue the troubled insurer by merging it with peer Unipol. …

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Lawyer Says Cruise Lawsuits Will Force Insurers to Demand Higher Standards

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:45:22 +0000

Insurers stung by multi-million dollar claims over the Concordia shipwreck will demand higher safety standards from the cruise industry, a lawyer who will file suits this month against Carnival Corp for more than 70 plaintiffs said on Thursday. “There are …

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Carnival Will Review Safety, Emergency Response Systems

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:17:00 +0000

Carnival Corp, whose luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy last week, said on Thursday it will conduct an audit and review of safety and emergency response procedures at all of its cruise lines. Carnival Chief …

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Willis Group Acquires Italian Broker

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:04:52 +0000

Willis Italy, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, announced the acquisition of Broking Italia SRL, a long-established specialist in the Italian insurance market, founded and currently headed by Gianfranco Agostini and Daniela Andreussi. Terms of the transaction were not announced. …

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S&P Puts Allianz, Aviva, AXA, Generali, Mapfre Units, 10 Other EU Insurers on CreditWatch/Negative

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:27:08 +0000

Standard & Poor’s Ratings announced that it has placed its ratings on the following insurers (and certain related operating subsidiaries and certain holding companies) on CreditWatch with negative implications: • Allianz Group (including the Euler Hermes group) • Aviva Group • Axa Group …

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Best Places Generali, Main Subsidiaries’ Ratings under Review/Negative

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:46:04 +0000

A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has taken action in the wake if the Italian financial crisis by placing the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. and its main …

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AmTrust Europe to Open Branch in Italy

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:29:50 +0000

UK-based insurer AmTrust Europe, Ltd., a FSA [Financial Services Authority] authorized insurance company, which already has had operations in Italy “under freedom of services (LPS) for a number of years,” announced that it “has been given the green light from …

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Italy, Southeast France Hit by Heavy Rains, Floods: AIR Analysis

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:17:26 +0000

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a report on the heavy rains, which caused widespread flooding in France and Italy during the first week of November. The storms were caused by a “low pressure system that developed over the …

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IMF Head Warns World Economy Risks a ‘Lost Decade’

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:53:45 +0000

The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday that Europe’s debt crisis risked plunging the global economy into a “lost decade” and said it was up to rich nations to shoulder the burden of restoring growth and confidence. …

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Floods Hit France, Italy; UK Motorway Crash Leaves 7 Dead, 51 Injured

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:22:40 +0000

Continuing heavy rains have caused serious flooding in southern France and throughout Italy, with little letup in sight. In western England an horrendous crash on the M25 motorway in Somerset, involving 34 cars and trucks, left seven people dead and …

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Italian Finance Chiefs to Meet as Crisis Mounts

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:46:13 +0000

Italy’s top financial officials will meet later on Wednesday, as the escalating market turmoil threatens to push the euro zone’s third largest economy into a debt crisis that could threaten the whole currency bloc. Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti, Bank of …

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Italy Downgrade, Greek Worry Dominate Europe’s Financial Markets

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:37:22 +0000

Standard & Poor’s downgrading of Italian debt hit the euro on Tuesday, although stock investors shrugged off the move to push European stocks higher. Markets remain on edge about Greece’s rickety finances and French banking stress and world stocks as …

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Stress Test Puts Banks’ Euro Zone Debt in Spotlight

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:12:21 +0000

Pressure on Europe’s banks to raise more capital increased on Monday after last week’s stress tests revealed their holdings of European sovereign debt, with likely losses on Greek bonds a growing concern. A health check of 90 European banks unveiled …

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Europe at Impasse on Greece, IMF Backs Investor Role

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:49:54 +0000

The International Monetary Fund joined Germany on Wednesday in pushing for private sector investors [presumably including the EU's insurers] to help cut Greece’s debt mountain as the euro zone sought to break an impasse on how and when to grant …

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Europe Considers Greek Default Possible; Leaders to Meet

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:32:40 +0000

European Union leaders are poised to hold an emergency summit after finance ministers acknowledged for the first time that some form of Greek default may be needed to cut Athens’ debts and stop contagion to Italy and Spain. “There will …

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