Latest Europe Headlines

All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.

A.M. Best: Ratings Stable for Western European (Re)Insurers

Dec 22 2014 // Insurers and reinsurers in western Europe posted solid performances in 2014 and retained their capital strength against a backdrop of economic calm, according to a new special report from A.M. Best. The report analyzes the...

Anbang Expands Reach With Diverse Investments in China, Europe & US

Dec 19 2014 // Anbang Insurance Group Co., the Chinese insurer that’s buying New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, is expanding at home with investments from China Minsheng Banking Corp. to Financial Street Holdings Co. The...

Fired Obese Employees Can Sue for Discrimination: EU Court of Justice

Dec 18 2014 // The European Union’s highest court extended discrimination laws to obesity, saying employees in limited situations may be able to sue over firings if their weight hinders or limits them at work. Workers who are so...

Zurich Insurance to Offer Direct Lending in Europe to Boost Returns

Dec 16 2014 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s largest insurer, is about to make its first investments in European direct lending, including infrastructure debt. The insurer wants to lend to small to medium-sized European...

FERMA Announces Leadership Appointments

Dec 15 2014 // The board of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) announced three high level appointments “to secure its leadership succession.” The appointments took effect from as of December 11,...

Environmental Liabilities in Europe: Changing Times

Dec 15 2014 // Historically, U.S. companies doing business in Europe weren’t likely to list environmental litigation among their major concerns. While the United States has boasted a robust regulatory environment for some time,...

A.M. Best Comments on Results of EIOPA’s Insurance Stress Test

Dec 9 2014 // A.M. Best said it would be premature to draw negative conclusions from the most recent Solvency II stress tests conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and does not anticipate any...

Climate Researchers Lower Global Warming Forecast on Plans to Cut Emissions

Dec 8 2014 // Climate researchers lowered their forecast for global warming for the first time since 2009 after the greenhouse gas polluters agreed to limit their emissions over the next 15 years, a group of European academics...

African Insurers’ Growth Interests Europe, So. Africa, as Incomes Rise

Dec 8 2014 // A growing middle class in sub-Saharan Africa is enticing European and South African insurers to buy local firms focusing mainly on life insurance and pensions, in the face of mature markets and strong competition at home....

Winter Storm ‘Bomb’ Watch Begins From New York to Europe

Dec 5 2014 // As fall gives way to winter, meteorologists from the U.S. East Coast to the shores of Western Europe will be watching for signs that the next storm heading their way will turn into a bomb. That’s right — a...

Global Car Insurers Offer Discounts – If They Can Monitor Driving Data

Dec 2 2014 // Insurance companies around the world are promising lower rates on car coverage. The catch is they want to install the equivalent of an airplane’s black box to track how and where you drive. Smartphone applications...

Spain’s Mapfre Seeking to Make Acquisitions in Europe and U.S.

Dec 1 2014 // Mapfre SA, the biggest insurer in Spain, is seeking to expand and may make acquisitions in Europe and the U.S., Chairman Antonio Huertas said. The company isn’t constrained by regulators’ efforts to stiffen...

Lengthy Period of Low Interest Rates May Hurt Some European Insurers

Dec 1 2014 // One in four European insurers may struggle to meet promises to policyholders in a prolonged period of low interest rates, the European Union’s insurance watchdog said following a stress test of the industry. These...

Swiss Re Economists Forecast ‘Modest’ Global Growth

Nov 26 2014 // Swiss Re’s Chief economist, Kurt Karl and his colleague, Senior Economist Roman Lechner, presented a somewhat cautious scenario for the global economy over the next two years. As detailed in Swiss Re’s...

Global Insurers to Bid for Insurance, Pension Units of Halkbank in Turkey

Nov 12 2014 // Insurers from Europe, Asia and the United States are among some 20 potential bidders in the sale by Turkey’s state-run Halkbank of its pension and insurance arms, three sources close to the process said on...

Allied World Europe Appoints Beerli, VP, Onshore Construction

Nov 12 2014 // Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG announced that Allied World Europe has appointed Roman Beerli, Vice President, Onshore Construction. He will be responsible for underwriting onshore construction projects...

The War that Changed the World – in Commemoration

Nov 11 2014 // On the 11th of November 1914 the 1st World War, or the ‘Great War,’ had already lasted more than three months, and predictions that it would be over by Christmas had largely evaporated. The failure of...

ACE Report Urges Risk Managers to Reexamine Capabilities of Insurer Partners

Nov 11 2014 // ACE urged risk managers at multinational European companies to reexamine the capabilities of their global insurance partners as the international regulatory and business environment grows increasingly complex. The...

Arch Insurance Europe Buys Resource Underwriting Pacific in Australia

Nov 11 2014 // Arch Insurance Europe has acquired 100 percent of Resource Underwriting Pacific Pty Ltd (RUPPL), the Melbourne-based MGA. RUPPL will be added to Arch Insurance Europe’s current holdings in Australia. James...

Kiln, Tokio Marine Europe Rebrand as Tokio Marine Kiln

Nov 10 2014 // Kiln and Tokio Marine Europe announced that they have “sealed their union today by formally rebranding as Tokio Marine Kiln,” concentrating on international specialist and corporate insurance. The newly...