Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Europe’s Stormy Weather as Winter Storms Slam the UK: AIR Worldwide Analysis
Dec 30 2013 // According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, over the last several days, a series of three winter storms (named Christian, Dirk, and Erich) cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes across the UK and France and...
Standard & Poor’s Report Reviews Global Insurance Ratings
Dec 20 2013 // A report from S&P’s rating services notes that “after revising its insurance criteria earlier this year”, the rating agency “affirmed more than 91 percent of its global ratings, raised 7...
Swiss Re Reports 2013 Disaster Losses at $130 Billion; $44 Billion Insured
Dec 18 2013 // According to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re’s latest sigma report, insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013 are estimated to be around $44 billion, down from $81 billion in 2012....
Willis International Chairman Sarah Turvill to Retire; Will Join Board
Dec 18 2013 // Willis Group Holdings announced that Sarah Turvill will retire as Chairman of Willis International at the end of 2013, and that she has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Willis Limited Board, effective in...
Torus Receives Lloyd’s Approval to Expand Syndicate 1301
Dec 17 2013 // Global specialty insurer Torus announced from its office in London that its Syndicate 1301 business plan for 2014 has been approved by Lloyd’s. “The plan increases the syndicate’s capacity to £180...
AIR Estimates Windstorm Xaver Insured Losses: $963 Million to $1.92 Billion
Dec 13 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured wind losses from Extratropical Cyclone Xaver will range between €700 million [$963 million] and €1.4 billion [$1.926 billion], with the majority of the...
Best Downgrades QBE and Subs’ Issuer Credit Ratings; Affirms FSR
Dec 12 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a” from “a+” and affirmed the financial strength ratings (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of...
Low Interest Rates Biggest Risk for Europe Insurers, Eiopa Says
Dec 12 2013 // Low interest rates are the biggest risk for European insurers and pension funds, weighing on sales of retirement products, the region’s top industry supervisor said. Interest rates are “putting pressure mostly...
Chinese Hackers Spied on Europeans before G20 Meeting: Research Firm
Dec 11 2013 // Chinese hackers eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries before last September’s G20 Summit, which was dominated by the Syrian crisis, according to research by computer security firm FireEye...
Northern Europe Cleans Up After Extratropical Cyclone Xaver: AIR Report
Dec 11 2013 // Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a report on the aftermath of Extratropical Cyclone Xaver, which affected large parts of northern Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Germany, the...
Study Forecasts Growth for Professional Indemnity Insurance in Europe
Dec 10 2013 // New research by market research consultancy London-based Finaccord forecasts that the market for professional indemnity insurance across ten European countries – namely, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy,...
Hurricane Strength Storm Xaver Slams UK, Northern Europe: AIR Analysis
Dec 6 2013 // A report from catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide notes that Winter Storm Xaver hit the north of Scotland last night, Thursday the 5th of December, with wind gusts of more than 140 mph (225 km/h), recorded in the...
PERILS Initial Loss Estimate for Windstorm Christian is $1.358 Billion
Dec 6 2013 // PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has issued its initial loss estimate for windstorm Christian, which affected Western and Northern Europe from 27 to...
Argo Surety to Issue Surety Bonds in Europe for U.S. Clients
Dec 5 2013 // Argo Surety, a division of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd., now has the capability to issue surety bonds throughout the European Union (EU). Policies will be written through Argo Group’s European subsidiary,...
Best Europe Affirms Hiscox and Subs Ratings
Dec 5 2013 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda)...
Tokio Marine Europe to Combine Operations with Kiln Group
Dec 5 2013 // Tokio Marine Europe and Kiln, both of which are part of the Tokio Marine Group, announced their intention yesterday to join forces to form a new combined operation as of the first of January 2014, subject to regulatory...
Iran Oil Shipping Insurance Sanction Relief Not Likely Any Time Soon
Dec 2 2013 // A pledge by world powers to ease ship insurance sanctions on some Iranian oil exports is likely to take months to come into effect due to complex law and regulation and to insurers’ unease over providing cover. A...
European Central Bank Reports Rise in Financial Stability Risk
Nov 27 2013 // The European Central Bank said the risk to financial stability from global market turbulence has increased in the past six months, even as measures of systemic stress have declined. The market turmoil earlier this year...
Generali CEO Greco Targets Cost Reductions to Boost Capital
Nov 27 2013 // Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Europe’s third-largest insurer, plans to cut an extra 150 million euros ($204 million) of costs by 2015 and reduce debt to boost profit and strengthen capital. The company increased its...
China, India Succeed in Weakening Warsaw Global Warming Pact
Nov 26 2013 // China and India’s success in weakening the latest global warming agreement created friction with other developing nations that are seeking to step up the fight against climate change. The two countries insisted on...
