Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EU Countries ‘Dithering’ over Climate Change Fund
May 7 2012 // EU nations are dithering over how to fill a multi-billion-euro fund to help tackle climate change, just as the region’s executive body hosts talks with countries likely to bear the brunt of extreme weather. The...
Swiss Re in New $400 Million Nat Cat Bond for Europe, U.S. Wind Risks
May 7 2012 // Swiss Re Ltd. Announced that it has secured $400 million in natural catastrophe coverage through a newly-formed issuer Mythen Ltd., which it described as a “flexible program that allows Swiss Re to cede wind risks in...
Court Bans Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Windows 7 from German Market
May 3 2012 // A court in Mannheim, Germany ruled on Wednesday that Microsoft infringed Motorola Mobility’s patents and ordered Microsoft to remove its Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the...
Reuters Columnist James Saft on Europe’s Credit Crunch; Bank Capital
May 2 2012 // Europe looks to be entering a credit crunch, with loans harder to get and those that are made coming on tougher terms. Strikingly, banks are being tight despite falling demand for credit, pointing to a nasty interaction...
Best Affirms Ratings Samsung Fire & Marine (Europe) Ratings
Apr 30 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of UK-based Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Company of...
Lloyd’s Register Withdraws from Iran Due to Sanctions
Apr 26 2012 // Maritime risk management firm Lloyd’s Register has shut its operations in Iran and can no longer vouch for the safety of the OPEC member’s fleet due to Western sanctions, the head of the company told...
U.S. Tells Industry to Further Test Safety of Nanotechnolgy Products
Apr 23 2012 // U.S. health regulators said consumer products that use nanotechnology may have unknown effects on the human body, and advised food and cosmetic companies to further study the safety of these tiny particles. The U.S. Food...
Is Marine Insurance the Stranglehold on Iran?
Apr 18 2012 // Marine insurance, or lack of it, may yet turn out to be the most effective sanction used by Western nations in 17 years of tightening the screws on Iran’s nuclear program. A European Union oil embargo on Iran, set to...
Japanese Insurers to Limit Iran Oil Voyages in Mideast Gulf – Sources
Apr 13 2012 // Japanese insurers are warning ship owners that they will only cover one tanker at a time carrying Iranian crude oil through the Middle East Gulf due to tightening Western sanctions against OPEC’s second biggest...
Japan P&I Club Ship Insurer Sets New Rules on Iran Oil Transport
Apr 11 2012 // Ship owners covered by Japan P&I club must alert the maritime insurer in advance of any plans to transport Iranian oil and petrochemicals that could fall foul of Western sanctions, the insurer said. The United States...
Best Lowers, Withdraws Omega Specialty Ratings; Affirms Lloyd’s Syndicate 958
Apr 11 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Ltd. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 958, which is managed...
U.S., Europe Urged to Offer Product Safety Training to Importers
Apr 6 2012 // Food and drug regulators in the U.S., Europe and other developed countries should offer training, technology and expertise to developing nations in Asia, Latin America and other regions to better assure the safety of...
China P&I Club to Stop Indemnity Coverage for Tankers with Iran Oil
Apr 5 2012 // Key ship insurer, China P&I Club, will halt indemnity coverage for tankers carrying Iranian oil as of July amid tightening Western sanctions against OPEC’s second largest oil producer, two club officials told...
Accenture to Team with SAS Institute for Sweden’s Folksam Solvency II Regs
Apr 4 2012 // Global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture announced that it will team with SAS Institute “to implement the SAS Risk Management for Insurance solution group-wide at Folksam,...
Melting Arctic May Redraw Global Geopolitical Map
Apr 3 2012 // This year’s frenzy of oil and gas exploration in newly accessible Arctic waters could be the harbinger of even starker changes to come. If, as many scientists predict, currently inaccessible sea lanes across the top...
PERILS Updates Europe Industry Exposure Database for 2012
Apr 2 2012 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide European catastrophe insurance data, has updated its Europe Industry Exposure Database with revised “market-wide property sums insured for...
IBM’s Algorithmics, Insurers Analyze Solvency II Compliance Preparation
Mar 30 2012 // Despite delays and complaints the European Union’s Solvency II regulations, which cover the insurance industry, are slowly but surely moving forward. While most of the industry is primarily concerned with the...
Iran Oil Costs to Surge with EU Ship Insurance Ban
Mar 29 2012 // A widely expected ban on European insurance cover for Iranian oil exports from July 1 is threatening to curtail shipments and raise costs for major buyers such as Japan and South Korea, insurance industry sources say. Last...
Ratings Recap: Saturn, CCR, Arch (Pref. Shares)
Mar 29 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” to Vermont-based Saturn Insurance Inc., and has assigned a...
Lloyd’s CEO Ward on 2011 Loss: ‘Not a Bad Result’
Mar 29 2012 // At first glance that statement may seem a little strange, considering that Lloyd’s reported an overall loss for the year of £516 million ($822 million). But considering that overall insured losses for the year from...
