Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Bermuda Association Lauds Government Progress on Solvency II ‘Equivalence’
Aug 18 2011 // While U.S. regulators are beginning to be worried about the impending imposition of the European Union’s Solvency II regulations for the re/insurance industry, which will come into force in 2014, Bermuda has been...
European Insurance Regulation Threatens U.S. System, Connecticut Regulator Warns
Aug 17 2011 // Adoption of European regulatory changes known as “Solvency II” as currently proposed could weaken U.S. consumer protections and stability of insurers, a state insurance commissioner has warned. Connecticut...
Sarkozy, Merkel Push Euro Integration; No Joint Bonds
Aug 17 2011 // France and Germany unveiled far-reaching plans for closer euro zone integration on Tuesday, but they disappointed investors by declaring that any thoughts of a common euro bond issuance would have to wait. Under heavy...
Sarkozy & Merkel Face ‘Stark Choice’ in Euro Zone Talks
Aug 16 2011 // The leaders of France and Germany face a stark choice in talks on Tuesday over whether to begin steering the embattled euro zone towards closer fiscal union or risk watching the bloc unravel. French President Nicolas...
EQECAT Models $260 Mn Windstorm Risk Cat Bond for French Nat’l Power Co.
Aug 15 2011 // Oakland-based catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has provided risk modeling services to Electricité Réseau Distribution France S.A. (ERDF) for the issuance of a €150 million [$216 million] catastrophe bond transferring...
Ratings: Sunderland, Citadel Re, Alliance (Dubai), Oman Ins., SCRe (Morocco)
Aug 12 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of the UK’s Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance...
Lloyd’s: Drought Caused Subsidence Costliest Natural Hazard in Parts of Europe
Aug 9 2011 // An article on the Lloyd’s web site notes that “news reports on climate change have focused on dire predictions of more hurricanes and increasing flooding due to rising sea levels. But subsidence caused by...
European Insurers’ Greek Hit Fuels Debt Concerns
Aug 5 2011 // Allianz and Generali followed rivals in aggressively writing down holdings of Greek government bonds on Friday, fuelling investor concerns about the possible impact on insurers of a worsening sovereign debt...
Insurers Prop up European Shares Ahead of ECB News Conference
Aug 4 2011 // European shares held steady on Thursday, as strong earnings from insurers provided ballast and hopes that the European Central Bank could show readiness to buy bonds offset worries about slow economic growth in the...
ING Wavers on Insurance IPO Plan
Aug 4 2011 // ING will not be launching a stock market flotation for its insurance operations any time soon and trade buyers are expressing interest, the Dutch bancassurer said on Thursday. European Commission regulators seeking payback...
When Rating Agencies Judge the World – an Analysis
Aug 3 2011 // The man who holds in his hands the fate of U.S. credit, and with it potentially the global economy, favors small tie knots, sports a bushy mustache and smokes his fair share of cigarettes. Beyond that, he is a mystery,...
Insurers Interested in ING European, Asian Units
Aug 2 2011 // ING could get a far bigger pay-out if it ditched a plan to spin-off its Asian and European insurance units as a single stock market-listed business and instead chose buyers from a long list of interested parties. A trade...
Ratings Recap: Lemma, Adamjee, CCR (Algeria), Bosna Re
Jul 26 2011 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of...
EU Doesn’t Need More Corporate Governance Rules Say Risk Managers
Jul 26 2011 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has told the European Commission that it should start with “implementation and robust enforcement” of existing EU corporate governance rules on...
Liberty International Appoints Environmental Liability Underwriter for France
Jul 25 2011 // Liberty International Underwriters in Europe (LIU Europe), a member of Liberty Mutual Group, has appointed Audrey Mondin as Environmental Impairment Liability Underwriter in its Paris Office. LIU said the move resulted...
Best Names Holzberger as Managing Director – Analytics for EMEA
Jul 25 2011 // A.M. Best Co. announced that Stefan Holzberger has joined A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited as managing director, analytics. He will be based in London and will report directly to Roger Sellek, CEO –...
ING Sale of Latin American Insurance Unit Sets Stage for Others
Jul 25 2011 // Dutch bancassurer ING is to sell most of its Latin American operation to Colombia’s GrupoSura for 2.6 billion euros ($3.7 bln) in a deal resulting from its state rescue in 2008. ING agreed to split its bank and...
Europe’s Banks, Insurers Take Greek Debt Hit in Stride
Jul 22 2011 // Major European banks have limited their losses on Greek bonds to just over €5 billion [$7.2 billion] after negotiating a 21 percent haircut on their debt holdings as part of a rescue plan. France’s BNP Paribas is...
Study Confirms Growth of Extended Warranties on Mobile, Non-Mobile Products in Europe
Jul 22 2011 // According to new research issued by financial services market research consultancy Finaccord, the market for extended warranties and insurance related to mobile and non-mobile consumer products in Europe was worth around...
Aon GRIP Solutions Expands Europe, Middle East and Africa Team
Jul 21 2011 // Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management and insurance brokerage business of Aon Corp., announced three senior-level appointments for Aon GRIP Solutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Aon GRIP Solutions...
