Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Catastrophes Top 2010 List of Major Global Insurance Events
Dec 23 2010 // Natural and man-made catastrophes topped the list of the most significant events in 2010, with three major earthquakes, a near record number of hurricanes, some serious typhoons and windstorms, a volcanic eruption and a...
Ratings: Aspen, Allianz Risk Transfer, Inter Hannover UK, Transsib Re, Jordan Insurance
Dec 23 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its preliminary ‘BBB+’ senior debt, preliminary ‘BBB’ subordinated debt, preliminary ‘BBB-‘ junior subordinated debt, and...
Torus Strengthens European Service Delivery with Senior Appointments
Dec 21 2010 // Global specialty insurer Torus announced the appointment of Jason Mortimer as European Client Relationship and Business Development Director. He formerly headed European Property operations. Mortimer will now direct client...
S&P Rates Catlin Re ‘A’; Sees ‘Key Benefits’ from Swiss-based Subsidiary
Dec 21 2010 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Switzerland-based Catlin Re Switzerland (CRCH), a new insurance entity created as a...
Europe Weather Ruins Christmas for Airlines, Retailers
Dec 21 2010 // Snow and freezing temperatures grounded flights across northern Europe on Tuesday, while retailers fretted they would struggle to make up sales lost due to bad weather with just four shopping days to...
Ratings Roundup: Lemma, Russian Re, Ghana Re, International Energy
Dec 21 2010 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has placed under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Ukraine’s...
Snow, Ice Disrupt pre-Christmas Travel in Europe; Many Flights Cancelled
Dec 20 2010 // Europe saw little respite on Sunday from the Arctic conditions that closed airports and disrupted travel over the weekend before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest times of the year. London’s Heathrow, the...
Best Affirms Amlin AG’s ‘A’ Ratings
Dec 17 2010 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of Swiss-based Amlin AG, a reinsurance subsidiary of...
Europe’s PERILS Data used in over $1 Billion Worth of Insurance Placements
Dec 16 2010 // PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide European catastrophe insurance data, announced that total placements of insurance risk transactions based on the PERILS industry loss index to date in...
Droughts, Floods, Snow and Cold Hit Global Commodities
Dec 15 2010 // Droughts and deluges in Australia, snow in Europe and cold snaps in the United States are pushing up prices of a range of commodities from sugar to heating oil and soybeans. Australia typically ranks as second in the...
James Saft: EU Must Choose Its Lies Wisely
Dec 15 2010 // You can lie to taxpayers or you can lie to creditors, European authorities are learning, but doing both at the same time is very hard. The proposed policy that current senior creditors to troubled states will not face...
Cancun Climate Talks End with Modest Steps, No Kyoto Deal
Dec 13 2010 // The world’s governments agreed Saturday to modest steps to combat climate change and to give more money to poor countries, but they put off until next year tough decisions on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The...
EU Will Back Russia’s WTO Entry
Dec 8 2010 // The European Union formally backed Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, clearing the way for Moscow to join the body in 2011, after 17 years of trying. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht...
Swiss Re’s Economic Forum Sees Continued Growth, Pressure and Risks
Dec 8 2010 // Swiss Re’s Economic Forum singled out three main factors that will continue to affect the re/insurance market in 2011. The Forum’s economists forecast “continued global economic expansion in 2011, led by...
Catlin Re Switzerland Receives Approval from Swiss Regulators
Dec 8 2010 // Catlin Group Limited, the international specialty property/casualty insurer and reinsurer, announced that its reinsurance subsidiary, Catlin Re Switzerland Ltd. has received approval from the Swiss Financial Market...
Lloyd’s Warns of ‘Increasing Stress’ on Water Resources
Dec 7 2010 // “Water scarcity is a pressing problem around the world – and not just in countries that have an arid climate,” warned Lloyd’s in its latest 360 Risk Insight report. “Water is a critical...
Talk About the Weather
Dec 5 2010 // Floods, Windstorms, Droughts, Heat Waves and Wildfires There was a time in the not-so-distant past when events such as these would have been considered somewhat unusual in Europe. But these days, extreme weather events are...
Spain’s Economy Minister Says Country ‘Not Next’ for EU Bailout
Dec 3 2010 // Spain will not be next in line for a rescue package from Europe, but a common economic policy is needed to support a single currency, Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado told BBC Radio on Friday. Salgado also said Spain...
Lockton, Germany’s Funk Group Extend Service Pact
Dec 2 2010 // Two large privately-held and independent insurance brokers, U.S.-based Lockton and Germany’s Funk Group, said they will expand their risk management service alliance. Through the alliance, Funk will provide risk...
Northern Europe Counts Costs of Early Winter Weather
Dec 2 2010 // Heavy snow caused travel chaos across much of northern Europe on Thursday, keeping London’s Gatwick airport closed for a second day and disrupting road and rail travel in France, Germany and Switzerland. Days of...
