Latest Europe Headlines

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

Why Economic, Market Risks of Ash Cloud Are Hard to Measure

Apr 21 2010 // Policymakers and markets trying to react to the volcanic gas cloud paralyzing air travel in Europe face a host of variables, unknowns and hard-to-measure risks that make modelling almost impossible. No one can accurately...

Flights Pick Up in Europe As Ash Risk Is Lowered

Apr 21 2010 // European airports started to return to life on Tuesday after five days cut off from the rest of the world by a volcanic ash cloud, but some countries were more cautious after reports a new cloud might be on its way. The...

Flights Resume in Parts of Europe

Apr 20 2010 // Flights from large parts of Europe are set to resume on Tuesday under a deal agreed by the European Union to free up airspace closed by a cloud of ash hurled into the sky by an Icelandic volcano. However, with the cloud...

European Trade Chief Warns On Volcanic Ash Economic Impact

Apr 19 2010 // The European Union’s economy will face serious consequences if a volcanic ash cloud that has disrupted flights across the continent continues for a long time, its trade chief said on Monday. “If this were to...

If Ash Cloud Lingers, Economic Impact Could Rise Sharply

Apr 19 2010 // The economic impact of the volcanic cloud halting flights across Europe will increase sharply the longer disruption continues, forcing holiday cancellations, delaying deliveries and reducing jet fuel demand. African...

European Insurers Expect Little Hit from Volcano Fallout

Apr 16 2010 // Airlines which stand to lose millions of euros from a cloud of Icelandic volcanic ash disrupting flights and closing airports across northern Europe are expected to have little recourse to recoup losses from insurance...

Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius Ranked as Europe’s Most Dangerous Volcano

Apr 15 2010 // A major eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius could result in 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion, says a new study. According to the Willis Research Network...

Report: Q1 Catastrophe Bond Market Sees Sustained Improvement

Apr 14 2010 // Catastrophe bond issuance conditions saw sustained improvement in the first quarter of 2010, reflecting the increase in prominence of the insurance linked securities (ILS) asset class. Despite the continued improvement in...

Legal Uncertainty, Prisoner Releases Making Piracy Problem Worse

Apr 9 2010 // Piracy off the coast of Somalia is getting worse, partly due to the legal limbo that has led some countries to release captured suspects, Russia’s U.N. envoy said this week. Over the past year and a half, the U.N....

Risk of Aging Europe Falls on Small Group of Pension Providers

Apr 9 2010 // The aging of Europe may open opportunities to sell savings products, but it also spells a real threat to parts of the financial services industry. Pensions experts call it the “toxic tail.” Like the subprime...

Business Moves

Apr 5 2010 // ISU, Webb, Ken Hargis, Cox & Kimball, Darlage ISU International added four new member agencies in the Midwest: ISU Insurance Services The Webb Agency of St. Charles, Mo.; ISU Insurance Services Ken Hargis Agency of...

FERMA Survey Polls Commercial Buyers for Feedback to Insurers

Apr 1 2010 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) announced that it is presently conducting, “a wide-ranging, risk management benchmarking survey,” aimed at compiling data to let insurers know...

EU Trade Chief Says U.S. Must Make First Move to Restart Doha Round

Mar 23 2010 // The European Union cannot make more concessions on farm trade to restart stalled world trade talks and the United States must make the first move, the EU’s new trade chief said on Monday. The ball was not in the...

Growing Skepticism Ignores Climate Change Facts; Max Merges with Harbor Point; Terrorist Pirates Threaten the Malacca Strait

Mar 22 2010 // The Climate Change debate rolls on, but real decisions and effective actions remain elusive. Hardly a week goes by without a new report or study on the changes affecting the atmosphere, but the general public appears to be...

UK Risk Managers Warn of Harm to Business in New Solvency II Proposals

Mar 22 2010 // The Solvency II reforms, as currently proposed, “would reduce the amount of insurance capacity available to UK businesses and put up the cost of cover,” according to the UK’s AIRMIC (the Association of...

Marsh: Environmental Liability Concerns Top Risk Management Agenda

Mar 19 2010 // “The heightened environmental liabilities created by recent European Union (EU) and UK environmental legislation were among the top risk management concerns raised by delegates at this week’s Base conference in...

Bermuda (Re)Insurance Association Releases Members’ 2009 Results

Mar 17 2010 // The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) has released the 2009 global underwriting results for its 23 members, who write insurance and reinsurance from underwriting centers in Bermuda, Europe and the...

Allied World Announces Executive Promotions

Mar 17 2010 // Bermuda-based Allied World Assurance Company Holdings has announced a number of senior-level promotions effective March 1, 2010. In Bermuda, Tracey Gibbons was promoted from Vice President, Casualty Treaty Reinsurance to...

Big EU Insurers Pass Stress Tests

Mar 17 2010 // Europe’s insurers are able to withstand even a major financial crisis, an EU watchdog said on Tuesday, boosting industry hopes for less onerous regulation. EU insurance watchdog CEIOPS, (the Committee of European...

Swiss Re ‘sigma’ Study: Insured 2009 Disaster Losses Cost $26 Billion

Mar 16 2010 // Swiss Re’s annual sigma study has calculated that “natural catastrophes cost insurers $22 billion in 2009, while man-made disasters cost an additional $4 billion. Insured losses were highest in North America,...