Latest Europe Headlines

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

Guy Carp Makes Europe, Asia Pacific Executive Changes

Nov 13 2007 // Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC has announced a number of key executive appointments to its European and Asia Pacific broking operations. Nick Frankland, formerly CEO of UK Operations, has been appointed to the newly...

Lloyd’s Counsel Decries ‘Red Herring’ Objections to Collateral Reform

Nov 8 2007 // Sean McGovern, Lloyd’s Director and General Counsel, accused the opponents of reforming the U.S. collateral trust rules on reinsurance of introducing the “latest red herring” into the debate. In a...

Berkley to Buyout Kiln’s Stake in W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe)

Nov 7 2007 // W. R. Berkley Corporation announced that it has agreed in principle to purchase the 20 percent minority interest in W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited held by Kiln Ltd. for approximately $50.1 million (£24.5...

S&P Examines Europe’s Insurers Exposure to ‘Credit Crunch’

Nov 6 2007 // Standard & Poor’s has published an “Industry Report Card” on Europe’s insurers, which examines their situation “in the aftermath of the subprime credit crunch,” the findings of an...

Ratings Recap: Medical Ins. (Australia), Swiss Re Europe, Aseguradora Mundial

Nov 6 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘BBB+’ rating on Medical Insurance Australia Pty Ltd., a national medical indemnity insurer and the largest in South Australia, with a stable...

News Currents

Nov 4 2007 // Collateral conundrum: To change or not to change N.Y. steps out as first state to deliver level playing field for all reinsurers New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo’s proposal that the highest rated...

AXA Corporate Solutions Head Calls for Premium Stabilization

Oct 18 2007 // Jean-Paul Rignault, chief executive of AXA Corporate Solutions, called for premium rates to be stabilized if insurers are to achieve adequate pricing and the current soft market cycle, now taking hold, is to flatten...

Lord Levene Castigates U.S. Failure to Reform Reinsurance Collateral Regs

Oct 17 2007 // He’s said it before, and he’s said again. In a forceful open letter printed in the Financial Times (FT), Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Peter Levene wrote that it is “extraordinary that the US does not offer...

ACE Bermuda International New Global Business Name; Lloyd’s Box Opened

Oct 17 2007 // As of October first “ACE European Markets Insurance Limited and ACE European Markets Reinsurance Limited will trade under the business name of ACE Bermuda International (ABI),” said a bulletin on the ACE web...

Lloyd’s, UK’s Met Office Prepare for Repeat of 1987 Windstorm

Oct 16 2007 // Risk management Solutions commemorated the 20th anniversary of the destructive 1987 windstorm that struck Southern England and Northern France with a warning (See IJ web site Oct. 15). Lloyd’s and the UK’s Met...

S&P Comments on Standardizing Global Insurance Accounting Rules

Oct 16 2007 // In a new report Standard & Poor’s states that the “International Accounting Standard Board’s (IASB) discussion paper on insurance contracts may well set the tone for a new global frame...

ACE Europe Strengthens Environmental Liability Unit

Oct 5 2007 // The ACE European Group announced that it has promoted Wayne Harrington to UK & Ireland Manager, Environmental Risk and Iain Harrison as Environmental Risk Underwriter, as part of its ongoing strategy to grow its...

Allstate Investment Unit Opens First Overseas Office in London

Oct 5 2007 // Allstate Investment Management Limited — an indirect wholly-owned investment management subsidiary of The Allstate Corp. — has crossed over borders with the opening of Allstate Investment’s first overseas...

FERMA Conference Opens in Geneva

Oct 2 2007 // More than 1200 participants assembled Monday morning at Geneva’s International Conference Center for the fifth Forum of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA). Delegates were welcomed by...

Marsh Comments on EC Competition/Transparency Report

Sep 28 2007 // Marsh UK has issued a bulletin indicating that it believes the “decision by the EU Competition Commission to investigate certain aspects of broker remuneration as part of the planned review of the Insurance Mediation...

EC Report Questions European Business Insurance Practices

Sep 26 2007 // The European Commission has issued its long awaited final report on business insurance practices within the 25 member countries of the European Union. It raises questions of unfair competition in two areas: 1) premium...

Prospects and pitfalls in a changing global insurance world

Sep 24 2007 // The ‘rest of the world’ offers new opportunities for growth, but not without risk No European City has recently changed as much as Berlin (with the possible exception of Dublin). Since the fall of the wall in...

Prospects and pitfalls in a changing global insurance world

Sep 24 2007 // No European city has recently changed as much as Berlin (with the possible exception of Dublin). Since the fall of the wall in 1989, its 3.4 million residents have experienced an unprecedented building boom, as the German...

Climate Change Tops UN Agenda

Sep 24 2007 // September marks the end of summer and ushers in a time of reflection. The working world returns from summer vacations and begins functioning on a heightened level, as the end of the year draws near. Problems that have been...

IISS Sees Increasing Terrorist Threats

Sep 24 2007 // While global warming may ultimately prove to be the biggest crisis the world’s people have ever faced, it’s not as immediate a threat as that posed by global terrorism. After Sept. 11 and the Madrid and London...