Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
St. Paul Re Joins inreon – Internet Reinsurance Site
May 11 2001 // The St. Paul Companies’ reinsurance unit, St. Paul Re, has joined the inreon platform, launched last December by Munich Re and Swiss Re, to offer reinsurance products on-line. “Initially, St. Paul Re is...
Study Shows Integration Could Save European Insurers $4.4 Billion
May 10 2001 // A new study by A.T. Kearney, EDS management consulting subsidiary, has concluded that “Europe’s 11 largest insurers could save more than $4.4 billion (5 billion euros) per year by integrating products, services...
Swiss Re Study Examines U.S. European Economic Scenarios
May 3 2001 // A study just released by Swiss Re Economic Research & Consulting finds that the U.S. economy is more vulnerable in the short-term to recessionary pressures, but that in the long-term European economies are more likely...
ACE Irish Subsidiary Opens London Office
Apr 20 2001 // Dublin-based insurer ACE European Markets Insurance Ltd. will expand the ACE Group’s activities in the London market with the opening of a new office in the city to be headed by Stephen French, currently the...
Wash. Commissioner Announces New Steps in Holocaust Insurance Campaign
Apr 19 2001 // Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler expressed disappointment with a number of companies that failed to release the names of Holocaust-era policyholders. Kreidler urged Washington-licensed insurance...
Refining Workers’ Comp
Apr 2 2001 // In 1989 the Legislature jettisoned the generations-old Texas hybrid system and substituted a new workers’ comp system. In the mid-19th century it dawned on European social designers that the cost of goods sold should...
Allianz Confirms Dresdner Talks – Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank Watch and Wait
Mar 30 2001 // “Allianz and Dresdner Bank confirm strategic talks concerning the creation of a leading integrated financial services provider for insurance, investment and banking services. The talks are in an advanced stage, but...
Letter Re-Ignites U.S.- Europe Privacy Debate
Mar 28 2001 // A joint letter from the Treasury and Commerce Departments to John Mogg, European Commission Director General for the Internal Market, has re-ignited the controversy between the U.S. and the EU over privacy regulations. The...
Struggle Continues Over Payment of Holocause Claims
Mar 26 2001 // The Western world is haunted by the specter of the German government killing millions upon millions of Jews (and others) in concentration camps. I couldn’t sleep when I first saw the pictures in the 1950s. My...
Pru/Am Gen Merger Tops Insurance Deals
Mar 26 2001 // Last January, Prudential plc Chief Executive Jonathan Bloomer indicated he was still looking for opportunities in the U.S. The search culminated March 12 in Houston, Texas, with the announcement that Britain’s...
Fortis Posts 19% Net Profit Gain to $2.46 Billion
Mar 23 2001 // Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch financial services group, released its 2000 results showing a healthy gain of 19 percent in net operating profit to €2.768 billion ($2.463 billion) compared to €2.136 billion ($1.9 billion) in...
Paying for Holocaust Insurance Claims
Mar 5 2001 // The Western world is haunted by the specter of the German government killing millions upon millions of Jews (and others) in concentration camps. I couldn’t sleep when I first saw the pictures in the 1950s. My...
Citigroup Spells Out European Growth Plan
Feb 22 2001 // Citigroup plans to focus its European expansion on corporate and investment banking as well as wealth management services, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. “There are lots of opportunities in investment...
AXA’s Wood Named CEO of Prudential UK, European Operations
Feb 21 2001 // Prudential PLC has appointed Mark Wood as chief executive of the company’s UK and European Insurance businesses effective June 21. At that point Wood, 47, will take over responsibilities from chairman and executive...
New Swiss Re sigma Study: Insurance Industry in Central and Eastern Europe — Current Trends and Pro
Feb 21 2001 // The latest sigma study from Swiss Re provides a detailed overview of Central and Eastern European insurance markets with an analysis of the latest developments in life and non-life insurance in 27 countries, including the...
Swiss Re Says Earnings Up, Non-Life Renewals Successful
Feb 8 2001 // Swiss Re announced that it “expects earnings for the year 2000 to be up slightly more than 20%,” and that “significant improvements” had been made in the recent reinsurance renewal period. The...
AGF Premium Income Up For 2000
Feb 7 2001 // France’s AGF, 51 percent of which is owned by Germany’s Allianz, posted strong growth in premium income in all sectors for the year 2000. Overall premium income rose 17.8 percent in 2000 to €15.74 billion...
GE Challenges Halifax Bid For Equitable
Feb 5 2001 // The battle for troubled U.K. mutual insurer Equitable Life heated up over the weekend with the mortgage lender Halifax tabling a £1 billion ($1.47 billion) bid for the sales forces, offices, administrative systems and...
ING Confirms Sale of U.S. Bank Operations, and Restructuring
Jan 31 2001 // Dutch financial services and insurance giant ING confirmed that it would sell its U.S. investment banking operations to Holland’s ABN Amro bank for an estimated $275 million, and would restructure its European and...
Liberty Mutual To Acquire Hartford’s Spanish Subsidiary
Jan 23 2001 // Liberty Mutual announced that its Liberty International unit would purchase Hartford Seguros, The Hartford Financial Services Group’s Spanish subsidiary, for an undisclosed amount. The company, which will be renamed...
