Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tragic Concorde Crash Could Wrack Up Losses for European Insurers
Aug 7 2000 // Insurers could pay out more than $320 million as a result of the July 25 Air France Concorde crash that killed 113 people, according to the Guardian, a U.K. newspaper. The supersonic jet went down just after taking off...
AIG names Cormack CEO of European Operations
Jul 25 2000 // American International Group has appointed Ian Cormack as chief executive of European operations. The newly created job will involve overseeing AIG’s insurance, financial services and asset management businesses. The...
Businesses at Risk:Do Your Clients Need CONTAMINATED PRODUCTS Insurance’
Jul 24 2000 // Ecoli bacteria in beverages, cyanide in capsules, salmonella contamination in meat, mislabeled products, threats to spread harmful rumors about a product-these and similar hazards create a crisis situation for a company...
Owners Plan To Make Eureko Into Full Service Insurer
Jul 4 2000 // Plans to create a truly pan-European insurance company out of Eureko, up to now a rather loose partnership of eight European insurers, advanced significantly on Monday with the the announcement that Banco Commercial...
Report MarshMac To Expand In Europe, U.K.
Jun 26 2000 // According to reports which appeared in the Times of London, and France’s financial newspaper Les Echos, the world’s largest broker Marsh & McLennan (Marsh,Inc.) plans to expand its operations in the U.K....
Bancassurance Model is Business as Usual in European Countries
Jun 12 2000 // The passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act marked a watershed in U.S. financial regulation, opening up the banking, insurance and securities sectors to cross-holdings and business combinations after almost 70 years of...
BREAKTHROUGH IN WTO
May 29 2000 // On May 19, the European Union and China announced that they had reached a compromise on the terms of a trade agreement that would lead to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). At issue was EU demands...
Swiss Re “Sigma” Study Focuses on Structural Changes in European P/C
May 29 2000 // Swiss Re’s latest “Sigma” Report focuses on the structural changes that have taken place in the European Property/Casualty insurance sector, and confirms that mergers, acquisitions, deregulation and the...
Quackenbush Refuses to Testify; Retains Attorney
May 24 2000 // California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush refused to testify before a legislative committee Tuesday upon the advice of his attorney, saying he would not walk into a “political ambush.” “I have...
Breakthrough in EU/China WTO Negotiations
May 19 2000 // The European Union and China announced early this morning that they had reached agreement on the terms of a trade agreement between them which would lead to China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. The end of...
S&P Uneasy About State of Global Reinsurance Industry
May 16 2000 // The string of catastrophes in 1999—the worst year on record for the frequency of natural disasters—has hit the reinsurance industry solidly. This was compounded by weak premium rates, and retrocession recovery...
S&P Places Reinsurer ESG on Watch Negative
May 15 2000 // Standard & Poor’s CreditWatch announced that it had placed the counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings of European Specialty Reinsurance Group (ESG Re Ltd.) on credit watch with negative...
EU/China To Hold New Talks on WTO Membership
May 15 2000 // Following the failure to reach an agreement last March between the European Community and China over membership in the World Trade Organization, both sides continued to characterize the existing gaps between their...
S&P Rating Actions Taken on European Companies
May 15 2000 // The “AA+” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Zurich Insurance Co. were affirmed by S&P. The affirmation comes in the wake of the Switzerland-based company’s...
EU, China Set New WTO Talks
Apr 27 2000 // The on-again, off-again negotiations between the European Community and China over the terms of a trade agreement, which could lead to China’s joining the WTO, are now set to resume beginning May 15. The European...
UPDATE – Euro Interest Rate Hike Fails To Support Exchange Rates
Apr 27 2000 // As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates on the Euro today, but only by what most analysts considered a paltry 25 basis points. The move, which raised the effective rate to 3.75 percent,...
European Commission Clears CGU Norwich Union Merger
Apr 14 2000 // The pending merger of U.K. Insurers CGU and Norwich Union was approved by the European Commission, and will accordingly proceed on schedule. The two companies hope to finalize all details for the creation of CGNU, by the...
UPDATE – EU/China WTO Negotiations
Apr 13 2000 // Following the latest failure to reach agreement with his Chinese counterparts, Chief EU negotiator, Pascal Lamy, returned to Brussels for consultations with EU officials. He is reportedly seeking a broader mandate for...
Munich Re at Impasse with Regulators over Holocaust Claims
Apr 3 2000 // The dialogue between the California Department of Insurance (CDI) and Germany’s Munich Re came down to a legal standoff in March with respect to the reinsurer’s perceived delays in turning over documents...
Allianz Comes Out the ‘Big Winner’ In German Bank Merger
Apr 3 2000 // On March 9, the German financial world quaked with the announcement that Deutsche Bank (DB), Germany’s largest bank, planned to merge with cross-town rival Dresdner Bank. Insurance giant Allianz AG was a driving...
