Latest Europe Headlines

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

Reinsurance Market Tries to Reel In Profits

Oct 28 2002 // A year ago the reinsurance industry faced the biggest loss event in its history – the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. Nevertheless, commentators were almost unanimous in predicting that the market would harden,...

Reinsurance Market Tries to Reel In Profits

Oct 28 2002 // A year ago the reinsurance industry faced the biggest loss event in its history – the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. Nevertheless commentators were almost unanimous in predicting that the market would harden,...

Eureko Starts Arbitration with Polish Gov’t. Over PZU

Oct 24 2002 // The ongoing dispute between Eureko, the Pan-European insurance consortium, and Poland’s Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek over the control of Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU) has been submitted to formal...

IPC Holdings Reports Strong 3Q, 9 Month Gains

Oct 23 2002 // Bermuda-based IPC Holdings, Ltd. joined the growing number of reinsurers celebrating a good third quarter, as the company announced that its net operating income, which excludes net realized gains and losses, was $46.6...

ACE Tempest Re Europe Appoints Eric Gutierrez European Treaty Underwriter

Oct 23 2002 // ACE Tempest Re Europe announced the appointment of Eric Gutierrez as European Treaty Underwriter in their newly opened underwriting division in Dublin. he’ll be responsible for developing property and casualty treaty...

ACE Announces Executive Appointments at AOG Division

Oct 17 2002 // Bermuda’s ACE Limited announced a series of executive appointments at ACE Overseas General (AOG). Roger Giddings has been named Sr. VP and Head of Offshore Energy Underwriting for the newly created ACE Global Energy...

XL Estimates European Flood Losses at $50 Million, Investment Downturn to Affect Earnings

Oct 15 2002 // XL Capital Ltd. led off the Bermuda Angle Conference at the Fairmount Southampton Princess Hotel in Bermuda with the announcement that the company’s 3rd quarter earnings would be hit by an estimated net loss from the...

EU Report Indicates U.K. Gov’t. May Not Have Properly Audited Lloyd’s

Oct 4 2002 // A preliminary draft of a report prepared for the European Commission apparently indicates that U.K. regulators failed to adhere to European Community regulations in auditing and oversight of Lloyd’s of...

The State of the Surplus Lines Market with Michael J. Hall

Sep 30 2002 // Insurance Journal publisher Mark Wells recently spoke with Michael J. Hall, chairman of M.J. Hall & Company Inc. and president of Golden Bear Insurance Company, both headquartered out of Stockton, Calif. Hall shared...

European Airlines, Airports Warn of Risks If Govt. Coverage Is Ended

Sep 26 2002 // European Airlines and airports were quick to protest the decision by the European Commission to end its permission for EU governments to provide supplemental insurance coverage by the end of October (See IJ Website...

EU, China Plan to End Airline Insurance Next Month

Sep 24 2002 // The European Union plans to to end the emergency coverage it has granted to the community’s airline’s for terrorist liability by the end of October, while China’s government announced that it would extend...

SalvageSale Announces Management Changes

Sep 19 2002 // SalvageSale Inc., the Houston-based online salvage marketplace and salvor services provider for the claims recovery and commercial salvage markets, announced that Thomas DiSarlo has joined its subsidiary, SalvageSale...

ACE Q3 Earnings Hit by $90 Million in European Flood Losses

Sep 19 2002 // Bermuda’s ACE Limited announced today that an accumulation of losses resulting principally from the recent floods in Eastern Europe will impact operating income in the third quarter of 2002, by “approximately...

Eastern European Floods Cause Widespread Damage

Sep 16 2002 // The floods that devastated Eastern Europe throughout August may have been caused by global warming, or by one of the 100-200 year storms probability theory predicts, or maybe just bad luck. They were in any case, the most...

PartnerRe, Converium Estimate E. European Flood Losses

Sep 9 2002 // Bermuda’s PartnerRe upped its earlier loss estimate from claims due to the recent floods in Eastern Europe from around $100 million to between $110 and $120 million. Swiss-based Converium indicated its pretax losses...

Inreon Offers Facultative Liability Reinsurance, Demand and Capacity Set to Grow

Sep 6 2002 // Inreon, the Internet trading platform launched by Munich Re and Swiss Re, announced that it has expanded its scope to offer reinsurance buyers facultative liability cover via the platform from a panel of blue chip...

Zurich Posts Huge 1st Half Net Loss, Slightly Over $2 Billion

Sep 5 2002 // The equity storms that have battered the earnings of many of Europe’s biggest insurers in the first half of 2002 became a class 5 hurricane for the Anglo-Swiss Group Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) which posted a net...

S&P’s Maintains Negative Outlook for European Reinsurers

Sep 2 2002 // Standard & Poor’s said that although the European reinsurance market is expected to remain hard beyond 2003, it maintains its negative outlook for the industry for the fifth year running, due to uncertainty over...

Speculation Grows on AIG Takeover of Zurich

Sep 2 2002 // Rumors of a possible takeover of Zurich Financial by U.S. insurance juggernaut American International Group (AIG) gained steam as the Swiss concern’s stock rose sharply last week. According to Reuters, speculative...

XL Capital Assurance Establishes London-Based Financial Guarantee Subsidiary

Aug 27 2002 // XL Capital Assurance Inc. (XLCA), a unit of Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd., announced the formation of a financial guarantee subsidiary in London, XL Capital Assurance (U.K.) Limited (XLCA-UK), specializing in credit...