Latest Europe Headlines

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

EU Parliament Calls for Three Binding Climate Targets for 2030

Feb 6 2014 // Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of three climate and energy targets for 2030, rebuffing a Commission plan for just one fully binding goal. The vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg,...

A.M. Best Europe Obtains ECAI Status under New EU Regulations

Feb 6 2014 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited (AMBERS) has confirmed that it has obtained External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) status under new European Union (EU) regulations, which came into force in January...

European Banks have $3.4 Trillion of Exposures to Emerging Markets

Feb 5 2014 // European banks have loaned in excess of $3 trillion to emerging markets, more than four times U.S. lenders and putting them at greater risk if financial market turmoil in countries such as Turkey, Brazil, India and South...

Corruption Costs European Economy $162 Billion a Year

Feb 4 2014 //

Best Affirms Swiss Re, Europe Affiliates ‘A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable

Jan 31 2014 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, European...

Iran Oil-Shipping Insurance Seen Unusable on Lack of Clarity

Jan 29 2014 // Insurance for tankers to export Iranian crude may be unusable even after the U.S. and the European Union eased sanctions against the Persian Gulf state, a group covering vessel owners said. Ship owners hauling Iran’s...

Beazley, Hiscox Form D&O Consortium with Capacity up to $50 Million

Jan 28 2014 // Lloyd’s of London insurers Beazley and Hiscox have partnered to offer brokers and clients a D&O consortium through which the syndicates will provide materially higher limits and offer additional options to...

Part II – Reinsurance: Emerging Markets and Risks – the Road Ahead

Jan 27 2014 // As detailed in Part I, the reinsurance industry faces the task of partially reinventing itself to expand in those sectors where it can achieve growth. Property catastrophe coverage isn’t off the table, but it’s...

Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $45B in 2013

Jan 27 2014 // In 2013, there were 296 separate natural disaster events that produced total economic losses of $192 billion – four percent below the 10-year average of $200 billion, but above the average 259 events, according to a...

Aon Benfield Securities Completes Europe Windstorm Cat Bond Windmill I Re

Jan 23 2014 // Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield, announced the successful completion of the first European Windstorm indemnity catastrophe bond...

Japan Oil Buyers to Return to Private Insurance for Iran Imports

Jan 17 2014 // Japanese crude buyers are set to switch back to private insurance providers for transportation of Iranian oil, after relief from some EU sanctions goes into effect next week, industry and government sources said. Under the...

Europe to Relax Reinsurance Ban on Iranian Oil Exports Next Week

Jan 16 2014 // Europe is days from suspending a ban on reinsuring tankers hauling Iranian oil, a measure that helped cut the nation’s crude exports by more than 50 percent when it was implemented. The six-month relaxation starts...

Europe to Experience More Droughts Due to Climate Change

Jan 15 2014 // Europe is poised to suffer more droughts as the 21st century progresses because of climate change, according to a study by the European Union’s Joint Research Centre and Germany’s University of Kassel. Many...

Chubb Europe Launches Updated ‘MasterPackage’ for Technology Companies

Jan 15 2014 // Chubb Insurance Company of Europe SE announced the launch of the new edition of its MasterPackage for Technology Companies policy. It described the product as a “comprehensive first and third party policy to cater...

Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $45B in 2013: Impact Forecasting

Jan 13 2014 // In 2013, there were 296 separate natural disaster events that produced total economic losses of $192 billion – four percent below the 10-year average of $200 billion, but above the average 259 events, according to a...

EU Sanctions Relief for Iran Includes Lifting Insurance Ban

Jan 13 2014 // European Union governments will implement all EU sanctions relief for Iran covered by a landmark nuclear deal on Jan. 20, the day the agreement takes effect – including lifting a ban on insuring its oil, officials...

Europe Hit by $2.25 B Economic Loss: Impact Forecasting December Cat Report

Jan 8 2014 // Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has issued its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report for December 2013. It highlights the impact on Europe of a series of...

India Refiners Delay Iran Oil Imports on Failure to Get Reinsurance

Jan 8 2014 // Indian Oil Corp. and two other state- run refiners said they will defer resuming purchases of Iranian crude by at least three months, having failed to get reinsurance for shipments after Europe said it would relax a...

Munich Re’s Review of 2013 Cat Losses Focuses on Weather-Related Events

Jan 7 2014 // In its annual review of loss events in the past year, Munich Re emphasized the “exceptionally high losses from weather-related catastrophes in Europe and Supertyphoon Haiyan,” which, the report said,...

Yahoo Says Some Ads on its European Sites Spread Malware

Jan 6 2014 // Some advertisements on Yahoo Inc’s European websites last week spread malicious software, Yahoo said on Sunday, potentially infecting thousands of users. On Friday, Fox-IT, a Delft, Netherlands-based computer...