Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Financial Consultant Bjelobaba Analyzes Changing UK Regulations
Apr 6 2011 // The UK’s Conservative government announced, even before it was elected, that it planned to reform the country’s financial regulatory system – for banks, investment providers and the insurance industry. On...
Growth of Clean Tech Industry Delivers New Exposures, Opportunities
Apr 4 2011 // Backed by government policy and growing public support, demand for technology that is both clean and sustainable has increased substantially in the United States, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world over the last...
Shake-Up at AIG’s Chartis; Moor Out, Hancock In as CEO
Mar 31 2011 // American International Group, Inc. (AIG) today announced a reorganization of Chartis, its global property/casualty business, and named a new management team, including a new chief executive officer, Peter D. Hancock,...
Rating Agencies Might Stop Reports Due to EU Threats Say Sources
Mar 31 2011 // Credit rating agencies have warned the European Commission that they could stop rating risky countries if the EU executive goes ahead with plans to make them legally liable for errors of judgment, industry sources...
S&P: Outlook Negative on 9 Japanese P/C Insurers; Ratings Affirmed
Mar 25 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has conducted a detailed analysis of 15 Japanese P/C insurers, and has made several adjustments in its ratings following the earthquake and tsunami, which hit the country on...
BIBA Calls for Realistic Regulation of UK Brokers
Mar 22 2011 // The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) released the key findings of its Future of Regulation research on Monday March 21 at a Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons, to an audience of MPs, civil...
EU Prods China to Relax Restrictive Bank Ownership Rules
Mar 22 2011 // The European Union is pressing China to relax restrictions on foreign ownership of its banks in order to gain wider access to the Chinese financial markets, the region’s Internal Markets Commissioner said on...
EU Regulator: ‘No Major Threat’ to Europe’s Insurers from Japan Crisis
Mar 17 2011 // European insurers face no major threat from the turmoil ensuing from last week’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the European Union’s insurance watchdog said on Thursday. “From a European viewpoint, the...
S&P: EU Ruling on Gender Discrimination Likely to Have a ‘Neutral’ Effect
Mar 9 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a bulletin analyzing last week’s European Court Of Justice ruling that prohibits gender-based discrimination in the calculation of insurance premiums and...
FERMA Calls for ‘Mandatory’ Protocol for Broker/Company Transactions
Mar 9 2011 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has issued a response concerning the revised European Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD), which states that it “should incorporate binding standards of...
Best’s Special Report Analyzes EU’s Solvency II Impact on Ratings
Mar 8 2011 // A report from A.M. Best Co. provides a timely analysis of the fast approaching implementation of the European Commission’s long-awaited Solvency II insurance regulations, which are now scheduled to come into force as...
ING to Repay 70% of Dutch State Aid by May 2011
Mar 7 2011 // Dutch bancassurer ING outlined plans for the expected early repayment of state aid it received during the credit crunch, further evidence of the Dutch financial sector’s recovery from the crisis. ING said on Monday...
NAIC, EU Regulators Hold Meeting on International Insurance Regulation
Mar 7 2011 // As business becomes more globalized, the financial services industry, including insurance, has recognized the need to keep up with the changing times. Both U.S and European Union regulators have therefore embarked on...
Holocaust Survivors Want U.S. to Push European Insurers on Payments
Mar 2 2011 // Aging survivors of the Nazi Holocaust plan to protest outside a political fundraiser in Miami Beach featuring President Barack Obama this week to publicize their struggle to collect what they say is $20 billion in Jewish...
ABI Describes EU Court’s Ban on Gender Use as ‘Disappointing’
Mar 2 2011 // “The decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to ban the use of gender in insurance policies from December 2012 is disappointing news,” states a bulletin from the Association of British Insurers...
EU Court Rules Insurers Cannot Link Risks to Gender
Mar 1 2011 // Insurance companies cannot take gender into account when setting premiums and paying out benefits from annuities and retirement savings or accident cover, the European Union’s top court ruled on Tuesday. The ruling...
Ritchie to Head New Argo Int’l. Paris Branch Office
Feb 28 2011 // The Bermuda-based Argo Group International Holdings announced that Bruno Ritchie has joined the company to lead Argo Assurances, Argo Group’s new Paris-based underwriting platform for large specialty risks. The new...
PartnerRe Makes Changes in Catastrophe Business Unit
Feb 25 2011 // Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd. Has announced leadership changes in its Catastrophe business unit, effective April 1, 2011. Brian Secrett, currently Chief Underwriting Officer and Deputy Head, Catastrophe, has been appointed...
Ratings Recap: Aegon, Grafton (Europe), AGA, Inbursa, Malayan
Feb 24 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has said that its ratings and outlook on Netherlands-based insurance holding company AEGON N.V. (‘A-‘/Negative/A-2) and its core insurance operating subsidiaries...
European Insurers Dogged by Fresh Capital Fears
Feb 24 2011 // A bumper equity issue from Aegon and a disappointing dividend from Allianz stirred fresh fears about European insurers’ capital strength on Thursday, weighing on their shares. The capital-boosting measures by Allianz...
