Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Zurich Makes Two Executive Appointments
Aug 13 2009 // Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) has appointed Alan Fairhead (50, British citizen), currently chief underwriting officer for Global Corporate, to the position of chief underwriting officer for Europe General...
Allianz P/C Profit Down, Combined Ratio Up for Q2
Aug 7 2009 // Allianz disappointed investors on Friday as its property/ casualty insurance business missed expectations even as improving financial markets helped group net profit rise by a fifth in the second quarter. Net profit at...
Validus Opens European Office
Jul 22 2009 // Bermuda-based Validus Holdings, Ltd. has opened a European reinsurance representative office located in Hamburg, Germany. The new office will represent Validus Reinsurance, Ltd. (Validus Re), the Group’s...
S&P Affirms/Withdraws Some Swiss Re Operating Company Ratings
Jul 15 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A+’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on various operating companies belonging to global reinsurer Swiss...
Best Affirms Omega Specialty, Lloyd’s Syndicate 958 Ratings
Jul 15 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Bermuda-based Omega Specialty Insurance Company Limited (OSIL), both with stable...
France Sees Global ‘Airline Blacklist’ Ready Soon
Jul 13 2009 // A global blacklist for unsafe airlines will be set up soon, France’s Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said on Monday. On Thursday the head of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had rejected...
Catlin Names Haas Chief European Underwriter
Jul 8 2009 // Catlin Group Limited announced that Heinz-Walter Haas has joined Catlin as chief underwriting officer for Continental Europe. He is based in the Cologne office, and is responsible for the execution of the Group s...
Heavy Rains Trigger Flooding in Central Europe
Jul 1 2009 // According to a report from Risk Management Solutions, last week’s extremely heavy rainfall, which continued for three days over Central Europe, triggered severe flooding across parts of the Czech Republic, Germany,...
Marsh: Europe’s Communications, Media, Tech Firms Focus on Risks
Jun 25 2009 // A new report from Marsh concludes that the senior management at “85 percent of Europe’s leading communications, media and technology (CMT) companies have indicated they are placing increased importance on risk...
Ratings: Everest Re (Ireland), Bosna Re, Peace Hills, Farmers (NZ), Swiss Re (debt), Optimum
Jun 18 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A+’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Everest Reinsurance Co. (Ireland) Ltd. S&P also said the outlook on Everest Re...
ACE Opens Branch Office in Turkey
Jun 16 2009 // the ACE European Group announced the opening of a new branch office in Istanbul, Turkey, as it expands its presence across Central and Eastern Europe. ACE said it has “obtained a letter from Turkey’s Under...
The Globalized Broker Network
Jun 15 2009 // Assurex Global Struck Gold with Partners Around the World Assurex Global Year Founded: 1954 Locations: 500 offices on six continents Employees: 20,000 Annual Premium Volume: $28 billion Annual Revenue: $3.4 billion Assurex...
Marsh Survey Finds Financial European Risk Management Budgets Stagnant
Jun 11 2009 // A survey, conducted by Marsh and the independent research group Ipsos, has concluded that almost all European financial institutions have reviewed their approach to risk since the onset of the global financial crisis,...
EU Ministers Vow Debt Curb; Broach Bank Supervision
Jun 9 2009 // European Union Finance ministers were set on Tuesday to renew commitments to post-recession debt reduction but without tying themselves for now to a starting date. The ministers from the 27 European Union countries were...
Guy Carp Report Details EU Developments Affecting Insurance
Jun 9 2009 // Guy Carpenter & Company has published the latest installment in its series of updates on key legislative and legal developments impacting insurers and reinsurers in Continental Europe. The briefing addresses the...
ACE Europe Finds Lack of Risk Manager Authority in Financial Crisis
Jun 8 2009 // “Financial institutions did not empower their risk management functions enough to curb the activities of risk takers which played a major role in the near collapse of the international financial system in...
Amlin to Buy Fortis Dutch Corporate Insurance Unit; S&P, Best Comment
Jun 4 2009 // The UK’s Amlin plc announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Fortis Corporate Insurance N.V. (FCI), an important provider of corporate P/C insurance in the Netherlands and Belgium, from the Dutch...
Association of British Insurers Warns of Regulation ‘Contagion’
Jun 4 2009 // The Association of British Insurers has issued a statement warning that regulators and governments “must not harm other industries, such as insurance, as they deal with the banking crisis.” In a new report,...
EU Unveils Reforms to Make Financial Markets Safer – Insurance Included
May 27 2009 // Banks will be more closely scrutinized under European Union plans unveiled on Wednesday to apply lessons from the credit crunch and better protect investors shaken by the worst financial crisis in decades. The European...
France, Germany Urge More Flexible Climate Pact
May 26 2009 // France and Germany suggested on Monday that rich nations should collectively guarantee deep cuts in greenhouse gases by 2020 while giving flexibility to laggards such as the United States to catch up later. France said the...
