Latest Europe Headlines

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

Many UK Businesses Do Not Take Risk Culture Seriously: QBE Europe Survey

Jun 15 2015 // The vast majority of UK businesses (70 percent) are failing to address the importance of embedding a positive risk culture*, according to survey conducted by UK business insurance specialist QBE European Operations, which...

Reyes, Angehrn in New Posts on Zurich’s Group Executive Committee

Jun 11 2015 // The Zurich Insurance Group announced that Cecilia Reyes, currently Chief Investment Officer and Regional Chairman of Asia Pacific, will become Chief Risk Officer, effective July 1, 2015, succeeding Axel P. Lehmann. Urban...

Allianz to Shrink German Branch Network; Hit by Low Interest Rates

Jun 10 2015 // Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said it will shrink its administrative branch network in Germany as low interest rates and regulatory demands hurt industry profitability. About 360 jobs, or about 1 percent of...

HSBC to Cut Up to 50,000 Jobs; Targets Growth of Asia Insurance Business

Jun 9 2015 // HSBC pledged a new era of higher dividends on Tuesday, laying out plans to slash nearly one in five jobs and shrink its investment bank by a third to combat sluggish growth across its sprawling empire. Chief Executive...

Twelve Capital Hires 3 Insurance Specialists for London Office

Jun 5 2015 // Twelve Capital, an independent investment manager specializing in insurance-related investments, with offices in Zurich and London, announced that Marcus Rivaldi, William Hardcastle and Ulrich Beck have joined the...

‘Brexit’ a Major Political Risk for UK Insurers: ABI Chief Exec

Jun 3 2015 // The risk of a British exit [‘Brexit’] from the European Union is causing major political uncertainty for the insurance industry, the chief executive of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said on...

RSA Appoints Gray as Marine Sales & Broker Manager, London Market, Europe

Jun 3 2015 // RSA, one of the largest UK marine insurers, has appointed Calvin Gray to the newly created role of marine sales and broker manager, London market and Europe. Reporting to Richard Turner, marine director, Gray will be...

Chubb Europe Renews Concours d’Elégance at Salon Privé Sponsorship

May 29 2015 // Salon Privé and Chubb Insurance Company of Europe SE announced that they have renewed their sponsorship agreement for the esteemed automotive event’s Concours and Tour d’Elégance. Chubb said the...

Factbox: Lloyd’s Chief, Other Leaders Offer Views on Britain’s EU Referendum

May 29 2015 // Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to renegotiate Britain’s ties with Europe and then give voters a referendum on European Union membership by the end of 2017. Following are the views of business...

European Central Bank Warns of Risks to Insurers of Low Interest Rates

May 29 2015 // The European Central Bank said on Thursday that record low interest rates were putting insurance firms and banks under increasing pressure and warned that any sell-off in stocks and bonds could damage the euro zone’s...

Some European Insurers, Pension Funds Build Loan Books to Rival Banks

May 27 2015 // Australian Symon Drake-Brockman is on the front line of a revolution in European finance. The former head of global debt markets at Royal Bank of Scotland now runs Pemberton Asset Management in London’s genteel...

Zurich Aims to Cut Costs by $1B, Seeking to Reverse Earnings Decline

May 21 2015 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest insurer, will cut costs by more than planned as it seeks to reverse a drop in earnings. Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said he will make additional annual savings...

Vienna Insurance Posts Lowest Q1 Profit Since ’09, Hit by Low Interest Rates

May 20 2015 // The financial repercussions of record-low interest rates in Europe were highlighted Wednesday as Vienna Insurance Group AG, eastern Europe’s biggest insurer, posted its worst first-quarter profit since the financial...

Solvency II’s Impact and Its Future Analyzed at EIF Conference

May 20 2015 // Solvency II – all 2000 plus pages of it – has been completed and is slated to go into force as of the first of January 2016. As befits a major reorganization of a major EU industry, it took a long time – eight years...

ACE Launches New Corporate Travel Proposition in Sweden

May 20 2015 // ACE Group has launched in Sweden its new corporate travel proposition ACE Business Class, as it continues to enhance its multinational offering for companies in the Nordic region. ACE Business Class provides comprehensive...

DIMA CEO on Ireland’s Recovery and Facing Neglected Challenges

May 19 2015 // Sarah Goddard, the CEO of the Dublin Insurance Marketing Association (DIMA), organizers of the European Insurance Forum, took time to discuss some of the issues the re/insurance industry faces, now that it has more or less...

European Insurance Forum Examines a Changing World

May 18 2015 // With the long journey towards a unified regulatory system for insurance in the European Union – Solvency II – finally appearing to be near its end, the re/insurance industry has realized that even greater...

RSA Appoints Thomas as Broker Relationship Director for UK, Western Europe

May 14 2015 // RSA, one of the largest UK commercial insurers, has appointed Owen Thomas as relationship director, effective May 13. In this newly created role, Thomas will have responsibility for leading the top broker relationships...

Update: Generali Q1 Operating Profit Rises 6% to $1.5B on Investment Income

May 14 2015 // Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Italy’s biggest insurer, reported the highest quarterly operating profit in seven years, spurred by a surge in investment income. Profit in the three months to March climbed 6 percent to...

RSA Appoints McKenzie as COO for UK, Western Europe

May 13 2015 // London-based RSA has appointed Darren McKenzie to the newly created role of chief operating officer for the UK & Western Europe. Joining on July 1, McKenzie will report directly to Steve Lewis, chief executive for the...