Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
National Emissions Plans Fall Short to Limit Climate Change – UN Study
Sep 3 2015 // National plans for limiting greenhouse gas emissions fall short of tough action needed to slow climate change under a United Nations agreement due in Paris in December, European researchers said on Wednesday. The plans...
Study Says European Insurers’ Assets under Management Hit $11 Trillion
Sep 2 2015 // European insurers’ assets under management jumped 9.4 percent to €9.9 trillion ($11.15 trillion) in 2014 from a year earlier, trade body Insurance Europe said on Tuesday, mainly driven by increased investment by...
Carvey Appointed Head of Treaty at Hamilton at Lloyd’s
Aug 31 2015 // Hamilton Underwriting Limited, the Lloyd’s managing agency of Bermuda-based holding company Hamilton Insurance Group, has hired Trevor Carvey as head of treaty. Carvey will report to Dermot O’Donohoe, chief...
Troubled Irish Insurers Seek Solvency II Support From Bond Investors, Buffett
Aug 28 2015 // Investors hunting for yield after a global financial rout might well take a detour to the headquarters of a tiny insurance company hidden away along a highway in west Dublin. Just as world markets cratered on August 24,...
European Re/Insurers Well Positioned to Withstand Market Volatility: A.M. Best
Aug 27 2015 // European re/insurers are well positioned to withstand the current volatility in the stock markets, having made significant changes to their investment portfolios since the global financial crisis of 2008, as well as the...
ANV Underwriters Hires Lippert to Boost Professional Lines Portfolio in Europe
Aug 25 2015 // ANV Underwriters, the international managing general underwriter (MGU) segment of global specialty insurance group ANV, has appointed Christina Lippert as professional lines underwriting manager for Europe. Based in...
Vienna Insurance Q2 Profit Drops 8.6% on Low Interest Rates in Region
Aug 25 2015 // Vienna Insurance Group AG, eastern Europe’s biggest insurer, said profit in the second quarter declined 8.6 percent as low interest rates in the region pushed down returns on its investments. Net income in the three...
Reuters Special Report: U.S. Banks Book Trades Abroad to Bypass U.S. Regulation
Aug 24 2015 // This spring, traders and analysts working deep in the global swaps markets began picking up peculiar readings: Hundreds of billions of dollars of trades by U.S. banks had seemingly vanished. “We saw strange things in...
Shareholders in UK’s RSA Bracing for Lowball Bid from Suitor Zurich Insurance
Aug 24 2015 // Shareholders in British insurer RSA are bracing for a lowball bid from prospective suitor Zurich Insurance, putting one of Europe’s largest ever insurance deals in doubt. After flagging its interest to the market on...
EU Seeking to Cut Minimum Risk Weighting on Simple Securitizations
Aug 21 2015 // The European Commission is seeking to cut the minimum risk weight on securitizations that qualify as simple and transparent to 10 percent to help jump-start the bloc’s capital markets. The 5 percentage-point...
EU Close to Easing Solvency II Capital Rules to Lure Asset-Backed Debt Buyers
Aug 18 2015 // The European Union’s plan to revive the asset-backed securities market may heed industry concerns by broadening the range of products eligible for a high-quality label and easing capital requirements for...
European Captives More Focused on Risk Mgmt., Investments: A.M. Best
Aug 14 2015 // A.M. Best has released a new study -“European Captives Increase Focus on Risk Management and Investments Ahead of Solvency II -” which concludes that “many European captives have embraced Solvency...
Insurers Look to Cyber, M&A Coverage as Prices Decline for 9th Quarter: Marsh
Aug 14 2015 // Commercial insurance rates continued their global decline in the 2015 second quarter, a trend driven by a continued abundance of global capacity and a lack of large insured loss activity, Marsh said in its latest Global...
UnipolSai, Willis Capital Confirm Italian Cat Bond for Azzurro Re; 1st in Europe
Aug 14 2015 // UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A. (UnipolSai), a multi-business Italian insurance company of the Unipol Group and Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) part of Willis Group Holdings plc, have confirmed the...
A.M. Best: Sanctions Removal to Attract Re/Insurers to Iranian Market
Aug 12 2015 // The lifting of trade restrictions placed on Iran may present significant opportunities for the Middle East and North African (MENA) re/insurance market, with European participants also expected to re-engage and seek a...
UPDATE: Allianz 2nd Quarter Profit Rises 15% on Fewer Nat Cat Claims
Aug 7 2015 // Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said second-quarter profit rose 15 percent as lower claims from natural catastrophes offset a drop in earnings at Pacific Investment Management Co. Net income increased to 2.02...
Europe’s ABS Market Promotion Hinges on Easing Insurers’ Capital Requirements
Aug 6 2015 // Europe’s push to promote asset-backed securities (ABS) hinges on persuading insurers to buy the debt by easing capital requirements, investors and analysts said. European Union and global regulators recently proposed...
Investment Return Moves up Boardroom Agenda for Europe Insurers: A.M. Best
Jul 31 2015 // The pursuit of improved investment returns has become more important for European insurers after a lengthy period when their attention was more focused on non-investment sources of profit, according to a report published...
Generali 2nd Quarter Profit Rises 51% on Life Business
Jul 30 2015 // Assicurazioni Generali SpA said second-quarter profit rose 51 percent, beating analysts’ estimates, after earnings from life insurance surged. The shares climbed in Milan. Net income at Italy’s biggest insurer...
Hamilton Underwriting Limited Hires Carvey as Head of Treaty
Jul 29 2015 // Hamilton Underwriting Limited, the Lloyd’s managing agency of Bermuda-based holding company Hamilton Insurance Group, announced that Trevor Carvey has been hired as head of treaty. Carvey will report to Dermot...
