Latest Europe Headlines
All the headlines from our Europe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Brexit Trade Talks Back on Agenda After COVID-19 Hiatus, Facing Tight Timetable
May 1 2020 // Banks are dusting off their no-deal Brexit plans as concerns deepen that Britain and the European Union won’t agree a trade deal by December as the COVID-19 pandemic compounds fundamental disagreements over future...
Beazley Expands M&A Insurance Team with 5 New Underwriters, Geographies
Apr 29 2020 // Specialist insurer Beazley has expanded its mergers & acquisitions (M&A) team with new locations and the appointment of five new underwriters. This follows several years of continuous growth in underwriting...
German Economy Relies on Rhine River – But Levels Are Low Without April Rainfall
Apr 28 2020 // Germany’s spring showers haven’t materialized this year, and that’s drying out the country’s most important river, prompting concerns that key industrial goods might have trouble making it to their...
Earthquake Hits Croatia, a Month After Another Tremor Causes Damages of $6B
Apr 23 2020 // An earthquake rattled Croatia’s capital, a month after a stronger tremor left Zagreb in need of $6 billion for renovation, adding to a growing list of costs as the European Union battles the coronavirus. The...
Conspiracy Theorists Set Fire to Europe’s 5G Network Towers, Claiming Link to COVID-19
Apr 22 2020 // The CCTV footage from a Dutch business park shows a man in a black cap pouring the contents of a white container at the base of a cellular radio tower. Flames burst out as the man jogs back to his Toyota to flee into the...
AXA XL Forms New Leadership Team, Aims to Restructure with Regional Business Units
Apr 21 2020 // AXA XL announced a new leadership team and proposed changes to the operating model of its Insurance business following a strategic review. Key proposed changes to the operating model include the creation of a single global...
Ferrari Provides Coronavirus Tests so Employees Can Return to Work
Apr 21 2020 // Workers at Ferrari are signing up en masse for voluntary coronavirus screening so they can return to work as soon as possible in an ambitious scheme that could serve as a blueprint for manufacturers desperate to resume...
More White Collar Employees Starting to Face Pay Cuts, Layoffs
Apr 20 2020 // First, it was bars, restaurants, hotels. And clothing stores, movie theaters, entertainment venues. And countless small businesses, from bookstores to barber shops. Now, the record-setting flood of layoffs unleashed by the...
European Risk Mgmt Group FERMA Supports National Backstops for Future Pandemics
Apr 17 2020 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) support the development of government backstops to increase financial resilience against future pandemic risks – similar to what already exists in many...
Hiscox Says Its Business Interruption Exposure Is Limited in Europe, U.S.
Apr 16 2020 // Hiscox’s core policy wordings do not provide cover for business interruption as a result of the general lockdown measures taken by the UK government in response to the coronavirus pandemic, said the company in a...
Europe Needs Its Own Approach to Coronavirus Tracing, Say German Tech Startups
Apr 15 2020 // Europe should not cede its sovereignty to Silicon Valley when it comes to using technology to help trace those at risk of coronavirus infection, the German developers of a smartphone app said on Tuesday. Apple and Google...
Italy’s Generali to Pay 2019 Dividend, Resisting EU Regulatory Guidance
Apr 13 2020 // Italy’s biggest insurer Generali on Friday said it would pay its 2019 dividend in two tranches, confirming a total payout of 0.96 euros per share, citing its strong capital position. The announcement flies in the...
Stresses of COVID-19 Hit Businesses, Their Insurers, so Partnership Is Needed: FERMA
Apr 7 2020 // The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has called for enhanced understanding of the insurance needs of European businesses to help them get through the pandemic and recover afterwards. “Many...
European Watchdog Urges Re/insurers to Suspend Dividends During Pandemic
Apr 7 2020 // The European regulator has urged re/insurers to temporarily suspect dividend distributions and share buybacks aimed at remunerating shareholders, given the level of uncertainties connected to the impact of the COVID-19...
Health-Care Providers See Surge in Ransomware Attacks in Europe, U.S.
Apr 3 2020 // When hackers broke into computers at Hammersmith Medicines Research, a London-based company that carries out clinical trials for new medicines, it was a nightmare scenario for managing director Malcolm Boyce. The...
Lemonade Launches in Its 2nd European Country: The Netherlands
Apr 2 2020 // Lemonade, the New York-based insurer that is powered by artificial intelligence, has launched in a second European country – the Netherlands. Dutch consumers can now get contents and liability insurance instantly,...
EU Countries Give Guarantees to Credit Insurers to Prevent Coverage Cuts
Apr 1 2020 // European Union states are giving guarantees to credit insurers in a bid to keep coronavirus-hit companies afloat, as some firms cut cover for trade involving bloc members such as Italy and Spain, sources said. Without...
Insured Losses from Europe’s Storm Victoria (aka Dennis) Estimated at €286M: PERILS
Mar 30 2020 // The initial insured property loss estimate for Europe’s extratropical cyclone “Victoria,” also known as “Dennis,” is an estimated €286 million (US$318.4 million), according to PERILS, the...
China’s Factories Hit with 2nd Blow from Coronavirus as External Demand Drops
Mar 27 2020 // Since last week, emails from foreign clients have been flooding into export manager Grace Gao’s in-box, asking to delay orders already made, putting goods ready to be shipped on hold until further notice, or asking...
Pandemic Hampers World’s Weather Forecasts with Halting of Commercial Flights
Mar 26 2020 // The pandemic that has idled scores of commercial flights is having a little-noticed consequence for meteorologists, whose forecasts rely in part on data collected from planes. That means a crucial eye in the sky has...
