Latest France Headlines
All the headlines from our France Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insured Losses for Europe’s Storm Ciara-Sabine Could Hit $2 Billion: Modeling Firms
Feb 14 2020 // Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses due to wind from Europe’s winter storm Ciara (also known as Sabine) will range between €1.1 billion and €1.9 billion (US$1.2 billion and...
Storm Ciara Batters Europe with Hurricane-Force Winds, Killing at Least 5 People
Feb 11 2020 // A strong winter storm that has battered Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains and killed at least five people moved eastward Monday, causing severe travel disruptions across the continent. After striking...
Italian Investor Group Exor Weighs Sale of PartnerRe to France’s Covea
Feb 9 2020 // Investment group Exor, which controls carmaker Fiat Chrysler, is in exclusive talks to sell reinsurer PartnerRe to France’s Covea in a deal one source familiar with the matter said was worth around $9 billion. Exor,...
Researchers Create Extreme Weather Early Warning System from ‘Obsolete’ Tool
Feb 6 2020 // Rice University engineers have created a deep learning computer system that taught itself to accurately predict extreme weather events, like heat waves, up to five days in advance using minimal information about current...
Airlines Under Pressure to Halt Flights to China; Update on Cancellations
Jan 31 2020 // Pilots and flight attendants are demanding airlines stop flights to China as health officials declare a global emergency over the rapidly spreading coronavirus, with American Airlines’ pilots filing a lawsuit seeking...
Brexit Day Is Finally Here; Now the Hard Part Begins: Opinion
Jan 30 2020 // London and Brussels are two hours apart by train but on Friday, the day the U.K. officially leaves the European Union, the two cities will feel worlds apart. The Brits are planning a Brexit celebration worthy of a...
Oil Giant Total Sued by 14 French Cities, NGOs over Failure to Cut Carbon Emissions
Jan 28 2020 // Oil giant Total SA is being sued by 14 local governments and a handful of non-governmental organizations in France for not doing enough to reduce its carbon emissions and fight global warming. The legal challenge is the...
J.C. Flowers Considers Sale of Its French Loan Insurance Broker CEP
Jan 23 2020 // J.C. Flowers & Co, the U.S. investment and financial services-focused private equity firm, is reviving plans for a potential sale of its French loan insurance broker Financiere CEP, according to people familiar with...
Chubb Names Côté as Head of Major Accts, Europe; Brionne as France Country President
Jan 16 2020 // Chubb announced a series of changes to its European leadership team: a new head of Major Accounts for Europe; a new country president for France and a new director of Accident & Health Continental Europe. Nadia Côté...
BGC Insurance’s Aerospace Broker Rebrands as ‘Piiq Risk’ with Spate of Key Hires
Jan 7 2020 // BGC Insurance Group (BGCI), a global broker and division of BGC Partners Inc., announced it has rebranded its global aerospace re/insurance brokerage as Piiq Risk Partners. Since the division was launched during the second...
Moody’s Sees Low Interest Rates Hurting French P/C Insurers’ Profits in 2020
Dec 12 2019 // The 2020 outlook for the French insurance sector is negative, reflecting growing pressures on the property/casualty insurers’ profitability from low interest rates, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report....
France to Require Insurers, Banks to Run Climate Change Stress Tests in 2020
Dec 2 2019 // France’s financial regulator will subject banks and insurers to climate change stress tests next year, central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday. Investors are increasingly putting pressure on...
Willis Re Securities Completes €120 Million Catastrophe Bond for France’s Covéa Mutual
Nov 19 2019 // Willis Re Securities reports it has structured and placed EUR 120 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) to provide reinsurance capacity for Covéa Mutual Insurance Group, France’s largest domestic...
French Search Teams Find Fragments of Airbus Engine that Exploded in Flight
Nov 7 2019 // French volunteer search teams have found fragments from an engine that exploded in mid-air over eastern France in July, officials said on Wednesday. The discovery came in an unprecedented search operation involving 150...
BHSI Forms Construction, Casualty Teams in France, Led by AXA XL’s Antiphon, Bonifay
Oct 29 2019 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced it has commenced underwriting casualty and construction insurance in France and filled two key in-country leadership posts, naming Olivier Antiphon as head of...
Tokio Marine HCC Expands Surety Team in France with 2 Hires from Zurich Insurance
Oct 8 2019 // Tokio Marine HCC announced the appointment of Jennifer Metcalfe as senior surety underwriter – France, effective Sept. 16. She reports to Aymeric Vinet Desrues, head of Surety – France, who was appointed in...
Buffett-Owned Chemical Firm Lubrizol Faces Lawsuits After Fire in Rouen, France
Oct 2 2019 // More than 5,250 tonnes of chemicals, oil and fuel additives have burned in a massive fire at U.S. specialty chemical firm Lubrizol in Rouen, France, last week, the local prefecture said in a statement on Tuesday. Following...
Hackers Target Airbus via Computer Systems of Suppliers, Contractors
Sep 26 2019 // Airbus SE said it has taken steps to shield itself from cyber attacks targeting the European aerospace and defense company through subcontractors’ computer systems. The maker of passenger planes and military jets is...
France’s CNP Assurances Reaches Bancassurance Deal with Brazil’s Caixa Worth $1.7B
Sep 20 2019 // France’s CNP Assurances SA has reached a deal worth 7 billion reais ($1.7 billion) with Caixa Economica Federal to sell insurance in the bank’s more than 3,000 branches, the Brazilian state-owned lender said on...
BHSI Taps Executives from AIG and AXA XL as Claims & Product Line Leaders in France
Sep 19 2019 // Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) announced it has expanded its leadership team in France, naming Katell Pouliquen as head of Claims, Louis du Ché as head of Property and Ludovic Ruiller as head of...
