France News

World Economies Prepare for Panic after Greek Elections

Authorities in the world’s major economies are preparing for a possible market storm or public panic after cliffhanger Greek elections this weekend, officials said on Thursday, should radical leftists win and cast doubt on the nation’s future in the euro …

Beazley’s Interim Statement for Q1 2012 Shows 9% Premium Growth

Best Upgrades SCOR & Subs Credit Ratings; Affirms Financial Ratings

A.M. Best Europe โ€“ Ratings Services Limited has upgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of French reinsurer SCOR SE and its main subsidiaries. Best also upgraded …

Swiss Re Team Favored to Acquire Groupama’s Brokerage Unit – Sources

Swiss Re and its private equity partners Apax and PAI are in pole position to acquire Groupama’s GAN Eurocourtage [brokerage] unit for about โ‚ฌ600 million ($793.2 million), people familiar with the situation said. The Swiss reinsurance group teamed up with …

Best Affirms AGA International (Ex-Mondial Assistance) Ratings; Outlook Stable

A.M. Best Europe โ€“ Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a+” of France’s AGA International SA (AGAI SA) – formerly Mondial Assistance International SA -and its U.S. subsidiary, the …

Torus Appoints Rousseau to Develop General Property in France

Global specialty insurer Torus has appointed Gilles Rousseau as Senior Underwriter, General Property. He is based in Paris and has more than 30 years of underwriting experience, as well as “extensive knowledge of the French industrial property market.” Rousseau is …

Financial, Legal Woes Dogged Breast Implant Company

Signs of legal problems and financial losses surrounding the French breast implant manufacturer at the heart of a scandal affecting hundreds of thousands of women worldwide can be traced back as far back as 2003, regulatory filings show. France’s Poly …

Best Places Ratings of Caisse Centrale de Reassurance on Review/Negative

A.M. Best Europe โ€“ Rating Services Limited has placed under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of ‘A++’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of “aa+” of France’s Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR). As Best explained in similar …

Breaking up the Euro? Try Unscrambling an Omelet – an Analysis

Can you unscramble an omelet? That, in essence, is what euro zone leaders and the global monetary policy elite will have to do if the euro zone is to be reshaped in any semblance of an orderly manner, be it …

Italy, Southeast France Hit by Heavy Rains, Floods: AIR Analysis

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has issued a report on the heavy rains, which caused widespread flooding in France and Italy during the first week of November. The storms were caused by a “low pressure system that developed over the …