Italy News

Deadly Quake Hits Central Italy

A strong earthquake struck near the central Italian town of L’Aquila early this morning, demolishing buildings and infrastructure. The death toll has already reached 50, but local authorities have indicated that many more people are missing and feared dead. Estimates …

XL Insurance Names Cabot Director of Global Programs

XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Capital Ltd., announced that it has appointed Tony Cabot as Director of Global Programs. He will be based in Zurich and will be “responsible for leading the unit that provides multinational clients …

Ratings Recap: Generali, XL, Blue Fin (Cat Bonds), Sun Hung Kai, B&B, Risk Re

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services stated that its ratings on the core operating companies of Italy’s Generali Group (AA/Negative/–) are unaffected by the termination of the agreement relative to the joint venture Intesa Vita, which will not be renewed. “Alleanza …

Ratings Recap: ACE Europe, Unipol

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of the UK-based ACE European Group Limited (AEGL) with stable outlooks. Best said that it expects “AEGL to maintain strong risk-adjusted …

Best Affirms Allianz SE and Subsidiaries ‘A+’ Ratings

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa” of Germany’s Allianz Societas Europaea (Allianz SE) and its main subsidiaries. The outlook for all of the ratings is …

Ratings: Swiss Re (Canada), New India, Transsib Re, HDI, Willow Re (Notes), Euro Arab

A.M. Best Co. has withdrawn the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada and has assigned a category NR-5 (Not Formally Followed) to the FSR and an “nr” …

S&P Takes Rating Actions on Aurora, Unipol, UGF Ahead Of Merger

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has withdrawn its ‘A-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Italy-based composite insurer Aurora Assicurazioni SpA (Aurora), ahead of its merger into the new UGF Assicurazioni SpA on Feb. …

Ratings Recap I: Coachman/SGI, Ceska, Indus. Alliance, Polish Re, Jasindo

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘B++’ (Good) from ‘B’ (Fair) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bbb” from “bb+” of Canada’s Coachman Insurance Company, and has revised the outlook to stable from positive. Best …

Ratings Roundup: Syndicate 0780, Munich Re Italy, NIPPONKOA, Exchange, Aerial Re, Colonial, Bay Haven

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on the Lloyd’s Syndicate Assessment (LSA) on Advent Underwriting – Syndicate 0780 to stable from positive. S&P also affirmed the assessment of ‘2’ (high dependency). “The outlook revision reflects the recent …

Despite Financial Crisis, Climate Change Concerns Continue

“This year’s climate change agenda has, if nothing else, highlighted that next year will be hard going for those wishing to set global agreement for action against climate change,” states a recent article on Lloyd’s web site (www.lloyds.com). The article …