Italy News

Graham, Luzzi Elected as FERMA Vice-presidents; Saka as Director

The board of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) elected two new vice-presidents at its meeting in Brussels on June 9: former chairman of the UK’s Airmic Julia Graham, Chief Risk Officer of law firm DLA Piper UK, …

Bermuda Signs Tax Accord with Italy

Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox, announced that Bermuda has concluded negotiations for a bilateral agreement with the Italian Republic that will, “upon signing later this year, provide for a full exchange of information on criminal and …

ING’s Good Results Reduce Pressure to Sell Insurance Arm

A strong start to the year has taken enough pressure off Dutch bancassurer ING Group to allow it to substantially delay or even potentially scrap the expected 2011 flotation of its insurance business. The talk of ING rethinking its timeline …

Life products, Asset Mgmt. Buoy Allianz, Generali, Aegon, Ageas in Q1

European insurers were buoyed by strong sales of life insurance and asset management products on the back of a reviving economy in the first quarter, offsetting big disaster damage claims. Germany’s Allianz, Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali, The Netherlands’ Aegon and Belgium’s …

Willis Research Warns of Costly Consequences of Volcanic Eruptions

The world’s attention has been focused on the plumes of ash that continue to rise into the sky from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The microscopic grit in the ash cloud poses an ongoing threat to aircraft, and has caused …

Tardy Greek Debt Bailout Spreads Financial Crisis beyond Europe

Last weekend the leaders of the European Union finally realized that their dithering over a financial aid package for Greece had imperiled the entire continent’s financial structure. They acted to stem the tide by adopting – subject as usual to …

UK’s Amlin to Establish European Reinsurance Company in Switzerland

London-based Amlin plc, one of Lloyd’s and the UK’s best known insurers, has announced plans to establish a reinsurance company in Switzerland to serve European clients. Amlin said it believes that the company “will provide the European insurance market with …

Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius Ranked as Europe’s Most Dangerous Volcano

A major eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius could result in 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion, says a new study. According to the Willis Research Network (WRN), Vesuvius now ranks at the …

Mandatory Microchips, Insurance Proposed for UK Dogs

A chip for Spot? In a country where guns are tightly controlled and even carrying a kitchen knife can bring prison time, some thugs use dogs to menace their victims. Now the British government is proposing that dog owners be …

Reinsurers Say $4 to $7 Billion Chile Quake Loss ‘Unlikely’ to Raise Rates

Last month’s huge earthquake in Chile might cost the insurance industry up to $7 billion in damage claims, the world’s top two reinsurers said, but it looks unlikely to raise reinsurance prices. World leader Munich Re said it expected the …