October 2, 2008
Shockwaves from the global credit crisis spread on Thursday, threatening industry and jobs worldwide and putting pressure on the U.S. Congress to finish up a $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial sector. The fate of the rescue plan, passed …
September 29, 2008
Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance giant, faced a takeover or break-up as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet held emergency talks with Dutch and Belgian lawmakers to restore faith in the Belgian-Dutch financial group. Trichet, who as ECB [European …
September 19, 2008
Zurich Financial Services Group announced the completion of the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the insurance operations of Spain’s Banco Sabadell S.A. and the establishment of a long-term strategic distribution partnership with the country’s fourth largest bank. Zurich …
September 12, 2008
According to a recently released report from Marsh, “insurance rates across most lines of business in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region continued to soften in the first half of 2008.” However, “the report also identified trends being …
September 9, 2008
Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. announced several new leadership appointments in its international reinsurance operation servicing non-US clients. Laurent Beauregard has been appointed Senior Account Underwriter in Endurance’s Zurich office to manage accounts in Continental Europe with a focus on …
August 22, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Spain’s MAPFRE RE, Compania de Reaseguros, S.A. with a stable outlook. “The ratings reflect MAPFRE RE’s integral role within …
August 21, 2008
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) reported from its Paris office that its “ICC/Ifo global climate index in July fell for the fourth consecutive quarter in a row since sentiment became downbeat last summer, recording its lowest level since 2001. …
August 15, 2008
Zurich Financial Services Group announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Spain’s Caixa d’Estalvis de Sabadell’s (Caixa Sabadell) life and general insurance companies, CaixaSabadell Vida, S.A. de Seguros y Reaseguros and CaixaSabadell Companyia d’Assegurances …
August 13, 2008
Zurich Financial Services Group reported $2.7 billion in net income for the first six months of 2008, a slight increase over the same period last year, and a 19.5 percent return on equity. Other highlights in the earnings report for …
August 8, 2008
UK Flood Model Risk Management Solutions has released a major new upgrade to its U.K. Inland Flood Model. “The upgraded model will enable all segments of the insurance industry to drill down to a finer level of detail than ever …