Europe

SII solvency ratios may have complex volatility

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

An EIOPA study will lead to relatively generous discounting of liabilities being allowed under Solvency II, says rating agency, Moody’s.

XL recruits COO to expand global P&C

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

XL Group is expanding international property and casualty insurance business with the appointment of a new Zurich based chief operating officer.

Call to action on corporate nat cat plans

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Comment: A joint PwC/UNISDR report warns that large multinationals’ dependencies on international supply chains, infrastructure and markets poses a systemic risk to “business as usual”.

Climate change Q&A: Peter Hoeppe, Munich Re

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Q&A: Peter Hoeppe, head of Munich Re’s Geo Risks Research unit, believes adapting to climate change is an imperative.

Disaster risk Q&A: David Bresch, Swiss Re

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Q&A: David Bresch, head of sustainability and political risk management at Swiss Re, gives a reinsurer perspective on disaster risk management

Time to rethink disaster reduction

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Feature: Economic losses from natural disasters are out of control and will continue to escalate until disaster risk management becomes a core part of business investment strategies.

UK flood row: when the levy breaks

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Comment: While everyone is talking about public-private partnerships in disaster risk reduction, in the UK there’s still no agreement on the future of flood insurance for homeowners.

Feature: Berkshire Hathaway declares war

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway’s aggressive entry into commercial primary insurance has raised concerns among US insurers about a potential pricing war. Some believe more reinsurers will follow Warren Buffett ‘s lead and target the E&S insurance market.

Marsh launches D&O Delta product

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurance broker Marsh has introduced a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O) product to shield from growing regulatory and liability risks.

Capital markets in reinsurance's “main tent”

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Willis ILS report says $1.6bn of new cat bond issuance in the first quarter, and “2013 is roaring forward with a flurry of cat bond, sidecar, and collateralised reinsurance activity”, with record issuance expected.

Berkshire Hathaway credit rating cut to AA

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Berkshire Hathaway's credit rating one notch to AA from AA+ because of its “dependence on its core insurance operations for most of its dividend income”; AA+ financial strength rating affirmed.

Hannover Re reinsures energy warranties

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Hannover Re has launched a German energy savings warranties reinsurance product, hoped to create incentives to “reduce energy consumption in Germany”.

Litmus: S&P rating changes “non-trivial”

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Standard & Poor's may have become less prescriptive when assessing insurers’ operating performance as it found identifying coherent peer groups too challenging, Litmus Analysis has argued.

Munich Re: 50% P&C growth by 2020

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The global insurance market will see strong growth in 2014, especially in emerging markets and primary insurance, less so in reinsurance, Munich Re predicted.

UK's MGAA hunts for first managing director

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A managing director is being searched for the lead the UK's Managing General Agents' Association because of its growing scale and profile.

Zurich reports “strong results” for Q1

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Swiss insurer Zurich has posted operating profit of $1.35bn for the first quarter, and a combined ratio of 94.9%.

Allianz toasts “strong first quarter”

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

German insurer Allianz had operating profit of €2.8bn and net income attributable to shareholders reached €1.7bn in the first quarter of 2013.

Aon: terrorism risk in 44% of countries

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Egypt faces the highest terrorism and political violence risks, 11 countries have become riskier but Northern Europe has become safer, according to Aon.

Kociancic to succeed De Martin as Scor CFO

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Scor has today announced that deputy CFO Mark Kociancic will succeed Paolo De Martin as CFO when he departs the company to go on a sabbatical.

Neill Currie to retire as RenaissanceRe CEO

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Kevin O’Donnell to replace RenaissanceRe co-founder Neill Currie as CEO on July 1. Currie will stay on as an advisor to the Bermudian reinsurnace firm until February.

Scor makes €111m profit in Q1

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

French reinsurer Scor has announced a "very good" first quarter result, while highlighting continued economic uncertainty.

Vote for the Reactions Global Awards 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Have your say on the the best insurance, reinsurance, broking and service provider firms for the Reactions Global Awards 2013. The winners will be anounced at our awards dinner in New York on September 25.

Ace expands Italian surety business

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Ace is expanding its Italian surety business by launching a range of products and creating a new Surety underwriting manager role.

Buffett needs “stomach” for E&S insurance

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway must be prepared for hard times if it is going to be a successful long-term player in the commercial property/casualty market, according to excess and surplus lines broker Christopher Cavallaro from ARC Excess & Surplus.

Power industry sustaining losses

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The power industry is seeing “hundreds of millions” in peak losses as a result of renewable energies presenting new challenges and the increasing size of projects.

Tokio Millennium Re in Switzerland redomicile

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tokio Millennium Re announces plans to redomesticate to Switzerland, with the reinsurer also planning to establish an operation in the US in the second quarter of 2014.

Allianz recruits technology underwriter

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Allianz has expanded its London based financial lines team by appointing its first technology professional indemnity underwriter in its global corporate and speciality branch.

Axa and Zurich get Chinese approval

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

French insurer, Axa, and Swiss rival Zurich have received regulatory approvals to expand business lines in China, after both buying large stakes in Chinese firms.

Cat models, capital models to integrate: PwC

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

PwC is working with UK and London market insurance market clients to reduce a “communications gap” between the development of catastrophe risk models and capital models introduced under regulatory pressure.

Firms may face environmental black hole

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Many companies are under insured for an environmental disaster, despite having environmental liability coverage, the International Association of Underwriters has reported.