France
Hiscox appoints Axa's Tondu-Melique as European chief operating officer
Hiscox has appointed Florence Tondu-Melique as its new European chief operating officer.
R&Q completes French acquisition
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings has closed the acquisition of the share capital of French domiciled insurer La Réassurance Intercontinentale from MMA.
Axa chief urges French president to learn from British mistakes
Axa chairman and chief executive Henri de Castries has called for French president François Hollande to "learn the lessons of Britain's experience" in the 1970s and tackle the levels of debt in France's economy.
R&Q completes French acquisition
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings has closed the acquisition of the share capital of French domiciled insurer La Réassurance Intercontinentale from MMA.
Aon France director joins Miller
Aon France has lost its head of political risks, Arnaud Froideval, to Miller where he has joined the marine team.
Miller adds French political risk specialist to marine team
Miller has added to its marine team with the hire of political risk production and broking specialist Arnaud Froideval.
XL promotes Sinz to regional manager for continental Europe
XL Group has promoted Kadidja Sinz to the role of regional manager, continental Europe, in the insurance segment’s distribution and network function.
Marketing: European exposure
In the UK, the insurance industry is well known for its marketing and advertising campaigns but is brand management as effective in Europe, Francesca Nyman explains.
Coface "not a strategic asset" says Natixis chief
French bank Natixis does not expect to put Coface up for sale but would consider reducing its stake in the credit insurer, chief executive Laurent Mignon reportedly told a shareholders meeting on Tuesday.
Allianz achieves record revenue in Q1
Allianz achieved total revenues of €32bn in the first quarter of 2013 the highest quarterly total revenues in its history, and an increase of 6.6% on the first quarter of 2012.
VFTT: Anticipating client growth aspirations
Europe's slow recovery is encouraging firms to seek growth in unfamiliar markets, but few consider whether their insurer is equipped to support them in their expansion, QBE's Barbara Chandler says.
Insurers could be hamstrung by France's new consumer law
A new consumer protection law is set to give French insureds greater flexibility over policy cancellation.
Regulatory uncertainty raises domicile questions
Splitting tax domiciles and regulators could be an enticing prospect for insurance groups looking to avoid the European Union’s Solvency II regulations.
S&P upgrades MMA following Covea restructure
Standard and Poor has upgraded its insurer financial strength rating and counterparty credit rating on MMA-AM from 'A-' to 'A'.
Generali opens Global Corporate and Commercial unit
Operations have begun at Generali’s Global Corporate & Commercial business unit, a platform established to integrate insurance services for medium and large multinationals.
Top 5 European news stories
The top five European news stories from www.insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.
Willis secures twelve month extention in Gras Savoye deal
Willis Group has extended the exercise date of its call option to acquire full ownership of French insurance broker Gras Savoye by one year.
IMDII: Full disclosure
The second Insurance Mediation Directive could fundamentally change the way European brokers conduct their business. But will it be kicked into the long grass? Edmund Tirbutt investigates.
Market losses support improvements to flood and windstorm database
Catastrophe insurance data provider Perils has updated the property sums insured exposed to UK flood as part of an update to its Europe Industry Exposure Database.
CCR net profit surges despite €55m Thai flood loss
State owned French reinsurer CCR posted net profit of €242.3m for 2012, up from €119.4m 2011.
AM Best withdraws ratings of Allianz France and subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of "AA-" of Allianz IARD and Allianz Vie, the main subsidiaries of Allianz France SA, and the ICR of "A-" for Allianz France SA.
GWP for mobile goods will be worth $14.6bn by 2016
The global market for extended warranties and insurance for mobile goods is expected to surge 46.3% from $10bn to $14.6bn by 2016.
Top five European news stories
The top five European stories from www.insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.
Groupama SA upgraded by Fitch
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Groupama SA and its core subsidiaries' insurer financial strength ratings to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'.