Europe
Chubb sees $4.1bn after-tax profit in 2016
Global giant Chubb's after tax profits were $4.1bn (£3.2bn) last year compared with $2.8bn in 2015.
XL Catlin's CEO McGavick reflects on 'challenging year'
Bermuda-based global insurance giant XL Catlin saw operating profits fall from $706m (£557m) in 2015 to $461m last year as the firm paid out significantly more for nat cat losses.
ABI calls for changes to ‘flawed’ Solvency II risk margin
Insurers have submitted a request to the regulator for changes over a “flawed” portion of Solvency II.
QBE denies £12.1bn Allianz takeover bid
QBE said there was “no basis” to reports it is in talks on a £12.1bn takeover bid from Allianz.
Generali: We won’t use chat bots to deflect angry customers
Generali is trialling chat bots for “bureaucratic” tasks, but the company’s head of global claims said it wouldn’t be appropriate to use the technology to deal with angry customers.
European insurers hoping to emulate UK’s ‘aggressive’ fraud data sharing regime
Half of insurers in Europe that don’t currently share information with competitors on fraud wish to do so, according to a survey.
Telematics firm Kroodle looks to high risk customers of parent Aegon
Dutch insurer Aegon is using its start-up telematics provider Kroodle to improve driving performance of customers with high claims volumes.
Italian earthquake losses updated to £106m
Perils has updated its loss estimate for Italy’s October earthquakes from €31m (£26m) to €125m (£106m).
Generali terminates chief financial officer Minali's contract
Generali's general director and chief financial officer Alberto Minali has had his employment terminated.
Intesa weighs bid for Generali
Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaulo is investigating a potential bid for Italy's largest insurer Generali.
UK boss Alan Moore hails Generali as a 'viable alternative' to corporate insurance establishment
Generali is "a sleeping giant" in terms of corporate multinational business and could position itself as a real competitor to the likes of AIG, Allianz and Zurich, says its UK head.
Chubb promotes Dmitriev
Nikolay Dmitriev, Chubb's regional managing director for Russia, CIS and Turkey, has been promoted.
Paris experiments with driverless buses
Paris began a three-month test of two driverless buses yesterday, in what is the first stage of the city's embrace of self-driving vehicles.
French app-based start-up joins insurtech incubator programme
App-based insurtech start-up Cbien has joined as one of the 10 firms on Startupbootcamp’s 2017 programme.
Piggot replaces retired Reeves at Crawford
Former Gen Re claims manager Geoff Piggot has been named as CEO of Crawford Global Technical Services.
UK to leave single market, Prime Minister confirms
Theresa May has confirmed that the UK will be leaving the single market, but will negotiate for a free trade agreement for financial services.
Global catastrophe losses rise to highest levels in four years
With insured losses totalling $54bn (£44bn), global natural disasters in 2016 combined to cause the highest economic losses in four years, according to a new report from Aon Benfield.
Half of industry expects economy to deteriorate this year
Nearly half of those working in the insurance sector expect the economy to deteriorate this year.
LV's Martin Milliner on how getting whiplash right could restore faith in insurance
Working with government, regulators and trade bodies to build public trust in insurance is a common aim of our profession and more important than ever when considering today's unnecessary claims culture.
Boeing 747 cargo plane crashes enroute from Hong Kong to Istanbul
At least 37 people have been killed after a Turkish cargo plane crashed into a village near the capital of Kyrgyzstan this morning.
Helvetia Insurance to invest £44m in start-ups
Helvetia Insurance is launching its own venture fund for investments in start-ups, with an aim of driving forward digitisation.
Business interruption is top business risk in 2017
Business interruption continues to come top of the risk rankings as businesses fear the impact of market uncertainties and political perils, according to a report from Allianz.
Europe: Falling foul of the defamation minefield
The availability of defamation cover in the US has driven the market in Europe, but claims are moving from libel to privacy.
Companies braced for year of uncertainty, says Allianz's Fischer Hirs
Chris Fischer Hirs, CEO of Allianz Global Corporate Specialty, has said companies worldwide are bracing for unpredictable changes this year.