The ING Group, a Dutch financial institution working in the banking and insurance industries, has announced that it will be abandoning its plans for a combined European and Asian insurance investment operation. The company cites economic turmoil in the European region as the primary reason for its change of heart. Future investment and insurance plans are still a possibility for the future, if the European financial crisis is resolved appropriately. The company still has a keen interest in the Asian market, however, and plans to pursue alternative schemes to expand…
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Scandinavia Hit Hard by Windstorm Dagmar
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Windstorm Dagmar has moved across Russia north of St. Petersburg and begun to dissipate, its hurricane-force winds having caused power outages, tree- downings, and landslides and other disruption across northern Scandinavia on Christmas Day and the early hours of yesterday, December 27th. According to AIR, Windstorm Dagmar developed almost suddenly, the product of a large temperature contrast between cold air moving south from Greenland/Arctic Norway and warm air moving north from the Azores/Iberia. Its formation assisted by a rapid deepening of lows and…
Read MoreEurope establishes guidelines for interpretation of insurance gender pricing regulation
The European Union has now established a set of guidelines that are designed to provide insurers with some assistance with the interpretation of a ruling made by the EU court that states that it is no longer permitted for insurance companies to use gender as a factor for calculating the premiums that will be paid for various forms of coverage. The insurance industry has heavily criticized the ruling, which reversed years of traditional practice by insurers who have used gender as a part of their formulas for determining product pricing…
Read MoreEuropean insurance stops using gender to determine rates
According to the main insurers’ lobby in Europe, the CEA, a new regulation will be causing european insurance customers to have to pay up to 30 percent more for their coverage. The regulation stops insurance companies from being able to charge different rates for men and women, and it will come into effect in 2012. On average, women will face the largest increases. According to the CEA, which was discussing the findings of research commissioned by the GDV, a German insurance industry association, women will on average be paying 30…
Read More1 in 10 European insurance companies fail stress test despite a robust market
The European insurance industry is in a state of flux, according to a new study from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). The organizations recently conducted a stress test of nearly 130 as yet unidentified insurers. The test showed that the insurance market is quite robust, which means that most insurers are able to procure new clients and produce significant revenue. However, the thirteen unnamed insurance companies failed the test. Based upon its findings, the EIOPA estimates that these insurers would not be able to handle the impact…
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