Political risk set to deteriorate in 2019 as populism marches on, warns Aon
Political risks are “tilted to the downside” for the remainder of this year with populism no longer a fringe issue in Europe, warns Aon in its latest risk map…
Generali to buy Ergo’s subsidiaries in Hungary and Slovakia
Generali is to acquire the insurance portfolios of three entities of ERGO International AG in Hungary and Slovakia. No details of the purchase price and other terms have been revealed, but the gross written premium income across all three ERGO entities totalled €20.6m in 2017. Generali has signed an agreement to take over the entire life, non-life and composite insurance…
Willis names new head of Romanian business
Willis Towers Watson has appointed Eleonora Geamanu as head of its Romanian business. She takes over from Anca Roscaneanu, who is now head of sales and client management for central and eastern Europe at the broker. Based in Bucharest, Ms Geamanu will be responsible for driving revenue growth in Romanian commercial insurance business. She joined Willis Towers Watson in 2007…
AGCS names Hartmut Mai as Andreas Berger’s replacement
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed Hartmut Mai as chief regions and markets officer for central and eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa…
Storm Eberhard insured losses up to €1.5bn: AIR
Insured losses from winter Storm Eberhard will range between €900m and €1.5bn, with the majority coming in Germany, according to AIR Worldwide. AIR’s loss estimate includes property damage and business interruption. Eberhard first struck the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium on 9 March. It then moved onto Germany before heading further east to Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. The…
AGCS appoints regional CEO for Germany/CEE
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed Hans-Joerg Mauthe as regional CEO for central and eastern Europe. He will be responsible for the German market and AGCS business in Austria, Switzerland and eastern Europe from 1 April…
Netherlands, Germany and UK record most GDPR breach notices
More than 59,000 personal data breaches have been reported across Europe since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with the Netherlands, Germany and UK most affected, according to new analysis from DLA Piper. Despite this, only 91 GDPR fines have been imposed, but the law firm expects higher numbers in 2019…
Consumers see viruses and insurers as weak points in fight against cyber risk
Insurers are less trusted by consumers than banks and credit card companies to protect against cyber risk, according to a new survey from Europ Assistance conducted by LEXIS. In Europe, 62% of respondents trusted insurers in the fight against cybercrime, behind credit card providers at 65% and banks at 71%. Across all European countries surveyed – Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland,…
Munich Re returns to strong profit in 2018 as ERGO performs well
Munich Re recorded €2.28bn profit last year, following 2017’s nat cat-hit €392m. The company’s numbers were boosted by primary business ERGO, which exceeded targets to book €412m of profit; and its reinsurance business, which recorded profit of €1.87bn – up from €120m in 2017. Munich re said ERGO put in a “very good operational performance” for the year, particularly in…
Pamela Thomson-Hall to head Willis Towers Watson CEEMEA
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has appointed Pamela Thomson-Hall as the head of its central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) region, as well as head of corporate risk and broking (CRB) for the CEEMEA region. She starts both roles with immediate effect and is based in London. Her goals are to drive business growth across an especially large…