EMEA
U.S.-based insurance broker Acrisure LLC has acquired U.K.-based specialist commercial insurance broker CRK Commercial Insurance Services Ltd.
Telecommunication companies in European countries, including France, Sweden and Germany, have raised concerns of mobile network connectivity disruptions this winter should the energy crisis in Europe lead to power cuts for telecom companies.
Data from the Polish Chamber of Insurance said that local insurers aggregate gross written premium dropped by 0.5% year-on-year to almost 7.6 billion ($7.4 billion) in the first half of the year, mostly due to the more than 8% decline in life insurance premiums.
A study by U.S.-based analytics firm LexisNexis Risk Solutions Inc. found that 71% of financial firms in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region consider geopolitical risk as the leading contributor of crime compliance costs borne by them.
The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority warned oil companies against unidentified drones that have been recently sighted near various Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms, including energy company Equinor ASAs installations.
The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office is expected to impose a fine of £27 million ($29 million) on TikTok Inc. and TikTok Information Technologies U.K. Ltd. over the alleged violation of children's privacy protection law.
Spanish airports operator Aena SME SA said that more than 640 flights to and from Spains Canary Islands were canceled on Sept. 25 and 26 as Tropical Storm Hermine lashed the islands.
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to close its factory in Russias St. Petersburg due to logistical restrictions and resulting component shortage driven by the Ukraine-Russia war.
Insurer Qatar Insurance Co. QSPCs net profit increased 14% year-on-year to 401 million Qatari rial ($110 million) in the first half of the year, driven by strong performance in its domestic as well as Middle East and North Africa markets.
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. was forced to shut down all its stores in Denmark on Aug. 8 after a suspected cyber attack that affected its cash registers and payment systems.
Russian state-owned oil pipeline company Transneft PJSC stopped crude oil supply through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline on Aug. 4, cutting the supply to countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
U.S.-based credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings Inc. predicts an increase of 5% to 10% in gross premium written in Saudi Arabia this year, driven by the rollout of new insurance and reinsurance products and favorable economic conditions.
According to A.M. Best Co. Inc., political instability in Lebanon has hindered the implementation of insurance reforms in the country, including new governance guidelines and transition to a risk-based solvency framework.
A report by U.K.-based PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said that nonlife insurance run-off transactions continued to increase with 18 deals taking place in the first half of the year.
German reinsurer Hannover Re SEs gross written premiums increased almost 20% year-on-year to 17.3 billion ($17.7 billion) in the first half of 2022.
Luxembourg-based energy conglomerate Encevo Groups subsidiaries, Creos Luxembourg SA and Enovos Luxembourg SA fell victim to a ransomware attack, as the AlphV ransomware gang hacked into the companies systems on July 22 and 23 and stole data.
The adverse impact of supply chain disruptions on business operations, production and profits are visible in the results of carmakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd.
Around 800 workers working at U.S.-based Amazon.com Inc.s warehouse in Tilbury, U.K., staged strike on Aug. 3 and 4, demanding wage increases and better working conditions.
Finland-based insurer Sampo PLCs pretax profit dropped 30% year-on-year to 499 million ($507.7 million) in the second quarter of the year.
French insurer Axa SA estimates it has incurred 300 million ($307 million) in pre-tax costs related to the Ukraine war, net of recoveries from reinsurance.
British insurer Hiscox Ltd. posted a loss of around $107 million in the first half of the year versus a profit of $133.4 million in the year-ago comparable period, as negative investment returns outweighed its underwriting gains.
Bermuda-based International General Insurance Holdings Ltd. has agreed to acquire Norway-based managing general agency Energy Insurance Oslo AS.
German engineering and steel conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG is bracing for potential gas supply disruptions and a subsequent suspension of production, as the company mainly operates on gas.