Insurance Insight – top 10 stories

The top 10 most popular articles published on insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.

1/ Catalana Occidente bids for Groupama Spain
Insurer Grupo Catalana Occidente SA has made a non-binding bid for the Spanish arm of French insurer Groupama SA.

2/ Aon downgrades 37 countries for terrorism and political violence
Companies must consider threats to business continuity due to civil unrest, said Aon Risk Solutions, as it downgraded 37 countries in its annual Terrorism & Political Violence map.

3/ Spanish bank mergers could benefit large insurers
The ongoing restructuring of the Spanish banking system following the merging of several savings banks offers advantages to the country's largest insurance companies, said Moody's in its latest special comment report.

4/ Willis appoints new MD for Asia Global Solutions
Global broker Willis Group has appointed a new managing director and divisional director for its Asia Global Solutions (International) team.

5/ Litigation in Continental Europe may affect European insurers
Attempts to adapt local legislation to European Union and international law are creating a challenging environment for insurers operating in the region, according to Guy Carpenter.

6/ Zurich to cut 342 jobs in personal lines restructuring
General insurer Zurich plans to cut 342 jobs at five of its UK offices by the end of 2014.

7/ Prudential considers Thai bank's insurance book
British insurer Prudential is considering bidding for the insurance business of Thailand's Thanachart Bank, according to Reuters.

8/ Mediobanca execs resign from Generali board
Two board members of Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali have resigned from their posts, ahead of a new law which limits cross-board membership of rival financial services institutions.

9/ Nearly 80% of Islamic firms created a risk department in the past five years
The number of Islamic financial institutions employing dedicated risk managers has increased greatly since 2007, according to Deloitte Middle East's first Islamic Finance Risk Intelligence report.

10/ Crisis pushes EMEA risk managers to demonstrate value
Risk managers across EMEA are using the financial crisis to demonstrate how they add value, and are gaining kudos in the boardroom as a result, according to Marsh's latest report.