What are the big stories hitting the headlines this week?
Buy
AXA is reported to have bought HSBC’s non-life insurance arm in a deal thought to be worth $1bn (£630m). If so, it will have beat off competition from rivals ACE and Allianz.
Rebrands
Following in the footsteps of RBSI, three insurance companies have rebranded in the past week. Quinn Direct has been renamed Liberty Insurance, Cooper Gay has changed the name of its managing general agent to Globe Underwriting and Zurich Financial Services Group is planning to call itself Zurich Insurance Group.
Admission
FBD, Zurich and Travelers have pleaded guilty to breaching the Data Protection Act in Ireland by using private investigators to glean social welfare information from individuals. In compensation, all three have offered to make donations of €20,000 (£17,000) to charity.
Claw-back
Lloyds Banking Group is seeking to recoup £2m in bonuses it paid to 10 bankers over their role in the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal, which cost it £3.2bn last year.
Hire
Swinton is to create up to 100 call centre jobs as part of a deal with vehicle information company HPI.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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