17-23 June: Groan

Brokers have little hope of seeing any change to the way their Financial Service Compensation Scheme payments are calculated before next year, according to FSA conduct director Sheila Nicholl. She told MPs that the FSCS review is still caught up in a wider Euro-review, the conclusion of which remains uncertain.

The coalition has already cut government investment in flood defences. Now, to rub salt in the wounds, business minister Mark Prisk has ruled out allowing its new Green Investment Bank to invest in flood protection schemes, arguing that they do not generate revenue for repaying loans.

A European Commission spokesman told insurancetimes.co.uk that its proposed age discrimination directive is unlikely to give insurers an ‘opt out’ clause. But the good news for the industry is that the directive will not make much headway until the next German election due to resistance by the country’s coalition government.

One rule for us and another for them: the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will be required to name and shame firms that it has investigated even if the complaint that sparks it proves groundless. But the draft Financial Services Bill says the FOS’ reports on its determinations will not identify the consumers who lodged the complaint.

The rain may be back, but 2011 could be a record year for subsidence claims thanks the driest spring on record, Questgates has warned. With many UK regions officially in drought, the loss adjuster said insurers should be preparing for an influx of claims.