Financial Ratings – Page 85
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NewsEY predicts further underwriting losses for UK motor insurers
UK motor insurers will report a 100.1% combined operating ratio (COR) in 2016, which will worsen to 101.7% in 2017, accounting and consulting firm EY predicts. The deterioration will be driven by pressure to cut rates in response to the government’s planned whiplash reforms and the ...
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NewsAirmic to update broker remuneration guide
UK risk manager trade body Airmic is planning to update its guide to broker remuneration. The guide, aimed at commercial insurance buyers, is intended to help clarify the status of brokers and how they are paid for their services. Key points: Airmic says broker ...
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NewsGallagher: our data justifies calls for more commission
Arthur J Gallagher deserves the commission it is paid because it has more and better data than insurers, special adviser Dave McGurn has said. Speaking during an investor call McGurn, Gallagher’s former chairman of risk placement services, said that while insurers were trying to cut what ...
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NewsPRA approves Direct Line Group’s Solvency II model
The PRA has approved Direct Line Group’s Solvency II partial internal model. It means the insurer will be able to use the model to calculate its capital requirements under Solvency II from 1 July this year. The company plans to publish more details about its Solvency ...
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NewsAXA: Brokers upfront on commission will step up transparency agenda
Brokers have to play their part and be upfront with customers about commission levels to show the industry is serious about being transparent, AXA UK and General Insurance chief executive Amanda Blanc has said. She was responding to a speech yesterday by ABI director of general ...
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NewsAirmic 2016: Insurers must be more efficient to survive low rates
The insurance industry cannot survive indefinitely on flat or shrinking rates, minimal investment income and low levels of natural growth in the market, a panel of leading insurance experts at Airmic have said. During the debate, QBE Euopean Operations chief executive Richard Pryce also questioned how ...
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NewsEsure to review possible demerger of Gocompare.com
Esure announced a strategic review of its Gocompare.com business, including the possible demerger of the price comparison site it acquired full control over a year ago. The company said it has also appointed Matthew Crummack as chief executive of Gocompare.com, subject to to regulatory approval. “Now ...
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NewsGRP buys professional indemnity broker Cavendish Munro
Peter Cullum-backed consolidator Global Risk Partners (GRP) has bought London-based specialist professional indemnity retail broker Cavendish Munro Professional Risks. The acquisition is GRP’s fourth transaction this year following the Lonmar, McGrady and Synergy deals. The new deal will take GRP’s annual gross written premium to over ...
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NewsIngenie a bright spot in tough year for former Quindell
Telematics broker Ingenie was the only division of recovering technology firm Watchstone to report an underlying profit for 2015. Ingenie reported underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £484,000 in 2015, a turnaround from the £820,000 loss it made the previous year. ...
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NewsTysers chairman questions client value of big broker facilities
Lloyd’s broker Tysers chairman Christopher Spratt has called into question to client value offered by big brokers’ placement facilities. The facilities, which include the Aon Client Treaty and Willis Global 360, grant participating underwriters access to certain sections of brokers’ business on pre-agreed terms. The facilities ...
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NewsBarclays Corporate Banking names new UK insurance heads
Barclays Corporate Banking has named James Morris as head and Dan Broome as deputy head of its UK insurance team. The team manages banking relationships with insurers and brokers and provides financing, banking and financial risk management services. The new roles were created following a team ...
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NewsMunich Re insurance arm to axe 1,800 jobs
Munich Re’s ERGO insurance unit is planning to axe 1,800 jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive. The job cuts have been dubbed “ruthless” by a union representative. The job losses will fall in Germany as the insurer tries to lower its gross annual cost base ...
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NewsGable abandons 'inappropriate' £10m sister MGA funding plan
Gable has abandoned plans for sister underwriting agency Hogarth to contribute £10m to the unrated insurer’s regulatory capital after chief executive William Dewsall decided the transaction would be “inappropriate”. According to a stock exchange announcement, Dewsall now intends to use a separate private vehicle, wholly owned ...
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NewsBroker Kingsbridge plots expansion after £4.2m PE firm backing
Broker Kingsbridge Risk Solutions is planning to expand into new sectors after securing backing from private equity firm Dunedin. The deal worth £4.2m means that Livingbridge the mid-market private equity firm that backed Kingsbridge in January 2014 will fully exit the business. This is Dunedin’s second ...
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NewsGable unveils plan to offer Solvency II compliant and A-rated capacity
Gable is aiming to offer Solvency II compliant cover for certain niche lines of business, as well as A-rated capacity across its entire platform by the end of the third quarter this year. The unrated insurer announced to the stock exchange yesterday that it was conducting ...
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NewsTowergate’s Ross plays down effect of Gable woes
Towergate chief executive David Ross has played down the effect that Gable’s difficulties will have on his company, which uses the unrated insurer’s capacity. He pledged to work with Gable while it considers it options, but added that Towergate may seek replacement capacity “should it be ...
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NewsGeneral insurance complaints rise 4% in 2015/16 - FOS
New complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about general insurance products, excluding PPI, rose by 4% to 31,284 in the 12 months to 31 March 2016, compared with the 30,080 it received in 2014. According to the FOS annual review released today, of the complaints ...
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NewsTowergate profit almost halves in first quarter
Towergate reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £2.8m in the first quarter of 2016, down 48.9% on the £5.5m it reported in last year’s first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes exceptional costs, was down 20.6% to £13.6m (Q1 2015: £17.2m). Total revenue ...
