‘I hope he had his PI cover sorted out’

The Highlander
You may know that Hiscox Bermuda chief executive and group company secretary Charles Duppin is a viscount. What you may not know is that he is also a captain of the Atholl Highlanders, a Scottish regiment set up to protect the Dukes of Atholl. As such he arranged for the Atholl Highlanders to participate in Bermuda’s first-ever Highland Games, held last Friday (8 June), and march along Bermuda’s Front Street during the Queen’s Birthday the following day. Nice one, Charles.

Over the odds
How times have changed. In my day, it was the horses, but today punters can bet on anything. Paddy Power is even offering odds on the new Aviva chief executive. Towergate boss Mark Hodges is 9-1, with UK general insurance chief David McMillan at 20-1. Former RSA chief executive Andy Haste leads the pack at 11/10. So who’s your money on?

Better by half
The UK General team are well-known for their long-distance running – I have fond memories of seeing chief executive Michael Warren running the 2011 London marathon, dressed in green and black leggings. Catching up with Michael this week, I heard that he recently ran a half-marathon in Sheffield, and that UK General employees Maz Heaton and Jess Wright both recently ran an Edinburgh half marathon.

Close season
My old chum and Lloyd’s chief executive Richard Ward has certainly made his mark on the market. Just this week a London market veteran was telling me that his decision to close the Lloyd’s library still rankles - partly because he upset Insurance Times readers who were no longer able to get their hands on a free copy. I also heard that Richard was shouted down over his plans to close the Adam Room to the public.

Diamond geezer
Due to the wet weather over the Jubilee weekend I decided to watch the flotilla on television from the comfort of my sofa. Another man that shares my thoughts on British weather is Biba head of compliance and training Steve White, who saw the river procession on TV from the comfort of his brother-in-law’s pub on the Kent coast. Apparently Steve only caught glimpses of the flotilla in between being beaten by his son at pool, but as I always say, you can’t win them all.

A kick in the teeth
Allianz is sponsoring Aaron Cook, the Taekwondo world champion who has been overlooked for the 2012 Olympics in favour of a lesser-known martial artist. However, given that Cook is trying his hardest to get the decision overturned, Allianz could
still see its name beamed around the world when the Olympics begin

Youthful endeavours
Insurance Times this week found its youngest ever reader. Towergate SME account manager Sally-Ann Thorley sent in a photograph of her 20-month-old son William giving last week’s issue a good read. William is several decades younger than the average Insurance Times reader, but my hack pals tell me that toddlers are more than welcome.