In brief

Exclusive deal with AIUA
Premium finance house Singer & Friedlander Insurance Finance has signed an exclusive deal with Agricultural Insurance Underwriting Agency (AIUA).
AIUA is the largest independent farm insurance underwriter, which manages insurance on behalf of three of the UK's major insurers – Royal & Sunalliance, Norwich Union and Cornhill – through a national network of more than 2,000 brokers.

Dial Direct snaps up AIM
The Dial Direct Group has acquired the general book of Aim Insurance Services for an undisclosed sum.
Aim will complement the group's existing Middlesex-based business Pratts Insurance Office, and its associated commercial division, Martin Clarke Insurance Services, both located in Hillingdon.
AIM will bring approximately £1m worth of premium income to the Dial Direct Group.

Its4me joins forces
Online intermediary Its4me has teamed up with MSN Carview as a partner on the carview.co.uk site.
Carview is Microsoft's car-buying and ownership website and was launched last month in the UK. It is an integrated part of the MSN portal.
Carview has already formed partnerships with Auto Trader, Emap Digital's CAP Network and car dealer group Pendragon.

Makeover
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has relaunched its website, with improved search facilities, navigation and design.
As well as information about the CML, the site includes research, statistics, a mortgage calculator and links to the sites of CML members.
The website (cml.org.uk) was launched in 1998 and now gets around 300,000 page impressions every month.

Growth plan
Online and telephone brokerage insurancevillage is looking to expand by buying client banks.
Insurancevillage was launched last year and its chief executive Steve Arthington said that, to become a major market player as it intended, it needed more than just the business generated by phone and internet.

Bigger scale for village
Online and telephone insurance broker Insurancevillage is looking for client banks to expand its business operation. Chief executive Steve Arlington said that the company was interested in talking to other insurance brokers.

He added that Insurancevillage planned to be a major player in the insurance market and that he was pleased with how its sales channels had performed so far. The company offers hundreds of insurance products via its website.

Savings for shoppers
Primary Direct has claimed it will save 60% of homeowners money on their home cover with its new rates for spring 2001.

Primary Insurance Group's direct sales arm said it wanted to smash the general perception that the savings to be made on home insurance were too small to warrant shopping around for offers.

The misconception was highlighted by Primary's recent survey of 1,000 people on home insurance. The company said that the typical saving for homeowners who switched to Primary Direct was between 10% and 40%, which could equate to several hundred pounds.

Make an entry
Entries are being sought for this year's Daily Telegraph/Energis customer service awards. There are two overall awards, for small to medium-sized companies (under 50 employees) and large organisations (more than 50). There are also eight sector awards, including financial services.

Entry is free and forms can be obtained on energis.co.uk or by calling 0808 172 7272. The deadline for receipt of first entry forms is June 22.

One-stop shop
Folgate has enhanced its property owners' cover to offer a one-stop shop for policyholders. Building and property owners' liability is augmented with optional sections to include rental income, employers' liability and office contents.

Administration has been made easier for brokers and property owners through individual tenant schedules.

Real value
Finance house Premium Credit has announced an exclusive partnership with Eastern Alliance. Eastern Alliance is a group of seven brokers, spread across the east and south east of England.

Grant Taylor, chief executive, said that the partnership would help the company to deliver real value to its customers in an increasingly competitive market.

Rosey deal for QBE
QBE International Insurance and Norton Rose have collaborated on
a multi-million pound hybrid insurance debt support transaction.

The £21,750,000 acquisition facility, insured in full by QBE, will assist the purchase of nursing homes and general corporate purposes for Healthcare Properties UK.

The Norton Rose team was led by corporate insurance partner Cheryl Ronaldson, assisted by Adrian Williams and Alex Johnson.

Footie fun
OCASO has teamed up with Insurance Times for the second year running to host the Ocaso Football Challenge on May 30. The event will kick off at 5pm at Market Sports, Arches 1-4 Bishopsgate Goods Yard, 35 Wheeler Street.

Several teams will be battling it out to win the trophy from last year's winners CNA.

Scrap solutions
MOTOR salvager Universal Salvage has launched a national competition, challenging secondary school pupils to come up with new uses for recycled scrap vehicles.

The company is offering pupils a prize of £1,000 for the most creative use of cars and vans which have been abandoned and end-of-life vehicles.