In Brief

Reporting from CII everyday

Insurance Times staff will be producing a daily paper at the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) conference in London this week. Reporters will also be filing stories to a special section of the insurancetimes.co.uk website throughout each day. Coverage was due to begin yesterday (Wednesday) with stories from the British Insurance Law Association (Bila) conference, the joint Bila and CII mock court case and the CII AGM and opening drinks reception in the evening. Additional copies of the daily paper will be made available outside Lloyd's and Minster Court in the City from 8.30am.

Glass service for BT fleet

BT has signed up with Glass's Information Services to use its ICME data to control the maintenance of its fleet of 60,000 plus vehicles. BT manages its fleet in-house, with most maintenance done by its own group of workshops. BT workshops are also increasingly used for third party work. BT will receive ICME repair times and schedules for cars and light commercial vehicles, and parts and maintenance data.

TER gets two new members

The Underwriter and Lloyd's managing agent Cotesworth are the latest members of The Equipment Register which recovers stolen plant. Cotesworth benefited from its decision to join almost immediately, when TER swiftly recovered one of its insured's caravans. Brian Melvin, construction underwriter at the Underwriter, said its membership of TER should ensure it recovers more plant stolen.

C&S does a roaring trade

Independent claims consultants C&S Associates estimates it has handled more than 25,000 claims during its first five years of trading.The firm specialises in managing personal injury claims in motor, property, professional negligence and employer's and public liability insurance.

Workers claim gets carpeted

A warehouseman's £350,000 claim for personal injury, suffered when he was struck by a roll of carpet, has been thrown out by a judge. The worker said he was hit by the carpet when it rolled off a conveyor belt as he bent over while working at a hotel in Bolton. The hotel disputed the warehouse worker's claim that he suffered a back injury that had ruined his life. Judge Christopher Cornwall rejected the man's claim. He said that although the man was injured for six months, he was unable to give a consistent account of the accident or how long his symptoms had lasted.

Arson all in new book

The Arson Prevention Bureau is publishing a guide to help reduce the number of commercial properties hit by arson. There are around 17,500 arson attacks on businesses a year and 42% of all fires in commercial properties are started deliberately. “Prevention and Control of Arson in Industrial and Commercial Premises” covers effective security measures, fire safety procedures and developing a model arson risk assessment plan.

GEt it all: the site for tickets, cover & repairs

GE Insurance has launched an online travel insurance site – worldcover.com – that can help book your theatre tickets. The site includes the services of WorldCover Direct Concierge, which searches for theatre tickets and accommodation. It also includes Home Watch, which enables authorised trades people to make emergency repairs if required to a policyholder's home when abroad.
Standard benefits are:
n medical expenses up to £10m
n personal accident up to £25,000
n departure delay up to £5,000
n personal liability up to £2m
n legal expenses up to £25,000.

Hindsight sells legal cover

Uninsured Loss Recoveries has added Hindsight Legal Protection to its pre-event schemes. Premiums cost £40, plus insurance premium tax for £25,000 cover. Brokers and intermediaries are paid 25% commission. ULR will ensure that all claims, even those that are low value and do not involve injury, will be handled by solicitors.

Legal market reviewed

The new edition of the annual review of the UK legal market, Legal 500's Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession, has published its recommended firms for insurance litigation. The top four in London are Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, CMS Cameron McKenna, Clyde & Co and Ince & Co.

HSBC roadshow on the way

The final leg of the HSBC Spectrum roadshow for brokers will be in the south-east next week. On Monday, the HSBC team will be at Sandown Park racecourse in the morning and Brands Hatch racing circuit in the evening. On Wednesday, the locations are Essex County Cricket Club and Newmarket racecourse.

MMC declare dividend

Marsh & McLennan Companies, the parent company of brokers Marsh, has declared a dividend of $0.50 (38p) a share. MMC has more than 50,000 employees and has clients in more than 100 countries. MMC's annual revenues exceed $9bn (£6.4bn).

Paul Bromley joins Beazley

Lloyd's syndicate Beazley has strengthened its commercial property team with the appointment of Paul Bromley as underwriter responsible for the Binding Authority book of business. Bromley joins syndicate 623 from Terra Nova Insurance where he began his career in 1985 as an underwriting assistant and progressed to deputy non-marine facultative and direct underwriter.

Keen to learn

Nearly 50 delegates from the northwest of England attended the 12th annual full-day seminar organised by British Insurance Brokers' Association (Merseyside) and the Society of Fellows North West England Region in Chester. Topics included developments in employment law, consequences for the employer and legal expenses insurance. It was sponsored by Wrenmores Chartered Loss Adjusters and ACE Europe.

Quality test

Bodyshop chain Nationwide Crash Repair Centres has linked up with International Motor Parts to establish a Quality Fit Test Centre at its Bletchley repair centre, Buckinghamshire. Nationwide, with more than 60 bodyshops is the biggest single brand chain in Europe.

No damage done

Damage control company Restorex has been awarded corporate membership of the British Damage Management Association (BDMA).Restorex managing director David Witchell said his company's technicians had passed the association's exams “with flying colours”. He said the company has committed a major part of its budget to training.

Kennedy office grows

City law firm Kennedys has doubled the size of its Mark Lane offices in London. The move sees a team of 12, including five partners, move from the firm's other office in Chiswell Street and allows the future expansion of both offices. The office in Mark Lane will also house the new Alexander Forbes Solicitors Claims Service, an online database covering current claims.

UK schemes not included

Bupa has asked us to point out that the Lifeline and Company schemes that it is overhauling (Teeth and tots added to range, Insurance Times September 21, 2000) are only offered by Bupa International and not by Bupa UK. There are no changes to Bupa UK schemes affecting UK intermediaries.

Pane and simple: walk

Highway Glass & Locks found a very fuel-efficient way of beating the recent fuel crisis last week: the company made its deliveries on foot. Staff at the replacement company's Manchester branch agreed to walk to local jobs, carrying huge pains of glass with them. “Someone came up with the idea of walking to local jobs and everyone was happy to pitch in,” said managing director Philip Milburn.

Dixon motors on with new centre

Dixon Motors is working on a new repair centre in Mansfield, which is due to open in November and will create 30 new jobs for local people. The £1m centre will include new vehicle assessment and repair equipment that will automatically process a range of costs.

Self-employed get cover

Self-employed workers from more than 70 different trades can now get insurance cover at work under a new package from insurance company Fortis. Called Semploy, the new product offers three different levels of public liability cover. Brokers can request cover by fax and telephone from the Semploy team in Gloucester, who can confirm cover within 48 hours.

Debating the net risks

The third annual IBC insuring ecommerce risk conference is being held at the Posthouse Regents Park Hotel in London on November 22. The conference will look at clarifying liabilities for insurers, including multi-jurisdictions, hacker and virus risk, and brand, patent and reputation risks. It will also cover developing insurance solutions specific to cyber-risks and look at risk assessment and security audits.

Plumeri is new Willis chief

The Willis Group, the world's third-largest insurance broker, has appointed Joseph Plumeri as chairman and chief executive. Plumeri succeeds John Reeve, who is retiring from the company at the end of his five-year contract. Reeve will assist Plumeri during a transitional period. Plumeri joins Willis from Citigroup where he oversaw its North American network of 450 retail branches. Willis' corporate headquarters will remain in London, with Plumeri maintaining offices in London, New York and the company's North American headquarters in Nashville, Tennesse.

No action on GISC rules

The General Insurance Standards Council is still deliberating over proposals by broker trade bodies British Insurance Brokers Association and the Association of Insurance Intermediaries and Brokers for a change in the regulator's solvency requirements. In June it emerged that GISC would have to rewrite part of its rules which could have left some brokers needing a 20% solvency margin. This applies where brokers take commission on an earned basis. But so far no changes have been made. A spokeswoman for the AIIB said: “We are still in talks and as yet nothing has been decided.”

Folgate info goes online

Folgate Insurance has launched a website to provide information on the company to its broker and intermediary partners. The site will include product information, corporate information and a news section to keep brokers up-to-date with new developments. IT development manager, Nick Sheldon, said Folgate would seek to develop the site and make it “more interactive” in conjunction with broker feedback.