In Brief

Getting high
Chubb Europe took the idea of ‘wheeler dealing' to new heights last week when they took brokers onto the London Eye. They were able to capture the views on cameras bearing the logo “Look out for Chubb Excess”. Chubb provides excess insurance and underwrites high severity/frequency/ catastrophe risks.

Put it about
The main strategic challenge facing European life insurers is distribution effectiveness, according to a recent survey of 500 European chief executives by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. But employee motivation, personnel and risk management issues were perceived as being of minor importance. Changing market need and information and technology management were seen as the second and third most important issues.

Mutual friend
Independent financial adviser Wilcock Insurance has switched its agency agreement from the Bradford and Bingley to the Yorkshire Building Society after 30 years with the former. A spokesperson said Wilcock felt that the priorities of Bradford and Bingley had changed after it converted to a bank.

Health checks for websites
London-based Wick Hill has launched a new product that independently monitors the performance health of websites. he Holistix Remote Monitor, the second part of the Holistix end-to-end solution, is marketed as the “web system performance management solution”. The Holistix product looks at sites from the visitor's perspective by monitoring the availability and response times for URLs, customer transactions, external content providers and more.

Bennetts staff shake-up
WORCESTER-based intermediary Bennetts GB has axed eight call centre staff at its Newbury call centre as part of an ongoing restructuring programme. Company spokesman David Spring said there were on-going restructuring talks involving a further six staff members. They include the sales manager at its Worcester call centre, Mark Butler, and the centre's customer services manager, Bob Monk.
Spring said further redundancies were not necessarily the prime objective of the restructuring programme of its 400 staff. The intermediary sells household and motor insurance through a network of 32 branches and two call centres employing 400 staff.

Charity quiz
Teams from the insurance industry are wanted for a charity quiz hosted by ITV's Des Lynam and supported by some of the biggest names in sport on November 2 at the Whitbread Brewery in London. Jason Leonard, Roger Black, Steve Cram, Harry Rednapp, Steve Coppell and Racheal Heyhoe-Flint will compete in teams to help raise funds for the Bobby Moore Fund for Imperial Cancer Research.
As well as taking part in the quiz, there will be a three-course dinner and an auction of some top football memorabilia. Tables of ten cost £1500 and there are 50 tables available. Last year's sports quiz raised £65,000. For further information call Nicola Brian on 020 7269 3615.

CII conference
The CII's annual conference for 2000, “Being the Best”, is being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London from September 27-29. There will be greater opportunities this year for delegates to ask questions and take part in debate. The exhibition, an integral part of the conference, is already sold out. Day delegate rates are available for the first time this year.

BICMA runs on at Old Trafford
The Bodily Injury Claims Management Association (BICMA) is holding a conference in the north of England, following the success of its London conference in May. It will be held on November 16 in a conference suite at Manchester United Football Club. The cost will be £150 per delegate, £125 each for a booking of three or more and £100 each for bookings of 10 or more.

Steep rises in motor rates
Premium rates for motor insurance have risen by more than 30% in the last year, with the figure masking even steeper rises in some areas as insurers try to avoid bad risks, according to a new monthly report from Tillinghurst-Towers Perrin. The first edition of Motor Market Analysis, to be published on September 13, looked at more than one million motor premium quotations.

Home page
Virtual estate agent, propertyworld.com, has revamped its site to offer access to virtually every property listed on the web.It gives housebuyers access to the property details held by more than 6,000 estate agents.The site will in effect be a search engine allowing buyers access to properties listed by propertyworld.com and its competitors, such as asserta and rightmove. Support services, such as mortgages, insurance and surveyors can also be accessed through the site.