Arsonists light up each 6 mins
Arsonists light up each 6 mins
Arsonists are now striking once every six minutes, causing more than £1 million worth of damage every day, according to figures from the Home Office and Arson Prevention Bureau. Abbey National said customers can reduce the risk of arson by fitting intruder alarms, clearing household rubbish and reporting abandoned cars to the police.
Council crime under spotlight
Pioneering ways in which councils tackle crime on housing estates are to be revealed by Orbis Property Protection. The security firm is hosting four seminars concentrating on risk management in Edinburgh, Manchester, Cardiff and London in February and March. Contact Will Wilcockson at Orbis on 0151 643 7505 for details.
Zurich looks at equipment
Zurich has launched Zurich Certification to tap into the market for certifying equipment, personnel and company procedures in line with UK legislation and European directives. Zurich Certification offers inspection of items such as machinery and lifts, assessment of internal quality systems and inspections of existing or proposed equipment.
ERC Frankona goes on-line
ERC Frankona, the European operation of Employers Reinsurance Corporation, a GE Company, has launched Reinsurance Online. A web-enabled e-commerce distribution channel, the system provides access to reinsurance offers such as original loss warranties for aviation, space, non-marine and energy/marine.
FSA creates new risk levels
The Financial Services Authority is to create three levels of supervision for insurers, according to whether they represent a low, medium or high risk to consumers and the insurance market. The new risk-based policy will apply across all financial sectors covered by the FSA, and was announced in a document published last week: A new regulator for a new millennium. The FSA will grade insurance companies over the coming year.
NU advises sick pay cover
Bosses are being urged by Norwich Union Healthcare to ensure their staff are protected in the event of long-term sickness or injury. The insurer found that only one in ten bosses would be able to retain staff on full pay if they were off with illness or injury for over six months. Only one in eight employees has adequate income protection insurance.
Lambourn eyes London market
Third-party adminstrators Lambourn Insurance Services plans an aggressive push into the London market after being acquired by Guernsey-based Polygon Group for an undisclosed sum. Lambourn currently provides outsourcing services to "four or five" Lloyd's underwriting agencies and London market companies, although it refused to provide details of which ones. The market is currently dominated by Eastgate Assistance.
Time to Insure owes £2m
Time to Insure, the Portsmouth-based broker which went into receivership at the start of the year, is believed to owe creditors around £2 million. The guaranteeing brokers HSBC and Holman are among the creditors . Creditors have rejected an offer of 15p in the pound from receivers Grant Thornton.
