Latest News – Page 1938
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Backchat
The taste of victory
Brokers will go to extreme and innovative lengths to win business, Backchat hears this week. A national broker pitched for the business of a well-known chain of sandwich bars. At the start, the sales team played a DVD in which the broker boss sends his apologies for not being present, ...
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News
Giles: consolidator growth could spell end of MGAs
Giles Insurance chief executive Chris Giles has warned that managing general agents (MGA) face a difficult future as their markets disappear, with the growth of the consolidators. His comments came as he admitted that Giles Insurance would be ending its trading relationship with underwriting agencies Primary General and Fusion. The ...
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Backchat
Life after the sound-bite
Towergate’s ambitions were momentarily, sensationally and mistakenly unveiled to Backchat at the Biba regional conference in Leeds last week. Despite reading from the programme, the compere of the event made a small (but potentially fatal) error when introducing Andy Homer, chief executive of the broking behemoth. Having informed the attendees ...
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News
CBG eyes regions after London buy
Manchester broker CBG is looking to expand into other UK regions after completing its first acquisition outside the North West.CBG paid £2.71m in cash and shares for Marcus Hearn & Co, the trading subsidiary of the Marcus Hearn Group of Companies, based in Shoreditch, London.Marcus Hearn, which offers specialist insurance ...
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News
Web News
Sagicor buys ByrneSagicor Syndicate Holdings, acquired Byrne & Stacey Underwriting. Its parent, Caribbean financial services group Sagicor, recently acquired the Gerling at Lloyd’s Group, which was the principal capital provider for Byrne & Stacey. First published 5 OctoberOxygen protected cellsOxygen Insurance Brokers launched a self-insurance facility for UK businesses and ...
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Backchat
Bollington reunites old buddies
The insurance industry is a small world, as Bollington found during its recent acquisition of Greystone.The event was significant in more ways than one. Not only was it the broker’s first acquisition since the Groupama investment, but Backchat can reveal that Bollington director Paul Moors and Greystone MD Dominic Leach ...
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Backchat
Ticking off the goodwill
There’s a ticking time bomb within the industry. And, according to Marsh Corporate Consulting, it’s about to explode.As the FSA’s deadline to remove goodwill from broker accounts moves inexorably closer, a clock on Marsh’s website (www.mccltd.co.uk/handn.htm) counts down every second to the point of no return, namely 14 January 2008.
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News
Stockwatch
JP Morgan this week enticed shareholders to sell their Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) stock and head for Aviva, which it said was better value. Aviva is expected to increase household insurance premiums as a result of summer flood damage, and its motor insurance premiums are also expected to rise. A ...
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News
Financial News
New Lloyd’s syndicateChaucer will manage a new syndicate, Antares, on behalf of Lightyear Capital, a New York private equity firm, and a German insurer. Antares Syndicate 1274 will begin writing speciality business for the 2008 year of account with a capacity of £135m.Benfield bid ruled outA current friendly bid for ...
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News
Motor claims inflation fear
Claims inflation for motor personal injury claims could rise to unsustainable levels, a report by the IUA and ABI has warned.Massive increases in government clawbacks for health and social care have already prompted rises. The Fourth UK Bodily Injury Awards Study showed that awards for personal injury have increased ...
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News
Four commission models put to brokers by FSA
Brokers have been asked to consider four potential commission disclosure models under the FSA’s review. Reports last week suggested that brokers had been asked to provide feedback on three models for mandatory commission disclosure. These include disclosure of full remuneration to client and insurer. But it emerged this week that ...
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Backchat
Blonde Fiona fronts Equity’s travel product
Equity’s new travel insurance product for breast cancer sufferers is receiving considerable exposure in the national media.And much of its success is due to the marketing brains behind the scheme, Equity’s Fiona Macrae. An interview on The Jeremy Vine Show and a spread on page three of The Sun (the ...
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News
Insurers slam broker commission add-ons
Senior insurers have reacted angrily this week over national broker moves to charge additional commissions.The backlash follows the new remuneration models introduced by Marsh and Willis. They are planning to introduce a 2.5% commission on certain business lines. Aon has been doing this for some time. Some insurers are unhappy ...
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News
Motor claims inflation fear
Claims inflation for motor personal injury claims could rise to unsustainable levels, a report by the IUA and ABI has warned.Massive increases in government clawbacks for health and social care have already prompted rises. The Fourth UK Bodily Injury Awards Study showed that awards for personal injury have increased ...
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News
Partnerships can help with climate threat
A leading World Bank insurance expert has said that public-private partnerships (PPPs) offered insurance companies huge opportunities in dealing with the threat of climate change.Eugene Gurenko told the Insurance Times Insuring Climate Change Conference this week: “Insurance is more and more seen as an important climate change adaptation tool by ...
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News
Darling announces general insurance summit for November
A top-level summit on general insurance in the UK will be held on 7 November, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced in this week’s Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review.It is the first time the government has named a date for the summit, when the work of Lord Levene and the London ...
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News
News in Brief
Indie jury goes outThe 11 remaining jurors in the Independent Insurance case were sent out on Tuesday to decide their verdict, after the judge finished his summing up. The jurors have to reach a unanimous verdict on whether former managing director Michael Bright, former deputy managing director Dennis Lomas and ...
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News
Marsh chief hits out at inefficient industry
Marsh UK chief executive, Martin South has called for the insurance industry to build stronger bridges between intermediaries and underwriters, in order to capitalise on emerging risks. Speaking at Lloyd’s, South said that until the industry addressed its lack of efficiency, it could not prosper. He said: “We have ...
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News
BJP to target SME and personal lines growth
Berkshire-based BJP Insurance Brokers is looking to expand in the SME and personal lines markets following a string of recruitments.BJP has recruited three members to its sales team to target more SME business, and hired a personal lines manager to increase its non-commercial clients.The independent broker currently specialises in commercial ...
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News Analysis
Commissions rise divides market
The new commission model announced by Marsh and Willis has reignited the debate on broker remuneration. James Dean reports
