Latest News – Page 754
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NewsMarkerstudy ends capacity deal with Brightside
Markerstudy has ended its capacity agreement with Brightside. The insurer is one of Brightside’s major capacity providers alongside Ageas. Markerstudy and Brightside have declined to comment. Last October Insurance Times revealed the scale of Brightside’s troubles as executive chairman Mark Cliff vowed to fix the problems ...
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NewsHester: RSA needed to change to survive
Recent changes at RSA may have been difficult for staff, but they are necessary to avoid a more painful outcome, according to group chief executive Stephen Hester. Speaking to Insurance Times following the release of RSA’s first quarter results this morning, Hester also said that he ...
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NewsGallagher unit gets foothold in UK motor with Gibraltar buy
Arthur J Gallagher-owned consultancy Artex Risk Solutions has bought Gibraltar-based insurance management firm Quest Holdings (Gibraltar). Artex said the acquisition expands its foothold in the European insurance market and gives it particular expertise in the UK motor market. Gibraltar-based insurers play a key role in the UK ...
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NewsABI welcomes minister’s pledge to push ahead with claims reforms
The ABI has welcomed justice minister Lord Faulks’s pledge to push ahead with the government’s proposed whiplash reforms. But Faulks’s comments have sparked anger from claimant lawyer lobby group Access to Justice (A2J). At the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) annual conference yesterday, Faulks said ...
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NewsEnterprise Bill gains Royal Assent
The Enterprise Bill has gained Royal Assent, and will pass into law in a year’s time. The Bill, now known as the Enterprise Act 2016, will have several implications for the insurance industry. One key change is that the Enterprise Act amends the Insurance Act 2015, ...
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NewsCSC completes Xchanging acquisition
Technology group CSC has completed its acquisition of insurance outsourcing firm Xchanging. The companies said the deal will “create a new leader in technology and business process services for the global insurance industry”. CSC also said the acquisition will put it “at the heart of the ...
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NewsBeazley first quarter GWP up 7% as rates fall 1%
Lloyd’s insurer Beazley wrote gross premiums of $538m (£401.6m) in the first quarter of 2016, up 7% on the $546m it wrote in the same quarter last year. The increase came despite a 1% cut in rates in the quarter. The Lloyd’s insurer also reported a ...
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NewsRSA UK and Ireland premiums rise 2% in first quarter
RSA’s UK and Ireland business brought in net written premium of £635m in the first quarter of 2016, up 2% on the £622m generated in the same period last year. The insurer said in a trading update this morning that first quarter 2016 UK personal lines ...
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NewsEsure reports 15.5% increase in GWP
Esure has reported a 15.5% increase in gross written premium (GWP) to £151m for the first quarter of 2016. This is made up of a 17.1% increase in motor GWP to £128.9m, while home GWP was also up 7.3% to £22.1m as a result of the ...
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Online onlyAgeas was top commercial liability insurer in 2015
Ageas reported a highly profitable COR of 79.2% for its liability book in 2015, after reserve releases added 17.1 points. Direct Line Group was the only other insurer analysed to report a 2015 underwriting profit for its commercial liability book with significant reserve releases knocking 46.6 ...
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NewsClaims Excellence Awards 2016: Winners revealed
LV=, Allianz and Cunningham Lindsey were the big winners at the Insurance Times Claims Excellence Awards 2016. The insurance industry flocked to The Brewery to recognise the efforts of claims teams and individuals across the industry. The judging panel comprised Biba head of technical services Mike ...
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NewsMan convicted for role in £100k ice cream van fraud
A 39-year old man has been convicted for his part in an insurance fraud where an ice cream van was used to stage fake accidents across the country. Barry Mark Sandmann, 39, of Brompton Lane, Strood, Kent, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on 29 April ...
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Online onlyMay 2016 issue
Cover story: Commercial lines profitability continues to elude UK’s top insurers
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NewsJLT EMEA chief executive Martin Hiller to retire
JLT chief executive of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Martin Hiller is retiring from the company. Hiller joined JLT in 1988. He is best known at the company for his almost 10-year stint as chief executive of the JLT Specialty broking division. JLT credited ...
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NewsValue of Electra’s Davies stake jumps 65%
Private equity house Electra’s stake in claims firm Davies jumped 65% in the six months to 31 March 2016, Electra’s accounts show. The value of the 57% stake, which Electra bought when it backed Davies’s management buyout in 2011, is now worth £38m, up from the ...
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NewsNIG retains crown in Insurance Times e-trading survey 2016
NIG has once again topped the rankings as the best-performing insurer for e-trading. For the second year running, the SME-only, broker-only insurer has come top in a survey of 246 brokers, in the Insurance Times E-trading Broker Insight Report. For a full copy of the report ...
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NewsDirect Line Group GWP up 4.2% in first quarter
Direct Line Group reported gross written premium (GWP) from continuing operations of £777.8m in the first quarter of 2016, up 4.2% on the £746.5m it reported in the same quarter last year. This was despite a 1.8% drop in in-force policy numbers to 15.9 ...
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NewsAXA planning UK life and savings exit
AXA is planning to sell its remaining UK life and savings businesses, including its SunLife direct protection business and AXA Wealth, the company announced this morning. The insurer revealed the plan after reaching an agreement to sell Elevate, an online investment platform, to Standard Life. ...
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NewsCompass ‘doesn’t really work inside Gallagher’
Arthur J Gallagher group chief financial officer Douglas Howell has played down the importance of its UK broker network Compass, telling analysts that the network “doesn’t really work inside Gallagher” and that Compass’s planned exit from the group “is not a big deal”. Insurance Times revealed ...
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NewsMarsh-owned SMEi’s joint chief executives leave roles
Marsh-owned broker SMEi’s joint chief executives Jason Gandy and Roger Snowden have left their current roles. Gandy has left the business altogether, while Snowden will continue at the company in a consultancy role. Jonathan Webber and Lee Tetley have replaced them. Webber, formerly SMEi’s finance director, ...
