News Analysis

  • News Analysis

    How did they get away with it?

    2011-03-30T00:00:00Z

    The shady dealings of brokers Ideal Insurance forced at least one customer into near bankruptcy, but the most startling twist in the tale is the FSA’s inability to act on tip-offs about the firm for over a year, and the ease with which a broker with a prison record could ...

  • News Analysis

    The luck of the Irish?

    2011-03-16T00:00:00Z

    The collapse 12 months ago of Quinn sent shudders through the British and Irish insurance sectors. But, as the fate of the beleaguered firm remains uncertain, it seems brokers and insurers have escaped relatively unscathed

  • News Analysis

    Double or nothing

    2011-03-02T00:00:00Z

    Taxpayer-subsidised NIG has been accused of recklessly undercutting its rivals with a controversial guarantee to beat the prices of 15 rival insurers. Critics warn that such tactics not only hurt insurers’ bottom line, but prolong a soft market for all

  • News Analysis

    Chasing Chaucer

    2011-02-23T00:00:00Z

    With its combination of strong assets and low running costs, the Lloyd’s insurer has been pursued by everybody from Brit to Vladimir Putin. Now Guy Hands’ Terra Firma looks set to pounce

  • News Analysis

    Fair Fees: The big squeeze

    2011-02-16T00:00:00Z

    General insurance brokers are being rinsed for funds to compensate for the staggering rise in customer complaints about mis-sold payment protection insurance, and it doesn’t look like the FSA is likely to solve the problem any time soon

  • News Analysis

    Q4 blip should not dampen hope of more deals in 2011

    2011-02-09T00:00:00Z

    There’s no reason why activity should not pick up, despite a disappointing end to last year

  • News Analysis

    High street bullies

    2011-02-02T00:00:00Z

    Brokers have broken ranks and complained to the FSA that banks are playing dirty and poaching their clients in a bid to sell their own insurance services. Seems pretty clear-cut. Or is it?

  • Pensions Insight
    News Analysis

    FSA: the final judgment

    2011-01-26T00:00:00Z

    It’s almost at the end of its life, but the FSA has used the past couple of years to leave a lasting mark on the financial community. So how long will this tough era last?

  • Features

    Rising again …

    2011-01-26T00:00:00Z

    … Inflation, that is. And with it comes escalating premiums, expensive claims, devalued investments and rising operating costs. But who is going to feel its grip the worst?

  • Weapons
    News Analysis

    Hunting season

    2011-01-19T00:00:00Z

    With opportunities for organic growth thin on the ground, big insurers with excess capital are on the prowl for smaller firms to snap up. The sector could be in for a feeding frenzy this year