Indie jury goes out
The 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 former finance director Philip Condon were guilty of conspiracy to defraud, which all three deny.
Home rates fall halted
The falling trend in home insurance premiums has come to an abrupt end, blamed on a sharp increase in flood claims, according to the AA's British Insurance Premium Index. The index showed that over the past quarter, the average quoted premium for home buildings insurance leapt by 3% – the largest single increase since the Index was launched in 1994. Home contents premiums also rose by more than 2% during the quarter. The average quoted premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy rose by more than 1% in the quarter.
CCV buys reference firm
Cullum Capital Ventures (CCV) announced a diversification by acquiring a majority stake in Managing Agents Reference Assistance Services (Maras). Maras provides tenant referencing services for letting agents. The business also has its own portfolio of clients to whom it offers traditional insurance broking services.
Equity buys broker
Equity Insurance Group purchased Norwich personal lines and commercial broker, Castle Insurance Services. The deal swells the group's UK branch network to 83. Equity said it was well on target to achieve an anticipated 100 branches before the end of 2008.
Marsh arranges capacity
Marsh has arranged a property facility that will provide up to $425m (£208m) of non-catastrophe capacity in the London market for US and Canadian companies.
