News in brief

Groupama expands hunter

Groupama has rolled out the Hunter fraud prevention system across its household and commercial insurance business. A web-based system, Hunter works on the principle of data sharing, and accessing information from insurers and financial institutions on known fraudsters. Groupama’s counter-fraud manager, Stephen Teeling, said: “Since we started using the tool for our motor and fleet book at the start of the year, we have seen a noticeable improvement in fraud detection rates.”

AXA management moves

AXA has named Gérald Harlin as chief financial officer and announced that AXA France’s chief executive, François Pierson, will head all of the firm’s property and casualty business. Christopher Condron, chief executive of AXA Financial in the US, will head all life insurance and savings businesses.

Cumbria MP calls for local repair companies

Copeland in Cumbria’s Labour MP, Jamie Reed, wants insurers to be forced to employ local firms to repair homes hit by flooding, claiming they could start work quickly and it would boost the local economy. But the ABI said that insurers have nominated companies to do repairs.

Maclaren faces lawsuit

More than 15 UK families are suing Maclaren, claiming their children had fingertips severed by buggy hinges. Some cases date back several years. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on 9 October a voluntary recall of about one million Maclaren buggies, but Maclaren has not recall the buggies in the UK. Its website insists they are “completely safe”. Maclaren would not name its insurer.