The Titanic sinking giving rise to regulatory changes, remembering fallen soldiers, fund raising and high flying client executives at high net worth brokers, what has the insurance industry been up to of late? You heard it here first….
High flying Broadway
After Broadway Insurance Brokers hit £4.5m in Gross Written Premium (GWP) and its corporate and private assets more than doubled year-on-year to £1.25bn last August, client executive Lauren Winstanley is now taking the business to new heights.
On 13 May, Winstanley will be joining 15 other individuals in a skydive for charity Veterans into Logistics in Lancaster. The charity helps former service personnel adjust to life post armed forces. In her very first parachute jump, Winstanley will celebrate her first 12 months at the broker by jumping 11,000 feet out of a plane. We just hope she has insurance.
Honouring fallen soldiers
Insurer RSA unveiled the installation of a war memorial on 20 April 2023 at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to commemorate former colleagues that served and gave their lives in the first and second world wars.
These memorials were originally displayed at the insurer’s offices across the UK, but in 2014 were placed in secure storage by Arboretum. The unveiling follows a colleague-led campaign to have them restored and placed back on display.
Ken Norgrove, RSA chief executive, said: “The rededication service has brought about feelings of deep respect and appreciation. I could not be prouder of the contribution made by former RSA colleagues across the two world wars.”
‘Crucial’ dementia fundraising for IUAD
Fundraising and awareness campaign Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD) led by insurance sector leaders and the Alzheimer’s Society raised more than £8m – almost hitting its target of £10m.
The past 12 months have been one of the most successful years of fundraising to date for IUAD, largely due to the significant support from across the market, individual contributions and events.
Richard Dudley, IUAD chair and head of climate strategy at Aon, said its focus now turns to how it galvanises new support to hit the £10m mark.
With one in three people in the UK going on to develop dementia according to the charity, the insurance leaders involved in IUAD will continue effort to raise awareness and provide aid.
My heart will go on
The 15th of April marked the anniversary of the Titanic sinking after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage back in 1912, resulting in a settlement of $664,000 and 1,517 lives lost with only around 700 survivors.
But the tragedy was a turning point for modern maritime law as it led to significant regulatory changes in safety. For example, it led to the establishment of the International Ice Patrol and the SOLAS Convention, which played a crucial part in improving safety at sea.
For Matthew Dolman, senior partner at Dolman Law Group, the Titanic’s legal legacy continues to shape how the sector approaches maritime safety and litigation even today.
The Speculator
The Bank of America has raised concerns following Lloyd’s of London following an update to mandate cyber war exclusions from 31 March 2023 from standard cyber coverage.
However, in a LinkedIn post on the 18 April 2023, CFC’s head of strategy James Burns put forward a case that these war exclusions have “huge benefits” to policy holders and brokers.
Instead, he believes the Lloyd’s mandate has been “consistently misrepresented” to exclude all nation state attacks. He added: “This is simply not true. Cyber policies will cover nation state attacks as they have always done”.
For Burns, this is in the interest of brokers and customers as cyber war as specifically defined and coverage is clear. Will brokers see the benefits of these exclusions or be suspicious?
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