High Five: Catch up on the biggest exclusive stories this week

Starting the week, M&A dominated headlines as Gallagher’s long-awaited acquisition of AssuredPartners was officially completed.

UK and Ireland chief executive at Gallagher, Michael Rea, described the swoop as a “massive deal” and added that it was “probably the biggest retail transaction” the broker had undertaken in his 10 years at the firm.

• Michael Rea: How AssuredPartners deal will help grow Gallagher’s UK and Ireland arm

Meanwhile, George McDade’s deep dive into Insurance Times’s five star rating report: eTrading 2025 revealed how brokers balanced insurer extranets against software house platforms.

• Extranets v software houses: Where are brokers handling their eTrading?

Fresh leadership news also made waves as Markel’s new UK managing director, Lee Mooney, laid out plans to “change the pace” at the specialist insurer.

After more than 25 years at RSA, Mooney told Katie Scott he would accelerate Markel UK’s Ambition 2030 strategy by expanding its product suite and significantly investing in new talent. His goal was to increase “share of wallet” with brokers and make Markel “absolutely first class” in service.

• Lee Mooney: New UK boss gearing up to ‘change the pace’ at Markel

Later in the week, attention turned to the fast-growing influencer economy – and the insurance risks that came with it.

In an exclusive report, Harriet Scott explored the rise of influencer insurance, with brokers and underwriters warning that most content creators were underinsured, if insured at all. 

• Is influencer insurance the next must-follow for protecting content creators?

Finally, Allianz UK’s director of digital trading, Alex Ktenidis, spoke to Yiannis Kotoulas about tackling the SME underinsurance gap.

He warned that many SMEs were “sleepwalking” into exposure, with Allianz research showing widespread awareness of underinsurance but limited action being taken. 

• Alex Ktenidis: Tackling SME underinsurance with the ‘right conversation at the right time’