Insurance Times rounds up the top five stories making headlines across the market from 2 to 6 February 2026
Once again, Zurich’s bid for Beazley dominated Insurance Times’ most read stories this week, with Zurich agreeing an £8bn deal in principle to buy the UK insurer.
After considering the latest proposal, Beazley said the board “concluded that the financial terms of the proposal are at a level that it would be minded to recommend to Beazley shareholders should a firm intention to make an offer be announced on these financial terms”.
In regulation news, Markerstudy has confirmed a ”cap” on growth as concerns raised by the FCA are addressed.
The FCA’s restrictions on Markerstudy follow concerns about its rapid acquisition-led growth and weaknesses in leadership, governance and financial controls and require the group to limit customer numbers and maintain an agreed level of capital while it addresses those issues.
A leading people move story of the week was Marsh UK appointing Lisa Quest as its new chief executive.
Quest will continue to serve as head of UK and Ireland upon taking over the chief executive position from Chris Lay in Q1 2026, as he retires from the business.
Marsh’s international chief executive Flavio Piccolomini said that Quest is ”well-placed to steer our growth ” with her ”global leadership experience and management consultancy expertise”.
JP Morgan’s consumer banking business Chase Bank entered the insurance market this week with a new product that will only be available to UK customers.
The product was launched in partnership with travel specialty insurer Collinson Insurance, who will support the bank’s entry into the UK insurance market.
Finally, Aviva Private Clients, the high net worth business of Aviva, launched in the Lloyd’s market on a phased basis from 1 January 2026.
The insurer said it will make use of Aviva’s existing Lloyd’s platform to access new markets and territories which allows customers to “safeguard their overseas exposures”.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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