Insurance Times looks back at the most read stories from the first quarter of 2025, as protest risk and megadeal speculation dominated the UK general insurance agenda.
The most popular stories in Q1 2025 for Insurance Times readers reflected two defining themes for the UK general insurance market – rising exposure to activist protest risk and continued consolidation at the very top end of the broking market.
The most read article of the quarter centred on Aviva becoming the second major insurer to announce legal action against protest group Palestine Action, which has now been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government.
In March, protesters targeted the insurer’s Manchester office, occupying the entrance from early morning and climbing on top of the revolving doors while displaying Palestinian flags and setting off red flares.
At the time, Aviva said that the protest had not disrupted customer service, but stressed that it would not tolerate criminal behaviour towards its people or property. A spokesperson said the insurer’s “first priority is to ensure the safety of our people” and confirmed it would take appropriate legal action.
The incident followed similar action against Allianz’s London office just a day earlier, showing growing concern within the sector around coordinated activist campaigns and their operational and reputational impact on insurers with perceived links to controversial industries.
Protest activity targeting Aviva also ranked highly earlier in the quarter. In January, Insurance Times reported that Palestine Action had occupied Aviva’s Bristol headquarters, with one protester positioned on top of the building’s overhang and the front of the office painted with slogans including “Elbit Out”.
Palestine Action alleged that Aviva provided employers liability insurance to UAV Engines, a Staffordshire-based drone engine manufacturer owned by Elbit Systems. The group claimed that without insurance, the arms manufacturer would be unable to operate in Britain.
Rounding out the top three stories of Q1 was a major M&A development, as Howden emerged as being close to a landmark US takeover deal that could pave the way for a £23.2bn stock market float.
According to reports, the broker was targeting a binding agreement to acquire US-based rival Risk Strategies for $10bn, funded in part by a share sale worth around $4bn.
However, Brown & Brown ended up agreeing to acquire RSC Topco, the parent company of Accession Risk Management Group, which owns broking firm Risk Strategies and insurance wholesaler One80 Intermediaries in a nearly $10bn cash-and-stock deal.
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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