The normally sedentary pace of the UK insurance market can often find an inner strength and a pace that would make it, were it to be that dynamic all the time, a delight to work within. There was a rush of insurers last week, for example, to offer mortgage payment protection insurance to workers at MG Rover after new boss John Towers lambasted Backchat's chums at Norwich Union for refusing cover.
While Insurance Times editor, Chris Wheal, toured TV and radio stations (starting with Radio Four's Today programme) defending the underwriting logic of not insuring people in factories facing closure, other insurers rushed out and promised insurance immediately.
As ever, it fell to long-time Backchat friend Simon Burgess to beat them all. NU said it would review the blanket ban on MG Rover, which had been in place since the first closure announcement and was, in NU's words “overdue for review”. But Burgess's Grip outfit promised to insure anyone losing their job, including some high profile cases. “We are currently still accepting Longbridge and Nissan car workers and would be more than willing to accept Masters of the Hunt,” he quipped. That's foxy.
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.
