The latest ups and downs on the stock market

There just doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel for Omega Holdings at the moment. First, it went through a boardroom civil war with its investment partners that eventually led to a management shake-up. Now, it has taken a £15m hit from the Chilean earthquake.

Omega said the claims were likely to have a “material effect” on its end-of-year results. The news seems to have shaken the confidence of investors, and the stock fell last week from 113p to 106.75p (see chart).

Elsewhere, news that Aviva will re-enter the general insurance market in Asia did little to boost the stock, as it remained around the 385p mark.

Meanwhile, fuelled by plenty of whispers and speculation, what the men in dark glasses really want to know is this: when is the next big takeover or merger going to happen in the insurance market?

Prices

Market indices Movers Price 7-day Currency

FTSE 100 5770.49 Aviva 387p +0.5% Dollar 1.54

FTSE 250 10488.37 Amlin 407p +3.4% Euro 1.13

FTSE All-share 2962.38 Omega 106.75p –5.5% Yen 144.20

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

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.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.