Stop press...Fortis loses bid

Fortis loses bidFortis has lost its legal bid to force the British government to pay some of the compensation claims arising from the Selby rail crash in 2001. Fortis had been seeking a minimum contribution of £22.4m from the government. It has already paid out more than £22m relating to the accident. It is now set to appeal the decision.

ALM £5bn profitsThe Association of Lloyd's Members (ALM) has forecasted pure year profits of 20% of capacity for the pure 2002 account, after personal expenses, and the same again in 2003, subject to average claims experience. The ALM said that aggregate profits for these two years of account could reach £5bn.

Travel coverFinancial protection schemes for holidays no longer cover significant areas of travel and should be scrapped in favour of a new, simpler system, says the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). They want holidaymakers to pay a fixed sum, probably £1, when booking their travel.

Swinton exitThe Bollington Group has appointed Phil Gee as its managing director. He will take responsibility for the company's operations in Cheshire. Gee joins from Swinton-owned commercial broker Walmsley, where he was managing director.

Seib triumphsFormer Insurance Times chief reporter Christine Seib won the award for best newcomer in the Bradford & Bingley Personal Finance Media Awards last week. Seib now writes for The Times.

Brit departureBrit Insurance has confirmed that director Andrew Holland has left the company, with effect from 31 October.Brit chief executive Neil Eckert thanked Holland for his service to the group and said: "Andrew is a good friend who has served the group for many years and we wish him every possible success for the future."

Disaster contractCunningham Lindsey has awarded a contract to handle disaster restoration claims to Rainbow International, a subsidiary of ISS Damage Control.

Career breakGroupama underwriting and pricing director Maggie Litster is to leave the insurer at the end of November for a career break.

Travel worker coverMPI Brokers, a specialist travel and wintersports intermediary, has launched a season-long insurance product for tour operators to cover their seasonal workers abroad.