Mystery, intrigue and suspense abound this week, with surprise moves, rumoured mergers and a glimpse into the world of organised crime, as Danny Walkinshaw finds out

The biggest news in UK general insurance this week has to be today’s surprising developments involving Aviva and Towergate. Aviva lost its UK chief executive Mark Hodges a year and half into the job and he’s now joining Towergatee, stepping into the shoes of the retiring Andy Homer. It’s a move that is sure to send shockwaves through the market. Who could honestly see this one coming?

Aviva didn’t waste any time in naming Hodges’ replacement; Friends Life vice-chairman Trevor Matthews is being parachuted into the Aviva hot seat. It’s another surprise appointment, not least because he has come from outside the insurer, but the bulk of his career has been spent in life insurance. However, Aviva’s UK general insurance chief executive David McMillan moved quickly to allay any fears that may be directed towards his business.

Construction on the up

This week in our Inside Broking section we delved into the construction insurance market to find out how brokers in this sector were fairing. The construction market has been suffering since the recession, but as some of the key players in the broker market tell us, insurance is bucking the trend in the sector. How long will it continue?

Lloyd’s merger rumours

Is there a merger of Lloyd’s insurers on the cards? Novae this week confirmed it was carrying out due diligence on the much sought-after Omega, which could possibly lead to the two Lloyd’s players combining their operations. This kind of coming together has been mooted for a while now, as catastrophes continue to wreak havoc on the profits of the small Lloyd’s entities. At Novae, where its chief executive Matthew Fosh this week detailed how he has turned around the company in an interview with Insurance Times, all signs suggest it is looking at its next steps.

Mystery at Oxygen

What’s going on at Oxygen’s music and entertainment broker Robertson Taylor? This week Insurance Times reported the sudden departure of its chief executive John Silcock. The broker is one of the key players in the entertainment market, arranging the insurance for major events such as Michael Jackson’s cancelled ‘This is it’ tour that was scheduled for 2009 before his death. With Oxygen remaining silent over his exit, mystery surrounds the future of the company.

Does crime pay?

Our latest investigation this week honed in on the links between insurance fraud and organised crime. They might not see it on the surface, but insurers are – increasingly – inadvertently bankrolling criminal activity. Around 70% of investigated frauds have some links to organised crime and we uncover several examples. It’s gripping stuff.

Ink on the prowl

The solicitors’ professional indemnity market has not been one for the feint hearted in recent years, but after a successful first step into the sector last year, Giles’s underwriting agency Ink Insurance is on the hunt for new capacity to fuel its growth in the market at the next round of renewals later in the year. If Ink can secure new providers, it could go some way to easing the pain for solicitors’ in a market described as a ‘bloody mess’.

Danny Walkinshaw is digital news editor.

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