Mergers & acquisitions (M&A)
Dunny or delight? Rating Australian forays into UK insurance
Content Director’s View: With Australian firm AUB Group doubling down on its UK growth plans with a deal for Prestige Insurance Holdings, Jonathan Swift reviews other notable Antipodean overseas insurance expansion plans to assess its chances of success.
Zurich agrees £8bn deal to buy Beazley
Zurich Insurance Group has moved a step closer to buying Beazley after the two companies confirmed agreement in principle on the key financial terms of a deal.
HF confirms swoop for loss adjuster’s legal services arm
Specialist insurance law firm HF has acquired a major part of the assets of Crawford & Company Legal Services including 90 people moving across as part of a TUPE consultation process.
AUB Group buys majority stake in Prestige Insurance Holdings
AUB Group and Prestige Insurance Holdings have entered into an agreement for AUB to take a 95.9% majority shareholding in the Prestige business for £219m, with completion subject to regulatory approval.
Is Beazley set to reject Zurich in hopes of a better offer?
Analysts have suggested that while Zurich’s public proposal to acquire Beazley for around £7.7bn is attractive, shareholders may feel they can hold out for a higher offer.
Zurich submits proposal to acquire Beazley
Zurich has submitted a proposal to acquire Beazley outright for a price of 1280p per share, which values the specialty insurer at approximately £7.7bn.
Defaqto buys Pearson Ham’s pricing business for £11m
Defaqto has acquired Pearson Ham Group’s market pricing business for £11m in a bid to become the “single source of truth” for retail financial services.
Throwback Thursday: Record fire loss; Sedgwick buys broker
Insurance Post’s Throwback Thursday steps back in time to January 1991 to remind you what was going on this week in insurance history when fire claims surged and Sedgwick was buying a broker.
How Belfast’s insurance sector is overcoming Brexit blues
As Belfast enters a new year of investment, consolidation and post-Brexit adjustment, Tom Luckham examines how its insurance sector is proving resilient, fast-growing and increasingly strategic for both UK and Irish markets.
Inflexion acquires Ascend in regional broking push
Private equity firm Inflexion has bought Essex-based broker Ascend, with the two announcing the launch of a new broking platform focussed on the regional broking market.
Crawford & Co to sell legal services arm to law firm
Loss adjusting and claims management firm Crawford & Company has entered into a ‘process’ with specialist insurance law firm HF, which will see the latter buy a major part of the assets of subsidiary Crawford Legal Services, Insurance Post has learned.
Insurance M&A deal value quadruples in 2025
UK insurance M&A deal value more than quadrupled from £4.6bn in 2024 to £19.8bn in 2025, according to data from EY.
Howden CEO reveals M&A plus growth plans
Robert Kennedy, CEO of Howden UK and Ireland, has told Insurance Post its parent group aims to hit £10bn of global revenue by 2030.
Five insurance M&A storylines to follow in 2026
As we bid farewell to 2025, Post content director Jonathan Swift highlights the M&A storylines that might make the transition from rumour to reality next year and beyond.
Big Interview: Rhys Thomas, Thomas Carroll Group
Rhys Thomas, CEO of Thomas Carroll Group, speaks to Insurance Post about life as an employee-owned trust, and why he’s focusing on people growth instead of M&A.
Throwback Thursday: Maxwell takes stake in insurer
Insurance Post’s Throwback Thursday steps back in time to December 1985 to remind you what was going on this week in insurance history when publisher Robert Maxwell bought a stake in an insurer.
Headlines I hope to see in 2026
Deputy Editor’s View: With the year drawing to a close, Scott McGee looks back at what he thinks are the main themes of 2025 and how they could develop in 2026.
Domestic & General snapped up by US firm
Domestic & General has been acquired by US-based insurance company Asurion, with the deal expected to close in mid-2026.
Commercial insurance market shrinks as trades grow
A decade of mergers, exits and product withdrawals has reduced provider and product numbers across most commercial insurance segments with the exception of tradesman and professions, which are now driving the only area of growth.
Big Interview: Paul Greensmith and Jodie Kaufman Davis, HW Kaufman
After plenty of acquisitions over the years, HW Kaufman international CEO Paul Greensmith and group co-president Jodie Kaufman Davis sit down with Harry Curtis to discuss plans to turn the group’s international businesses into a broking and underwriting…
Technology arms race to fuel London market M&A
Companies in the London market will increasingly pursue peer-to-peer technology integration driving greater facilitation and more mergers and acquisitions, Guidewire’s London market lead Jamie McDonnell has predicted.