Articles by Chris Wheal
Liberty Mutual sponsors four athletes
Commercial lines insurer Liberty Mutual Insurance has sponsored four British athletes for the year.
Kwik-Fit's Green Insurance adds MMA to panel
The Kwik-Fit-owned Green Insurance Company has added MMA Insurance to its insurer panel.
Travelers starts job loss talks over re-jig
Insurer Travelers is proposing job losses after deciding to reorganise its UK underwriting and operations.
Ascot announces £12.6m loss
Lloyd's insurer Ascot Underwriting has revealed that a combined ratio hike to 104.7% (2010: 79.2%) caused a loss of £12.6m (2010: £97.1m).
LV scraps age limit on car insurance
LV has scrapped its upper age limit on car insurance.
Abbey Legal reports 5% profit rise but warns of tough year
Legal and professional fees insurer Abbey Protection has announced 2011 revenues up 4% to £36.2m (2010: £34.9m) and pre-tax profits up 5% to £10.1m (2010: £9.6m).
NFU Mutual returns to underwriting profit
Rural insurer NFU Mutual has turned an underwriting loss in 2010 of £150m into a profit in 2011 of £105m.
Law firm Donns in administration with PI cases sold to Irwin Mitchell
Manchester personal injury law firm Donns has been forced into administration and its caseload has been bought by rival Irwin Mitchell.
Titanic centenary prompts safety concerns
Shipping loss rates have declined from one ship per 100 per year in 1912 to one ship per 670 per year in 2009, according to a report from Allianz to mark the centenary of the iceberg-hit ship.
MMA hires Thomson for north east
MMA Insurance has appointed Alexandra Thomson as business development manager for the north east, responsible for the development of broker relationships.
Brown appointed Berrymans' national senior partner
Mike Brown, pictured, has been elected as Berrymans Lace Mawer's new national senior partner to take over from Terry Renouf who has held the position since 2006.
Baxter returns to Power Place
Damian Baxter, pictured, has returned to Power Place as head of business development after departing in August 2010 for a role as head of sales at Keelan Westall.
LMA to put co-lead binder claims on ECF
The Lloyd's Market Association has launched a project to increase the volume of co-lead binder claims being managed using the market's ECF electronic claims handling system.
Wouldham to head Axa's Maidstone office
AXA Commercial Lines has promoted Paul Wouldham to branch sales manager to lead the team at its soon-to-launch branch in Maidstone.
Ban on hospital claims management adverts would not work, insists Boleat
Hospital leaflet provider BOE has commissioned former claim management regulator Mark Boleat to compile a report defending its leaflets carrying adverts encouraging NHS patents to sue for damages.
RSA in summer time eyesight plea
RSA's UK & Western Europe chief executive, Adrian Brown, pictured, has warned of an increase in crashes after the clocks jumped forward an hour on Sunday morning. He used the change to call for better eyesight testing of drivers.
Brightside launches clarion call against fraud
Bristol-based broker Brightside has issued a stark warning about fraud as it announced its ninth consecutive record year, with revenue up 21.5% to £80.4m (2010: £66.2m) and pre-tax profit up 34.7% to £13.6m (2010: £10.1m).
Charles Taylor exits non-life run-off
Charles Taylor Consulting is to quit the non-life run-off business after making a loss and claiming the sector is too competitive.
Air looks to Zurich for development chief
Air Worldwide has appointed Zurich head of catastrophe modelling John Elbl to be vice president in its business development group.
Lloyd's delays Solvency II request to FSA
Lloyd's has delayed applying to the FSA for approval of the market's internal model from April to July.
Esure CEO Stuart Vann says broker businesses will grow this year
Esure boss Stuart Vann, pictured, pinned his firm's fourfold increase in profits on walking away from bad risks in 2010, raising prices by more than 20% and pocketing £16m of identified fraud savings with the insurer's 33-strong anti-fraud team.
Esure reveals fourfold increase in profit
Insurer Esure has reported an operating profit up more than fourfold to £80.8m (2010: £18.6m) on a combined operating ratio down to 94.6% (2010: 114.5%).
Fitch says insurer solvency rebound does not make them safer
Rating agency Fitch has claimed that a rebound in the solvency ratios of European insurers reflects the recovery in sovereign bond markets, rather than any underlying improvement to insurers' balance sheets.
Weightmans queries H&S law bonfire
Law firm Weightmans has claimed government plans to scrap 84% of health and safety regulation will mainly involve archaic and unused laws, having little impact on insurers.