Articles by Mairi MacDonald
Aviva to sell Russian life business for €35m
Aviva is selling its Russian life and pensions operation to Blagosostoyanie, a non-state pension fund in Russia, for a consideration of €35m (£30.17m).
Brit COR improves to 93.2% in 2012
Brit has produced an operating profit of £113.6m for the full year 2012 (2011 restated: £68.4m) and an impoved combined ratio of 93.2% (2011 restated: 99.6%).
QBE unveils cost-cutting plan as Burns takes group CFO role
QBE Europe chief executive Steven Burns is to relocate to Australia to take over from Neil Drabsch as group chief financial officer.
QBE European premium up 6% to £3.2bn
QBE has reported an 8% rise in net profit after tax to US$761m (2011: $704m) in 2012, while insurance profit was up 16% to $1.26bn (2011: $1.08bn) supported by a strong investment result.
Guy Carpenter appointment signals focus on European casualty market
Guy Carpenter & Company has appointed Georg Fuelles as head of European casualty strategy.
Zurich warns firms to tackle rising levels of workplace stress
Stress levels, low morale and staff absence look set to continue to negatively impact the workplace unless the economic environment improves, Zurich has warned.
Go Skippy signs up two new partners
General Legal Protection has won a contract to provide breakdown cover to customers of online car insurance broker Go Skippy in a deal it claims is worth in excess of £600 000 over the next 12 months.
Hiscox profit soars to £217m
Hiscox has reported a pre-tax profit of £217.1m for the full-year 2012, dwarfing the 2011 result of £17.3m, and improving its group combined ratio by 14 percentage points to 85.5%. Gross written premium increased to £1.57bn (2011: £1.45bn).
AIG income falls to $3.4bn in 2012
AIG's net income fell to $3.4bn (£2.23bn), or $2.04 per diluted share, in 2012 compared with $20.6bn, or $11.01 per diluted share, the year earlier.
Axa UK & I GI revenue rises 2% to £3.8bn
The cost of flooding and storm damage claims pushed Axa UK & Ireland's combined ratio to over 100% in 2012 - a deterioration of 0.8 points compared to 2011 - despite underlying earnings improving year-on-year by £62m to £134m.
RAC intermediary arm reveals growth plans after post-Aviva sale overhaul
The commercial director of RAC’s intermediary arm has outlined the firm’s plan to make up competitive ground lost under its last ownership, almost 18 months after Aviva sold RAC to private equity firm Carlyle Group for £1bn.
RSA's Brown: Commercial lines needs double-digit rate strength
RSA's chief executive of UK & Western Europe Adrian Brown has claimed the UK commercial market is "broadly underpriced by 10% to 15%".
RSA's UK profit falls 37% as commercial losses take toll
RSA blamed adverse weather in the first half of 2012 and a weak marine and commercial liability performance on UK underwriting profit tumbling to £39m (2011: £62m) while the combined ratio was 98.2% (2011: 97.3%).
RSA increases premium by 5% and cuts dividend
RSA Group has reported operating profit of £684m (2011: £727m) for 2012 including an entirely flat underwriting result of £375m.
Axa recruits Bupa HR boss
Bupa's former human resources director has joined Axa Insurance to take on the same role within its direct & partnerships business.
'Fully-valued' RSA on course for 95% COR
A poor claims experience on RSA's Motability book will see the insurer pushing for "significant rate increases" as it renegotiates the three-year contract this year.
Bruce returns to market with RSA role
Cathie Bruce has joined RSA as distribution manager, four months after leaving UK General where she was managing director of commercial insurance for just under a year.
UK General backs Chinese restaurant insurance scheme
UK General has set up a scheme with Sunderland-based broker Newton Lee to provide insurance cover to the Chinese restaurant and takeaway sector.
Lewis calls for rate action after Zurich commercial lines manages 6% rise in 2012
Zurich general insurance chief executive Stephen Lewis has defended his firm's "sound underlying core" performance after operating profit fell by 46% in 2012.
Markerstudy backs HNW start-up
Markerstudy is backing a new motor high-net-worth managing general agent by providing 100% of its capacity as well as a bespoke claims service, and logistical and advisory support.
UK court confirms 9/11 was double reinsurance event
The Commercial Court's move to uphold an earlier legal decision that the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks arose out of two events rather than one is "of considerable interest to the insurance and reinsurance market", according to law firm Herbert Smith…
Zurich UK GI operating profit slides 46%
Zurich has blamed a major increase in large commercial losses and pension charges on a 46% slump in business operating profit to £85.3m in its UK general insurance operation in 2012.
Zurich GI profit falls after Sandy and German 'system error'
Operating profit in Zurich's general insurance business dropped by $150m to $2.1bn year-on-year in 2012 after above average catastrophe and weather-related losses offset gains made through tighter underwriting discipline and expense management.
Aviva calls for third-party ban in motor claims process
Aviva has launched a fresh attack on personal injury law firms, which it accuses of adding £1.5bn – or £118 per motor premium – in unnecessary costs to the motor insurance claims process.