Claims
For the Record: BGL rolls out digital claims, Chubb backs Covid-19 cover, Covea in Vitality tie-up, insurtech funding hits £5.2bn and Tractable deals
Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
Blog: Mental health – the silent casualty of climate change
Zurich UK chief claims officer David Nichols considers the impact of weather-related claims on mental health, and what insurers, government and public bodies must do to help.
Gibraltar-based Prometheus Insurance enters administration
Gibraltar-based Prometheus Insurance Company, formerly trading as Tradewise Insurance Company, has entered administration.
Worsening outlook for UK non-life insurers, says Fitch
Fitch Ratings has a worsening outlook for the UK non-life company sector, Graham Coutts, senior director, head of EMEA reinsurance has confirmed with market combined ratios for motor and home likely to be above 100% in 2021.
LV tops Aviva, Churchill, Nationwide and Saga to win customer service crown according to ICS
LV has again been ranked the top insurance organisation in the UK by the Institute of Customer Service in its biannual UK Customer Satisfaction Index, although the gap at the top between it and the chasing pack has been reduced.
Zurich offers free counselling to claimants
Zurich is to offer policyholders that make a claim free counselling sessions, following a nine-month pilot last year.
Debenhams and Weddingplan insurer ‘considering’ impact of Supreme Court ruling on wedding claims
The businesses behind Weddingplan and Debenhams wedding insurance are “considering” the impact of the Supreme Court judgment and what it means for policyholders who did not get lockdown payouts for cancelled weddings, Post has learned.
Curious case of the PPI huckster filing accounts from beyond the grave
Exclusive: The former boss of disgraced Bury-based claims firm Harringtons Advisory, Ibrar Akbar, passed away in 2019 – but his name continues to be used on accounts paperwork for another of his companies.
Committee calls for government PI scheme for fire risk assessors
The government faces calls to act as an insurer of last resort for fire safety engineers’ professional indemnity insurance.
Insurers count cost of Christoph as warnings of further flooding intensify
Storm Christoph is not expected to prove as costly as other recent winter storms, with PWC predicting insured losses could hit £120m, but could set the stage for more severe flooding as soon as next month.
Insurer satisfaction unaffected by Covid-19 despite record policyholder problems, says Institute of Customer Service
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have not had a detrimental impact on the insurance sector’s overall customer satisfaction - despite the number of people experiencing problems hitting an historic high, according to the latest report by the…
Intelligence: Insurance protecting nature
In 2020 the world’s first coral reef insurance policy was triggered in Mexico, following damage resulting from October’s Hurricane Delta. Post looks at how insurance is helping nature in other parts of the world.
FCA will use ‘full range’ of regulatory tools and powers to ensure insurers meet expectations after BI ruling
The Financial Conduct Authority has set out the next steps it expects insurers to take after the Supreme Court judgment on the Covid-19 business interruption claims test case last Friday.
Software house witnesses fortyfold increase in BI claims
There was a fortyfold increase in business interruption claims put through software house Acturis in the week of the Supreme Court Covid-19 business interruption judgment, Post can reveal.
CMCs expect soaring Covid-19 caseload as employees and public lodge claims
Covid-19-related lawsuits are set to drive a 40% increase in litigation over the coming year, with many claims management companies either already dealing with or anticipating a surge in claims.
Blog: Whiplash portal may never live up to expectations but still time to prevent government IT disaster
The government needs to use the short delay to the Civil Liability Act wisely, says Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations.
FCA proposes to cap CMC fees saving consumers £9.6m a year
The Financial Conduct Authority has published proposals to cap the fees claims management companies can charge their customers.
Commission-hungry claims firms target Covid-hit businesses
Claims firms and no-win-no-fee solicitors have ramped up attempts to get businesses to make Covid-related claims with them following the Supreme Court business interruption ruling – but insurance experts are concerned that fees could be as much as 40% of…
Loss adjusters report 'significant' rise in BI claims volume
The number of business interruption claims being submitted after the Supreme Court judgment has increased significantly with more anticipated over the coming weeks, loss adjusting firms have told Post.
Q&A: Jennette Newman, Forum of Insurance Lawyers
Jennette Newman, partner at Clyde & Co, was appointed as president of Forum of Insurance Lawyers in November last year, replacing Anthony Baker. She spoke to Post about her hopes for 2021.
Government to offer insurance for care homes that take on discharged coronavirus patients
The government has announced a scheme to cover care homes that have struggled to take on people who have been discharged from hospital following a Covid-19 positive test but have further support needs due to a lack of available insurance.
Frustrated policyholders call for insurers to ‘take responsibility’ after Supreme Court rules many are due payouts
Policyholders and their representatives have called for insurers to “take responsibility” and “immediately start paying claims” in the wake of a bittersweet Supreme Court judgment on disputed coronavirus-related business interruption policies.
Insurers could face higher BI claims payouts as businesses look to Enterprise Act
Some business interruption policyholders are looking to claim damages under the Enterprise Act (2006) for late payouts, following the Supreme Court's verdict in the regulator's test case.
Price hikes predicted as Supreme Court overturns Orient Express in BI ruling
Insurers are expected to increase the cost of business interruption insurance after a crucial judgment was overturned in the Financial Conduct Authority's test case,