Commercial
Markel receives green light on German subsidiary
Markel has been granted a license by BaFin, the German federal financial supervisory authority, to establish an insurance company in Germany.
Blog: Heatwave ignites fire risk for farmers
Hot dry harvest conditions are bringing risk management and insurance to the fore, writes Angus Stevens, client account director, Crawford & Company.
Blog: Why you should model your flood losses on a European scale
The anatomy of European flooding means insurers and reinsurers should model their potential losses across several countries, explains Dr Maurizio Savina, director at RMS.
Beazley takes lead on £10m capacity PI consortium
Specialist carrier Beazley has launched a professional indemnity consortium large law firms based in the UK.
MPs outline ‘urgent’ reform needed in wake of Grenfell fire
A parliamentary committee has called on the government to take urgent action in the wake of the Grenfell fire, including extending a proposed ban on combustible cladding and tackling conflicts of interest within the construction industry.
Blog: The new cyber and terror risks looming over schools
The September renewal period for the education sector is fast approaching, providing brokers with an opportunity to explore cover options for new and emerging risks, explains Faith Kitchen, education director for Ecclesiastical.
Charles Taylor Managing Agency names Grint as CEO
Charles Taylor Managing Agency has appointed Colin Grint as CEO.
Debenhams confirms credit insurers have reduced cover
Debenhams has said it retains a ‘constructive relationship’ with its credit insurers as the ailing retailer has its cover reduced.
BLM targets EC3 push with new London market and reinsurance heads
BLM has named Damian Cleary as head of London market and Gavin Coull as head of reinsurance as the law firm targets growth in Lloyd’s.
AIG's Mark Camillo on how GDPR is driving the European cyber market
GDPR is driving a surge in the European cyber insurance market, explains Mark Camillo, head of cyber for Europe, Middle East and Africa at AIG.
Analysis: Beauty fraud: No pain, no gain
In an era of Instagram brows and duck lip selfies, the beauty industry is thriving. While most customers visit their hairdresser, nail bar or tanning salon to look smoking hot, others see a beauty treatment as a route to a windfall, via a fraudulent…
Lloyd’s Brussels receives ‘A’ rating from AM Best
AM Best has assigned the Lloyd’s Brussels hub a Financial Strength Rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘a+’.
This week in Post: Sore heads and muddy journos
It’s been a week for sore heads, with England crashing out of the World Cup on Wednesday. Fortunately, with the industry keeping us so busy, there hasn’t been much time to ruminate on the pain.
The MGAA’s Peter Staddon on planning to thrive and not just survive
The future can be a perilous place, especially for the insurance sector, says Peter Staddon, managing director of the Managing General Agents’ Association. In an environment typified by tough market conditions, Brexit, and increasing waves of regulation,…
Advent and Brit owner looks to merge Lloyd’s businesses
Fairfax Financial Holdings, the parent of Advent Capital Holdings and Brit, is planning to merge some of their Lloyd’s business and place the rest into run-off.
Zurich's Puneet Sharma: Calling time on credit markets
Credit has been underperforming equities and Puneet Sharma, managing director at Zurich, believes this warrants a rethink of portfolio positioning.
Insurtech start-up Next raises $83m
US-based insurtech start-up Next Insurance has raised $83m in a Series B funding round led by Redpoint Ventures and including Munich Re.
Axa reveals new brand for XL
XL will rebrand as Axa XL and combine all its property & casualty business and specialty risks into the new entity.
Lloyd's launches insurance matching site as digital push continues
Lloyd’s has launched Lloyd’s Bridge a digital distribution platform designed to connect insurance businesses with Lloyd’s underwriters.
Q&A: Lynda Lucas, chair, Airmic
Lucas began her career as a company secretarial trainee at British Aerospace and has since had various risk management roles at companies including Nortel, Old Mutual and, since 2006, Fujitsu. She has been an Association of Insurance and Risk Managers…
Analysis: Allianz’s acquisitive appetite
With reports suggesting that CEO Oliver Baete has a big ticket acquisition in mind, rumours have been circulating that Allianz could look to hoover up one of the larger players in the UK market.
Analysis: Sport injury: Hitting hard
As professional sportspeople complain about their insufficient cover for career-ending injuries, insurers fear a surge in claims from contact sports
Former Zurich boss launches boutique broker to buck consolidation trend
Exclusive: A former Zurich Private Clients executive has launched Provenance Insurance Brokers, a start-up high net worth and commercial broker.
LSM takes on Ironshore renewals to spur European growth
Liberty Specialty Markets has entered into a renewal rights agreement with Ironshore Europe to take on its European non-merger & acquisition business and staff.