Commercial
Abbey and Autoline merger to create £119m GWP acquisitive firm
The merger of Northern Ireland brokers Abbey Insurance and Autoline Insurance as Abbey Autoline on 1 September will create a £119m gross written premium growth focused firm that has an eye for striking takeover deals, managing director of the newly…
UK property pricing up 16% in Q2: Marsh
Global commercial insurance prices rose 19% in the second quarter of 2020, research by Marsh has revealed.
CII teams up with UEA to promote insurance careers
The Chartered Insurance Institute has joined forces with the University of East Anglia to help students develop a career in insurance through a programme that includes substantial savings on CII qualifications.
Government interventions to spare credit insurers the worst of pandemic losses
Credit insurers face pandemic-related claims continuing well into 2021 but will avoid losses on a similar scale to those seen after the 2008 global financial crisis thanks to government interventions, according to Fitch Ratings.
Analysis: Beirut blast – cost of humanitarian crisis could top $10bn
The explosion in Beirut, Lebanon at around 6pm local time on Tuesday 4 August tragically killed at least 157 people and wounded another 5000, with more than a hundred still missing as rescue efforts continue.
Second quarter performance pushes Ageas UK COR below 100%
Ageas UK has reported a post-tax profit of £22.8m for the first half of 2020 reversing a loss of £2.7m in the first quarter.
Blog: Covid-19 and the impact of emerging risks on the art market
The art market has a Covid-sized hole in its sales. Going online may be the key to its future – but it’s risky. Robert Read, head of fine art at Hiscox, explains why insurers can help.
Claims Apprentice 2020: Episode four – Insurtech challenge
With Team KDA emerging as the winners of the podcast challenge, the apprentices now move onto their next task.
Aviva planning aggregator motor roll out after Confused pilot
Aviva is targeting this autumn for the next stage of its move onto aggregators after a trial with Confused, Colm Holmes, Aviva CEO of general insurance, told Post.
Editor's comment: End of the road or new opportunity for insurtechs?
The rumours and water cooler conversations began in July 2019 as soon as it was confirmed market stalwart Amanda Blanc had left Zurich after only nine months.
Amanda Blanc promises to shake up Aviva
It is abundantly clear that “meaningful change” is needed to unlock Aviva’s potential, according to CEO Amanda Blanc.
Blog: Coronavirus, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the hardening market
A hard market is traditionally where specialist insurers and forward-thinking capacity providers thrive. As such Floodflash co-founder Ian Bartholomew is confident new resilient insurance businesses will emerge from the post-pandemic economic downturn
RSA cutting 300 roles
RSA has announced a voluntary redundancy programme as part of a process designed to reduce its headcount by the equivalent of 300 full time roles.
Sampo and RMI bid a ‘real vote of confidence’ in UK insurance, says Hastings CFO
The takeover offer from Finnish insurer Sampo and South African financial services firm Rand Merchant Investment holdings is a ‘real vote of confidence’ for UK Insurance, Hastings chief financial officer John Worth told Post as Hastings released its…
Markerstudy 'surprised' by union criticism as it confirms Co-op redundancies
Markerstudy's purchase of Co-op’s underwriting business could lead to up to 300 redundancies, with the group telling Post it has committed to keeping 700 staff and is actively engaging with Unite the union.
Business enquiries down 14% on last year at Allianz
While market conditions are slowly recovering in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown, the volume of new enquiries for commercial policies remain substantially lower than were last year, according to Allianz Insurance.
Axa offers £50 compensation after walking back BI cover confirmation
Axa has offered a UK policyholder £50 in compensation after rejecting a business interruption claim it had initially indicated would be covered.
Analysis: Legal expenses insurers: Rising to the challenge
Legal expenses insurers saw at least double-digit increases in call volumes as the government moved to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus by locking down the UK. Providers rose to the challenge and believe they are well placed to meet any further…
Direct Line open to acquisitions and partnerships: CFO Tim Harris
Direct Line Group remains open to inorganic growth from acquisitions and partnerships despite the Covid-19 impact, DLG chief financial officer Tim Harris has confirmed.
AIG adds $458m of Covid-19 losses in Q2
AIG reported an underwriting loss of $343m (£262.8m) for general insurance business in the second quarter of 2020.
Co-op under fire from union over Markerstudy insurance deal
Trade union Unite has accused Co-op of having "forgotten its principles" by selling its Manchester-based insurance business to Markerstudy, alleging the deal will result in 200 job losses.
FCA warns of action on BI claims deductions
The Financial Conduct Authority has warned insurers making deductions to non-damage business interruption claim payments based on government payouts that it will intervene if firms do not meet its expectations and treat customers fairly.
Further cost-cutting expected at RSA UK
RSA will look to cut further costs in its UK arm, RSA CEO Stephen Hester confirmed as the insurer released it first half results for 2020.
Markerstudy's Gary Humphreys on the impact of Covid-19 on businesses
Pre-23 March, my diary for 2020 was already reasonably committed. The usual mix of work and family obligations, interspersed with one or two holiday highlights, not dissimilar, I imagine, to the majority of my friends and colleagues.