News
Scor settles offer for Converium
French insurance company SCOR will gain formal control of Converium today (8 August) when it settles its offer for the Swiss company.
RSA to slash another 500 UK jobs
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance has announced plans to cut 700 jobs, 500 of them in Britain, as part of its new plan to trim £70m in costs.
RSA sees UK commercial NWP drop as its reports first half profit of £51m
Royal and Sun Alliance this morning reported a UK underwriting profit of £51m on net written premiums of £1.4bn (a 7% increase) for the first half of 2007.
Q2 profits exceed $3bn for Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway has published strong results for the second quarter of 2007, with net earnings reaching $3.11bn, compared to $2.34bn in the same period last year.
Change at the top for Aon Re Global
Michael O’Halleran has been appointed executive chairman of Aon Re Global (ARG), and Ted Devine as chief executive of ARG.
Broker Network unveils new member
Broker Network today announced that Slade Edwards & Co has joined Broker Network, bringing the total number of firms recruited to the network to 169.
Noone appointed as L&G sales director
Legal & General has appointed Martin Noone to the position of sales director within the protection business. He takes on the responsibility for enhancing L&G's presence in the protection market through the IFA sector.
Bupa wins Virgin Media corporate healthcare contract
Bupa Health Insurance has been appointed to provide private healthcare to around 13,000 employees of entertainment and communications company Virgin Media for the next three years.
Swiss Re second quarter earnings rise 45%
Swiss Re today announced earnings of CHF1.2bn (£496m) in the second quarter of 2007, an increase of 45% over the same period last year. Annualised return on equity for the second quarter improved to 15.9%, compared to 13.3% in 2006. Earnings per share…
Loss of Post Office contract forces D&G to close call centre
Takeover target Domestic and General has announced that it plans to close its third party call centre in Slough.
Gable to resume trading on AIM within weeks
Gable has announced that it will publish its results no later than 22 August. The construction specialist has had its sahres suspended on AIM for over amonth now pending the results.
Direct Group in £40m MBO
Derek Coles has successfully led the management team of Direct Group, a provider of corporate and affinity services to the insurance sector, in acquiring the business in a £40 million deal with the backing of mid-market private equity firm LDC.
UK firms uninterested in environmental liability cover
Spain, Germany and Italy are leading the way in the implementation of the EU Environmental Liability Directive and are showing the most interest in purchasing environmental cover, broker Willis has said. This is in contrast to the UK, where insurers…
Towergate warns of insurer battle of nerves as sales hit £709m
Sales at Towergate Partnership increased 30.9% to £709m of gross written premium for the first half of the year. However, the broking group insurer said the impact of its new business had been "somewhat offset" by the continued soft market rates.
Munich Re announces $2.9bn profit
Munich Re has announced a profit of €2.1bn ($2.88bn) for the first half of 2007.
New rehab code sets out timetable for insurers
A revised version of the Rehabilitation Code launched today which set out a timetable for the key stages in implementing care.
CCV takes GWP to over £70m with Ajax buy
Cullum Capital Ventures has bought Liverpool based £3m premium income intermediay Ajax Insurance Brokers.
Offshore regulators promise greater co-operation
The Jersey Financial Services Commission and the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission have signed a memorandum of understanding that will further co-operation between the two regulatory bodies.
Survey: 72% of brokers say flooding will ease premium increases
A broker survey by NIG has revealed that 72% of brokers said that the poor weather would make it easier for them to sell in premium increases both later this year and next. A further 22% predicted no change.
Bedford to head UK Fac operation
Rupert Bedford has been appointed as head of UK broking at Guy Carpenter's facultative arm, GCFac. Mr Bedford who was previously at Aon, will be based in London, reporting to Mark Newman, head of GCFac UK, and will be responsible for overseeing broking…
Lancashire highlights diverse book after profits rise
Lancashire Holdings has announced its results for the second quarter of 2007 and the six month period ended 30 June 2007, with income rising sharply off the back of a 50% rise in net written premiums.
Appointments at Junction
Affinity provider Junction has appointed two further relationship managers.
Towergate adds £75m GWP after swoop for market leading broker
Towergate Partnership today announced the acquisition of London based Hayward Aviation, which it claims is the UK’s largest general aviation broker. All 80 of its staff and senior management will join the Towergate Group.
London broker calls in administrator
Mike Walker and John Wardrop of KPMG Restructuring’s Insurance Solutions practice have been appointed Joint Administrators of London market broker Park London.