News
Insurance lacks a ‘champion’ to lead best practice on Consumer Duty
With only a few days to go until Consumer Duty comes into force, firms are still struggling to prepare for the regulatory changes and the hurdles ahead, industry leaders explain.
Insurance broking sector’s vulnerability to cybercrime uncovered
More than 38,600 pieces of data have been leaked from the top 75 UK insurance broker domains since 2016, according to a scan of the dark web conducted on behalf of Insurance Post.
Lloyd's approves California wildfire syndicate
Lloyd’s has approved the creation of a syndicate dedicated to underwriting wildfire-exposed commercial risks in California.
Zurich refused permission to appeal £8m court judgment
The Commercial Court has refused Zurich permission to appeal a judgment that obliges the insurer to pay millions to a travel company, having determined that an appeal would have “no real prospect” of success.
FCA extends latest product governance survey deadline
Having originally given brokers only a few weeks to send back a “demanding” survey into product governance and distribution practices, Post can reveal the FCA has extended its deadline from 11 August to 1 September.
Icmif CEO to tackle climate change before he retires
Before stepping down as CEO of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, Shaun Tarbuck plans to stop insurers simply talking all all ‘blah blah’ and PR, and get them actually tackling climate change.
Flat Iron becomes latest restaurant to take Covid BI fight to the courts
London steakhouse chain Flat Iron is the latest restaurant to bring legal proceedings against its insurer in pursuit of a business interruption payout for disruption it suffered due to Covid-19 restriction.
Aviva buys Barclays home insurance portfolio
With just days to go until the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Duty deadline, Aviva has bought Barclays UK’s home insurance portfolio, which comprises 350,000 customers.
Bridgehaven negotiating with 40 MGAs following PRA approval
Fronting insurer Bridgehaven Insurance will focus on underwriting medium-sized businesses and is in dialogue with 40 managing general agents, CEO Paul Jewell told Insurance Post.
Axa XL’s carbon emissions product; Defaqto’s updated Matrix software; Flock appoints CFO
Friday Round-Up: Insurance Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
FCA to make Digital Sandbox permanently available for insurers
Following two successful pilots, the Financial Conduct Authority will make its Digital Sandbox available permanently for firms in the insurance sector from 1 August 2023.
Axa appoints Tara Foley as CEO
Tara Foley will take over as CEO of Axa UK & Ireland on 1 September after almost three years as CEO of Axa UK Retail Insurance.
Business fraud market to increase nearly 20% by 2025
Allianz Trade claims the current business fraud market GWP in the UK is around €280m (£244m), and it is expected to increase to €330m by 2025.
Bain Capital is back after LV deal fallout
Bain Capital Insurance is focused on pursuing middle market transactions in North America and Europe after it announced the final close of its inaugural private equity fund at $1.15bn.
Zero GI insolvencies brings FSCS compensation down for 2022/23
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has reported that for the year ending 31 March 2023, it paid £163m in compensation for general insurance providers, £23m less than the year before.
Elon Musk joins the AI party
Elon Musk has announced the formation of xAI, his long-anticipated artificial intelligence startup designed to compete with Open AI’s Chat GPT, Google’s Bard, and other similar platforms.
FCA ramps up fair value assessment checks
The Financial Conduct Authority has ordered firms to fill out an extensive survey on how they keep tabs on whether they offer value for money to customers.
Four insurers save £650K by challenging credit hire costs
Admiral, Hastings Direct, KGM Underwriting Services and LV General Insurance have successfully challenged the prices charged by credit hire firms in recent weeks, according to law firm HF.
Flood Re aims to make Build Back Better the industry standard within a year
Flood Re CEO Andy Bord set out his ambition to make ‘building back better’ as much of an industry standard within a year as ‘new for old’ is with regards to contents insurance claims.
MoJ ‘finally’ opens consultation for RTA medical reporting
The Ministry of Justice has today opened a 12-week consultation, seeking feedback on issues relating to medical reporting in support of road traffic accident-related PI claims valued up to £5,000.
RSA moves to double professional indemnity business by 2026
RSA Insurance has launched an excess of loss product – the first in a phase of launches as it aims to double the size of its professional indemnity business by 2026.
Surveyor sounds alarm over £2.2bn insurance gap
More than a third of buildings surveyed by valuation specialists Charterfields have been underinsured by over 50%, the firm revealed in a report.
Biba insists regulators cannot mark their own homework
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has called for greater external scrutiny of the cost benefit analyses produced by regulators when they introduce new rules for the sector.
Arag agrees deal to buy Das UK
The Arag Group is set to buy Das UK, Ergo’s legal protection insurance business.