News
Zurich wins crash-for-cash conviction
The driver of a Porsche who has admitted deliberately causing a crash with a council van has secured the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department its first crash-for-cash conviction.
Spencer warns tough broker action ahead
Aviva UK & Ireland general insurance chief executive Robin Spencer has warned it will have to take some “tough calls” on its broker relationships if the insurer is to reduce its commercial lines combined operating ratio to a sub-100% position in 2013.
BGL reshuffles senior team following a departure
BGL has appointed a new group director of intermediated and group director of legal services and business as Martin Overton steps down from the latter role.
Insurers set to benefit from Scottish PI courts
The introduction of specialised personal injury courts in Scotland will benefit insurers, according to Bill Speirs from BTO solicitors.
Day joins Global Options advisory board
Global Options has appointed former Ace vice president Roger Day to its advisory board.
Zurich unveils Red Cross flood alliance
Zurich Insurance Group has formed a CHF 21m five-year alliance with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Novae 'rebalances' book to deliver £49m profit
Novae has reported underlying profit before tax of £49.3m (2011: £6m loss) while the underlying pre-tax return on equity was 17.6% (2011: negative return of 2.1%).
Zurich announces Red Cross alliance in flood resilience programme
Zurich has announced a CHF21m deal with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that will see the pair work to improve disaster risk reduction efforts.
Aviva hit by £3bn post-tax loss
Aviva has announced a full year total loss of £3bn (2011: £60m profit), alongside a 44% cut in its final dividend.
Direct Fleet eyes expansion with new role creation
Direct Fleet Insurance has today appointed Joanne Cassidy to the newly created role of renewals manager as part of its expansion strategy to grow its broker and insurer partnerships.
Global Options adds to advisory board
Global Options, a provider of special investigative unit services to the insurance community has appointed Roger Day to its advisory board.
IFB investigation leads to jail time for fraudsters
The insurance industry has demonstrated a “zero tolerance” stance towards fraud produces results, after two fraudsters responsible for handling “thousands” of fictitious or inflated personal injury and credit hire claims were sentenced to jail.
Success of Esure float boils down to accurate pricing in current market
Esure could err on the side of caution when it comes to pricing its stock as it aims to follow Direct Line Group onto the London Stock Exchange, analysts have suggested. The personal lines insurer confirmed plans to float as it revealed its 2011 result.
High-profile departures at Cunningham Lindsey raise questions of wider trend
A recent wave of departures from loss adjuster Cunningham Lindsey may represent senior management seeking to “cash out” following the arrival of a new parent in CVC Capital Partners last October.
Judical review rejection paves the way for Jackson reforms
The High Court’s rejection of a judicial review into the road traffic accident personal injury fees scheme has cleared the road for the implementation of the remaining civil justice reforms, unless an appeal is lodged.
Scottish sheriff courts to handle PI cases worth up to £150 000
Scottish defendant lawyers have backed proposals to introduce a specialist court to handle personal injury cases in Scotland.
Analysts cast doubt on Co-op’s ability to sell off general insurance business
The Co-operative Bank may struggle to offload its general insurance business as part of a bid to make up a capital shortfall that is expected to result from a market-wide investigation of banks by the Financial Services Authority.
News review: British insurance staff could lose jobs
Staff at mortgage payment protection insurance provider British Insurance has been put on redundancy notice by the firm's parent company Towergate Insurance.
Digital Insurance Strategies: Mobile strategy vital as smartphone use increases
Google finance industry head Jo Hind has insisted that firms’ social media strategies must be handled at board level to ensure they becomes part of the corporate culture.
Digital Insurance Strategies: Online insurance fails to take off for SMEs as customers are ‘not quite ready’
Take-up of online insurance remains stunted among small and medium-sized enterprises, according to a panel of speakers at Post’s Digital Insurance Strategies conference.
Digital Insurance Strategies: Digital strategies are a must, not an option
Insurer boards should consider “what they are going to do” in terms of developing their digital strategies, rather than “whether they should do it”.
Digital Insurance Strategies: Bennetts reaps the benefits after setting up its own social media site
Insurance firms must embrace social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a means of “getting in front of” and engaging with customers – but they are no match for setting up a social media site of one’s own.
Market Moves: Ex-pro footballer among notable new recruits in busy week across industry
The past week produced an even recruitment spread across the industry, with the usual flurry of hires within the broking sector headed by two regional appointments at Bluefin. These were complemented by additions at firms representing the loss adjusting,…
Groupama SA upgraded by Fitch
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Groupama SA and its core subsidiaries' insurer financial strength ratings to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'.