Throwback Thursday: Axa’s Asia adventure & GA attack
Insurance Post’s Throwback Thursday steps back in time to February 1995 to remind you what was going on this week in insurance history when Axa entered Asia and a man was cleared of trying to kill General Accident bosses.
9 February 1995: Axa moves into Asia
Axa catapulted itself into Asia with a $1.1bn (then worth £560m) deal to takeover Australia’s second largest life company, National Mutual.
At a stroke, the deal took Axa’s share of income from virtually nothing to 12%, which Post stated showed the French company’s “determination to be a player across the whole globe.”
General Accident case man cleared
An Old Bailey jury cleared a man of attempting to hire a “hit man” to murder or maim General Accident bosses.
John Grainger, who was disputing a claim with the insurer, was arrested after meeting an undercover police officer posing as a hitman.
The police claimed Grainger was trying to force General Accident to pay his £1m claim for loss of earnings after a car accident.
Grainger said he did not intend to injure anyone and was cleared of soliciting to murder, incitement to commit grievous bodily harm and incitement to blackmail.
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