Opinion
View from the top: A hard market is coming
I started talking about positive signs of rate movement more than a month ago. While many agreed, not all of the market's 'big three' brokers shared this view. But a few weeks can effect considerable change and now even Aon's soothsayers will probably…
Post Europe: Shared service and competence centers for insurers
In order to reduce costs insurers are increasingly looking at shared service and competence centres. Hendrik Bremer examines the pros and cons of this model.
Post Europe: Rome II – Where are we two years on?
It is now over two years since the implementation of European Regulation 864/2007, better known as ‘Rome II’. Reviewing the legislation, Kelvin Farmaner and Paul Lavelle ask whether everyone is now clear on its scope and application.
View from the top: Together we're stronger
It's always good to reflect back on the Biba conference, given how quickly it goes when you're there.
Penny Black's insurance week
Still fresh in the mind, this month's Biba conference was awash with the usual rumours that started on stands and, by the second night, were sworn gospel.
Postbox: Respect for privacy vital in digital age
More than 30 million adults in the UK are signed up to Facebook, and the number of people using social media such as Twitter is growing at a phenomenal rate. Together with the increased use of e-mail and text, there is a real shift in the way we…
Europe: Cyber liability: the hardest threat to manage
Cyber security is becoming one of the greatest threats to global companies, and one of the hardest to manage.
Post Europe: The challenges of pan-European insurance programme
The European Single Market aims to bring harmonisation of goods and services, however, for insurers working on pan-European deals there are still challenges to overcome. John Bibby explains how working with the airline industry has its own special…
Postbox: Backing reforms was not taken lightly
Your leader of last week 'Are some more equal?', coupled with the comments reported from Elite Insurance over the ABI's support for the recommendations of the Jackson Review, highlights the delicate balance a trade body needs to strike between…
View from the top: A very bad year
Despite reinsurers' initial talk that the Australian floods and the New Zealand & Japanese earthquakes were earnings — not balance sheet — events, and there would be no impact on rates, the chatter has changed recently, with some now actively hinting at…
Penny Black's insurance week
Another year, another Biba conference; brokers nurse their hangovers, hacks try to recall the juicy story slurred in their ear at 2am, and insurers vow to return to the exhibition hall next year with a bigger stand than Aviva, nicer cup cakes than Zurich…
Europe: Dutch trading history paves the way for digital revolution
The Netherlands, one of the oldest established commercial and industrial insurance markets, is taking the lead in the digital transformation of the industry.
Post Europe: Insurance accounting rules and the impact on small insurers
The International Accounting Standards Board has finally issued a draft standard for the valuation of insurance liabilities, however, as Martin LePelley explains this may cause more problems than offer solutions.
Penny Black's insurance week
Given his aspirations as a pop impresario, Penny was interested to see former IAG UK boss and Hastings investor Neil Utley enter the annual Rich List chart above the likes of George Michael, Robbie Williams and Phil Collins.
View from the top: positive mental attitude
I believe that commercial organisations of all shapes and sizes can learn a lot from the way athletes continually look to improve their performance in the quest to outperform the competition.
Postbox: time to up the ante in fight against fraud?
Graham Odiam's article on 'first-party fraud' touches on a moral dilemma. Insurers have a desire to retain policyholders by providing a good service — both at policy inception and at claim time — but also need to prevent and detect fraud efficiently.
Post Europe: Legal opportunities in Italy
Italy has a strong history of legal expenses insurance and despite the recession this sector has faired well. Giovanni Nenz explains why the product still has much to offer.
Legal opportunities in Italy
Italy has a strong history of legal expenses insurance and despite the recession this sector has faired well. Giovanni Nenz explains why the product still has much to offer.
Post blog: A smaller catch after the one that got away
With many in the insurance market taking advantage of the double bank holiday whammy you would have thought the past week would have been a good time to bury bad news.
View from the top: kill the costs monster
I'm delighted the government is backing Lord Jackson's suggested overhaul of civil litigation costs — but the champagne remains on ice.
Penny Black's insurance week
It is always nice when a familiar face reappears on the heady insurance circuit, so it was with some pleasure that Penny heard Zurich's former European CEO Annette Court is currently scouring the UK insurance market for her next big move.
Post Europe: View from the Top - Sustainability, environmental insurance and protection
Sustainability is the capacity to endure, meeting today’s needs without compromising the future.
Post Europe: Dealing with credit insurance during the crisis
The financial crisis has lead to some European firms considering credit insurance as a short-term option, but as Marcos Polónia explains it could really be a long-term solution.
View from the Top - Sustainability, environmental insurance and protection
Sustainability is the capacity to endure, meeting today’s needs without compromising the future.