Opinion
Penny Black's Social World: June 2021
Equal rights, sustainability and good causes
Editor's comment: Growing up
I have two pre-teens in the house who can’t wait to be teenagers. I’m reminded almost daily of the birthdays coming up and how different life will be when 13 comes around.
Hiscox’s Tim Slattery on fast changing customer lifestyles demanding an agile response
Tim Slattery, personal lines underwriting manager for Hiscox UK, argues the industry needs to both listen to what home policyholders need now and have the forethought to provide what customers don’t yet know they’ll need.
Blog: Securing our prosperity in a climate resilient world
The global (re)insurance industry is a key player in helping to decarbonise our economies and mitigate the risk of climate change, writes Swiss Re CEO of reinsurance Moses Ojeisekhoba.
Blog: What does the UK government’s international travel traffic light system mean for insurers?
The travel traffic light system has provided a glimmer of light for the travel industry. Victoria Edwards, partner and head of travel and casualty at Crawford Legal Services, looks at whether it is enough to reboot the sector and how travel insurance…
Blog: Is the insurance industry ready for usage-based pricing?
Mileage and car usage dropped significantly during the pandemic but insurers have faced a backlash after claims savings were not passed on to customers via reduced premiums. Callum Rimmer, founder of By Bits, asks why insurers aren't considering usage…
Briefing: Lemonade’s phrenology hangover
Jen Frost reflects on a staggering self-engineered series of events that saw insurtech Lemonade have to deny using outdated and disproven phrenology in its artificial intelligence claims system.
Trade Voice: Foil's Jennette Newman on the penalties facing firms that misfire on climate transition
As the world begins to really face up to climate change, Jennette Newman, president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers and partner at Clyde & Co, warns that the regulatory, reputational and legal penalties for failing to transition a climate-friendly…
Aston Lark's Peter Blanc on relevance and opportunity
Aston Lark group CEO Peter Blanc assesses why the market can’t just continue to offer the same old products, tweaked to be one step ahead of the next best, with cover for intangible assets coming to the fore along with the need to have challenging…
Briefing: Time for Lloyd’s to take the lead on climate change
Climate protesters are becoming a frequent irritation for Lloyd's but, as Pamela Kokoszka explains, they are a piece of a bigger puzzle that the corporation needs to do better to acknowledge and play its part in.
Blog: Dealing with non-disclosure of delivery driving
Uptake in the gig economy has been significant due to the pandemic and helped keep many families solvent. Martin Williams, chief operating officer at Thing Co, investigates the hidden danger of people relying on their private motor insurance when using…
My other life: Brian Brookes, stand-up comedian
Away from his day job as a risk manager at BHIB Insurance Brokers, Brian Brookes has brushed shoulders with some famous faces in the world of stand-up comedy.
Blog: Suez incident proves need for rethink of cargo delay cover
Mike Burns, partner at Weightmans, explains how the blockage of the Suez Canal and subsequent detainment of the Ever Given has reopened the debate over whether cargo delays can rightfully be excluded under maritime insurance policies.
Blog: Terrorism insurance expected to be in greater demand as lockdown lifts
Burns & Wilcox terrorism underwriting manager Sarah Joiner outlines why she anticipates terrorism insurance demand will surge post-lockdown.
Rising Star: Jordan Gregory-Wallis, Ignite Insurance Systems
Jordan Gregory-Wallis joined Manchester-based platform provider Ignite straight out of school as an apprentice, and has since become a developer at the software house.
Biba Conference Special: Returning to a new normal - supporting commercial clients and brokers in the post-Covid world
The Covid-19 pandemic changed the business landscape in the UK practically overnight. Jon Walker, CEO of Axa Commercial in the UK, and Elie Hanna, chief distribution officer for UK and Lloyd’s at Axa XL, discuss how insurers should be working to support…
Biba Conference Special: Q&A
Ahead of the British Insurance Brokers' Associations first virtual annual conference Post caught up with some movers and shakers to find out what they were hoping for out of this year's event.
Aon’s Richard Dudley on mental health
Richard Dudley, CEO of Aon’s global broking centre and co-sponsor of Aon’s UK mental health network, shares some reflections and lessons from the past year during Mental Health Awareness Week.
Briefing: Aviva's ill-timed sick pay cuts
Aviva’s plan to cut company sick pay entitlement mid-pandemic is at best a head scratcher.
Editor's comment: Proving its resilience
With May comes the market staple of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association conference, albeit in a slightly different virtual guise. Our thoughts therefore turn to the broking sector and what the impact of the last 12 months have been on it.
Blog: Behind the scenes of lottery risk
Following Italy's scratch card lotto 'hack' scandal, which reportedly saw staff pocket millions for friends and family, Questgates' Hyperion Adjusters director Andrew Pinnion peels back the curtain on lottery risk.
RSA's Rob Flynn on embracing the SME evolution
Nearly six million small companies make up the backbone of the UK economy and the last 12 months have seen them adapt in ways that they have never had to before. Rob Flynn, director of UK SME at RSA, asks what insurers can and should be doing to help…
Blog: The insurance-linked securities education gap
It is vital that the education gap around insurance-linked securities is addressed, say Phoenix C Retro CEO Kirill Savrassov and Axa XL assistant underwriter Toby Pughe.
Blog: Legal expenses insurance in a post-reform world
Handl Group chief commercial officer Chris Chatterton considers the effect of whiplash reforms on legal expenses insurance.