Personal
Confused to white label Uswitch insurance business
Exclusive: Confused will white label Uswitch’s insurance comparison business as part of a deal with the parent company.
Urban Jungle secures £2.5m in seed funding round
Urban Jungle, an insurtech targeted at “generation rent”, has raised £2.5m in a seed funding round.
Esure turns to reinsurance to improve solvency coverage
Esure improved its solvency capital coverage ratio to 149% over the first quarter of 2019, having seen it drop to 108% at the end of last year.
Brightside's Brendan McCafferty on whether Saga’s writedown heralds a shift in the tectonic plates?
Providers with books that are skewed to heavily discounted year one are facing a quandary about whether to change their strategy before the dual pricing review outcomes or wait until after. Either way Brendan McCafferty, CEO Brightside Group, believe…
AIG Europe posts profit of £59.5m despite a fall in premiums
AIG Europe has reported a profit before tax of £59.5m for the 12 months to 30 November 2018, up from a loss of £431.5m the previous year.
Blog: Why perfection is unobtainable for driverless cars
Trials for driverless cars are moving up in the UK, while they have stalled in some parts of the US due to reported deaths. Mark Hemsted, partner at Clyde & Co, argues that the public looking for perfection in this area could be misguided.
Covéa strikes up motor insurance deal with John Lewis
Covéa has arranged a deal with John Lewis Finance that will see it act as the sole insurer for the company’s motor insurance offering.
Claims costs drive an increase in van insurance premiums
Claims costs have driven an average premium increase of 35.1% since April 2014, Consumer Intelligence has found.
Q&A: Claims Apprentice 2019 winner Verity Ross
Verity Ross, motor claims handler for Zurich has been crowned winner of the Claims Apprentice 2019. Hiriyti Bairu caught up with her to discuss how she met the challenge, what the experience has taught her now and moving forward in her career.
Spotlight: Data - Ordering data in
Insurers continue to hang their success on the quality and use of data, with businesses continually reviewing how to gain a commercial advantage. Edward Murray looks at the benefits of using external data providers and why some peril risks have proven…
Spotlight: Data - Why are insurers ignoring data for escape of water claims?
Don’t blame the rain for the growing number of water-related claims in the UK, blame the plumbing
Allianz in talks to buy L&G general insurance business – report
Allianz is in talks to buy Legal & General general insurance business, according to Sky News.
ABI tracker shows fall in motor premiums in advance of whiplash reforms
The average cost of motor insurance fell to its lowest level in two years, according to a survey from the Association of British Insurers.
Trade Voice: Foil's James Heath on the Civil Liability Act
The Civil Liability Act was passed in December, changing the way whiplash claims are calculated. As part of the bill, the government also agreed to reform the discount rate, which is currently under review. James Heath, President at Forum of Insurance…
Analysis: What do Tesla’s insurance ambitions mean for its partners?
Exclusive: Tesla’s plan to launch its own insurance for customers within a month has raised questions over how it will affect its current affinity deals with insurers.
Hastings sees bump in revenue despite loss ratio warning
Hastings has reported a 4% rise in gross written premiums for the first three months of 2019.
Blog: Shaping the future of urban mobility
There is no question that the UK is on the brink of big change in urban mobility and that it is set to transform the motor insurance landscape, says James Roberts, business development director for insurance at Europcar Mobility Group UK.
Flagging personal lines see Covéa's profits slashed
Covéa Insurance saw its underwriting profit slashed to £1.8m in 2018 compared to £12.4m in 2017, as its personal lines business felt the impact of claims inflation and adverse weather.
UK General's Matthew Schofield on how profit, not volume, will drive growth and respectability of MGA sector
In recent months managing general agents have been in the spotlight, with the media seeking to get under the skin of one of the fastest growing insurance sectors. UK General's Matthew Schofield says MGA management teams need to now stop 'navel gazing'…
Machine learning insurtech raises £4.2m in seed investment round
London-based insurtech Artificial Labs has announced it has raised £4.2m in a seed round to scale up its team, product offering and geographic reach.
This week: Easter egg-citement
As we head towards a welcome four-day weekend, the insurance world has been getting in the spirit for Easter in the only natural way: smashing chocolate eggs.
Blog: Aquiline's recommitment to ERS highlights turnaround success after dark days of IAG
Jonathan Swift reflects on the turnaround at ERS and why Aquiline might have decided to wait to sell the motor insuer
Customers increasingly looking to credit to pay for premiums: research
Insurance customers are increasingly relying on credit to pay premiums, with nearly one in three planning to use more credit this year, research found.
Analysis: Joining forces on Adas: How motor manufacturers are looking to work with insurers on driver safety
As insurers complain of double-digit increases in repair costs as a result of advanced driver assistance systems, Edward Murray spoke to motor manufacturers about why the underwriting focus needs to move from the driver to the vehicle.