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For the record: The week in deals featuring Covea, Davies, Inigo and Zurich
Post wraps up the major insurance deals of the week.
Co-op and Markerstudy: A deal 22 months in the making
Late on 25 November, the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority at last approved Markerstudy’s takeover of the Co-op’s underwriting business – 675 days on from when the deal was first announced.
Fully Comp episode 9: Not so Home Alone – how do you replicate the company Xmas party on Zoom?
Welcome to episode nine of Fully Comp, Post’s video series tackling some of the biggest issues in insurance.
Blog: Insurers must act urgently to prevent health insurance affordability crisis
Employees have received a raw deal on health insurance for decades. Covid-19 is a time for change, argues Trevor Davis, Instanda managing director for life and health.
DLG issues inaugural environment progress reports and 2021 targets
Direct Line Group has become a carbon neutral company and is targeting a net carbon neutral investment portfolio by 2050, the insurer detailed in a pair of documents released at the end of 2020.
Q&A: Tom Murphy, Machine Learning Programs
Machine Learning Programs was bought by Open GI last year only one year after it launched. CEO Tom Murphy shares his views on the power of AI and the future for insurance as well as telling Post how he got into the sector.
Be Wiser makes board changes
Be Wiser has reshaped its board again with a new chair and hiring former Endsleigh CEO Jeff Brinley as chief financial officer, Joe Copp as group chief operating officer and David Russell as chief risk and compliance officer.
Kitsune closure shows scale and niche challenges for MGAs
Brightside’s decision to put car and van managing general agent Kitsune into run-off has reinforced the need for volume and specialism, according to experts who warned that entering the market now would not be for the faint-hearted.
Video Q&A: Aviva GI leadership team – Phil Bayles, Gareth Hemming, Colm Holmes and Patrick Tiernan
At this year’s British Insurance Awards Aviva scooped a quartet of awards including General Insurer of the Year.
Blog: Insurtechs need to get real and stop promising the world
Following a spate of insurtech failures, Rebecca Jones, CEO and co-founder of drone technology provider Iprosurv, argues that newcomers need to get real and stop promising the world.
Co-op confirms insurance sale to Markerstudy has gone through
The Co-op has confirmed the completion of the sale of its underwriting business to Markerstudy after Post revealed the deal had received regulatory approval.
Markerstudy gets PRA approval for Co-op deal
Markerstudy’s long-running takeover of Co-op’s insurance underwriting business could be completed by Christmas after the Prudential Regulation Authority signed off on the deal, Post can reveal.
Kingfisher alleges deceit and software breaches in £25m claim against ex-Fresh owners
Kingfisher UK Holdings has accused the former owners of personal lines specialist broker Fresh Insurance of covering up that its software used the Motor Insurance Bureau’s My Licence system in a way that breached its agreement with the MIB and the Data…
Briefing: Media owner could signal bright Future for Go Compare
This week media group Future had offer terms accepted to buy Go Compare parent Goco. Post content director Jonathan Swift looks at how the deal could help reposition the aggregator away from expensive advertising, to a more customer-centric approach…
Cold call claims fraudsters come up with fresh scam, insurers warned
Exclusive: Cold calling fraudsters have contrived another method of targeting policyholders to make fake claims in what insurer LV told Post it believes is a twist on previous scams.
Q&A: Louise O'Shea, Confused
Louise O'Shea, CEO of Confused, spoke to Post about the comparison site's recent profits, its growth ambitions and what the FCA's pricing proposals will mean for consumers.
Union GMB calls for government intervention in AA deal
Trade union GMB called on the government to protect the AA from being “asset stripped” as the motoring group accepted a take-over offer from private equity firms.
Esure adds former Sky betting and gaming CTO to top team
Esure Group has recruited Andy Burton as chief technology officer and appointed Justin Cockerill as chief commercial officer.
Go Compare parent share price jumps 18% as group agrees Future sale terms
Shares at Goco, parent company of Go Compare, were almost 18% up this morning as the company agreed terms of an acquisition offer from British publisher Future, in a deal valuing the group at £594m.
AA accepts take-over offer from private equity firms
Motoring group the AA has confirmed it reached an agreement on the terms of recommended cash acquisition under which Towerbrook Capital Partners and Warburg Pincus International will acquire the business.
Briefing: "Alexa, do voice assistants have a future in insurance?"
As Confused launches an Alexa Skill that allows customers to get quotes from their Amazon Echo, Post content director Jonathan Swift asks other insurers about their experience of voice assistant technology to see if it is merely a gimmick - or has a…
Insurers told soul-searching, not superficial projects, will improve industry's reputation
Insurance companies must ensure they are “purpose-led” in order to restore the sector’s reputation, Blueprint for Better Business CEO Chris Wookey told members of the Worshipful Company of Insurers last week.
Analysis: With Ageas and Aviva on board, will Caura be the first motor insurtech to successfully target mainstream ‘Joe Bloggs’?
This week Caura launched its app-based motor insurance offering, which the insurtech claims has the most extensive underwriting footprint of any UK start-up to date.
False job fraud: The crooks capitalising on Covid unemployment
Under the weight of coronavirus curtailment the UK unemployment rate has hit 4.8%. Crafty criminals are capitalising on unsuspecting job hunters to ‘phish’ personal information and commit insurance fraud.