Personal
Is the home insurance market set for a reckoning?
Editor’s View: Emma Ann Hughes warns home insurers to brace themselves to be the next target of policyholders’ wrath as moaning motorists are replaced by angry-looking property owners on national newspapers’ personal finance pages.
Q&A: Ben Smyth, Arma Karma
Ben Smyth, CEO of contents insurance start-up Arma Karma, talks to Tom Luckham about the insurtech’s past, future, and how young people view insurance.
Esure restores direct motor business
Esure has re-established its capacity to offer motor insurance quotes directly through its website following a planned six-week outage.
Axa reveals how AI is transforming the business
Axa UK & Ireland has 12 “between proof of concept and proof of value” artificial intelligence initiatives currently ongoing across the business, according to CEO Tara Foley.
Urban Jungle to use latest funding to expand product range
Home insurance startup Urban Jungle has raised £11.2M in its latest funding round led by existing investors, including Sony.
Allianz’s lawsuit against Revolut ends in settlement
Allianz Partners and Revolut have settled a lawsuit over an abandoned travel insurance deal that saw the companies trade blows in recent months, Insurance Post can reveal.
LV’s departing claims director Milliner tipped for DLG position
Allianz has confirmed Caroline Johnson as LV’s new general insurance claims director, with Martin Milliner set to depart the insurer after 18 years.
Axa CEO Foley on why another XL-sized deal isn’t on the cards
Axa UK & Ireland CEO Tara Foley won’t rule out another acquisition but said her growth plan for the business is to build plus consolidate everything currently within the multi-line provider.
Diary of an Insurer: Charles Taylor’s Dr Lynn Gordon
Dr Lynn Gordon, chief medical officer at Charles Taylor Assistance, is a lifeline for a woman whose husband has died abroad and organises a patient’s long-haul repatriation from Australia to the UK.
Motor premiums stabilise but cost to insurers mount
The Association of British Insurers’ motor insurance tracker has revealed that premiums increased by just 1% in the first quarter of 2024.
Are we ever going to stamp out underinsurance?
News Editor’s View: As Aviva’s broker barometer shows underinsurance remains a major concern for brokers, with almost three-quarters worried their clients may not have adequate cover, Scott McGee questions what the industry is doing to ensure everyone is…
Home insurance premiums climb by nearly a third
Home insurance premiums increased by 31% between January and March 2024, according to the latest research from Compare the Market.
ABI unveils financial inclusion strategy
The Association of British Insurers has unveiled a financial inclusion strategy, which commits to addressing “unfavourable” premium finance practices and suggests exploring ways to subsidise motor cover for some drivers.
Irish guidelines for assessing damages to push up premiums
Aine Tyrrell, partner at law firm DAC Beachcroft, explains why fresh guidelines for the assessment of damages in Northern Ireland could add to the costs faced by insurers and contribute further inflationary pressure to premiums for liability and motor…
Zurich and Freedom Services partnership targeting £50m GWP in year one
Zurich UK has penned a five-year deal with managing general agent Freedom Services under which the insurer will provide capacity for an existing commercial vehicle book as well as a fresh telematics play.
Tackling turbulence for pet insurers
The pet insurance market is not short on options - the issue consumers have is understanding the many different choices. With better data though Sara Costantini, CRIF’s regional director for the UK and Ireland, suggests insurers would be better equipped…
Why non-standard home insurance is increasingly the norm
Non-standard household is a growth area but all too often mainstream insurers turn down the business, so Rachel Gordon examines is it time for a rethink or can MGAs meet the need?
Esure offers customers six-months free cover for latest tech glitch
Esure has confirmed that it has offered six months free home insurance to “a small number of customers” for a “technical error”, which means customers who renewed on 1 April can’t make claims or update their details via the provider’s website.
MGAA’s Keating on the need for more data sharing
Trade Voice: Mike Keating, CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association, says data sharing is a two-way street and capacity providers need to be more open with MGAs.
Big Interview: Jason Storah, Aviva
In his first full profile interview since taking over as UK and Ireland General Insurance CEO at Aviva, Jason Storah sits down with Scott McGee to talk about the insurer's re-entry into Lloyd's, where else Aviva could yet expand, and the differences…
FCA to work with Big Tech on sharing data with insurers
The Financial Conduct Authority intends to examine how Big Tech firms’ datasets could unlock better insurance products, more competitive prices, and wider choice for customers.
Diary of an Insurer: Avantia’s Jess Woodhouse
Jess Woodhouse, chief operating officer at Avantia Group’s specialist home insurance provider Homeprotect, is up with the lark (or her children), ready to manage her team and discover new technology.
How an AI-assisted motor claims handler cared for me
Editor’s View: Emma Ann Hughes shares how a recent call to her motor insurer highlighted why humans will always be needed to care for policyholders in their hour of need.
Motor premiums fall for first time in over two years
Car insurance premiums have fallen by 5% during the past three months, according to the latest data from Confused.com.