Post magazine – 15 January 2015

In this issue, industry players are fearful draft Competition and Markets Authority motor insurance obligations conflict with existing conduct regulation, amid concerns the watchdog is not giving firms enough time to implement its suggested reforms.

"The FCA over the past few years has been focusing much more on good customer outcomes rather than the quantity of disclosure to the customer,” said Direct Line Group motor insurance commercial director Gus Park. “One of the most important steps forward the FCA has made is to acknowledge customer outcomes are not necessarily best served by bombarding the customer with information.

"By prescribing a defined set of words and specific content [the CMA] is going against the approach the FCA uses for regulation.”

Also in the news, the soft UK insurance market has been tipped to harden in 2015, although there is still insufficient “pain” across the industry to spark material rate increases; and the cost of regulation, tax and immigration are the themes expected to come under the microscope following a plea for evidence on potential reinsurance reforms by City minister Andrea Leadsom MP.

Zurich UK General Insurance’s Dave Smith, Allianz UK’s Jon Dye and Evolution Underwriting Group’s Paul Upton are in the C-Suite. Smith argues that managing customer outcomes must become equal in importance to financial performance and risk; Dye warns that the next government must act to combat the biggest killer of 15 to 25-year-olds in the UK - road deaths; and Upton claims a new phase of uncertainty kicks off 2015 with more woes in the Eurozone and a looming general election.

DWF’s Jamie Taylor returns in Fraud Focus, looking at what measures, technology and legal reforms will be changing the landscape of fraud in 2015.

Rachael Adams speaks to HCML CEO Keith Bushnell, who has transformed the company from a loss-making business to a profitable leader in the health and wellbeing market. He explains the firm’s approach to absence management and how to take a proactive approach to sickness in the workplace.

Francesca Nyman looks at five trends that emerged in 2014, and wonders which, if any, will reach fruition in the next 12 months.

A year on from the terrible floods, we ask how insurers are prepared for future flood events and what they have learned since 2014. Also, unoccupied properties are a growing problem for insurers. We investigate what brokers should bear in mind when presenting information to underwriters. Finally, we report on how the increasing number of historic child abuse cases is placing new demands on public authorities, insurers and liability adjusters seeking the truth.

Enjoy the read!