Insurance Post Forward Features List

Please find below full details of articles currently being written for Insurance Post. 

The following features, podcasts and analysis pieces are being produced for Insurance Post in the next few weeks.

If you would like to contribute comment, information or data to the features listed below, then please contact the journalist directly by no later than the deadline stated. Telephone interviews will be given priority over written submissions.

 

Get involved

Diary of an Insurer gives those working in the insurance industry a glimpse of what the working week is like for individuals in different functions across an array of companies in the sector. To share your experience of working in insurance please email emma.hughes@infopro-digital.com.

Our ‘60 Seconds with’ column allows you to really find out what makes middle managers tick. What can’t they live without, what chores do they hate and what would they call their autobiography? Do you know a middle manager who we should get to know better? Contact emma.hughes@infopro-digital.com.

Also, if you would like to share your thoughts on the latest insurance news, data, and market activity, then please email your opinion piece ideas to postonline@infopro-digital.com.

FEATURES

Topic: How to reduce the cost of motor insurance

Writer: Emma Ann Hughes (emma.hughes@infopro-digital.com)

Deadline: Friday 15 March

Ahead of Insurance Post’s Motor Insurance Week, and hot on the heels of the Association of British Insurers unveiling a 10-point plan to combat the rising costs of motor cover, Post will unpick what it takes to push down premiums.

  • Can industry action to tackle claims costs, operational efficiency, and weed out fraudsters alone reduce premiums?
  • What action must the government and local councils take to reduce the volume of claims from pothole covered roads and put a stop to customers falsely claiming to have whiplash, tinnitus, etc?
  • What steps could the Labour party, which pledged to tackle soaring motor insurance premiums, take if it was to sweep into power later this year?
  • How can the industry improve how it explains to customers and politicians what is pushing up the price of motor insurance premiums?

Topic: Cover for property damage caused by cyber-attacks

Writer: Harry Curtis (harry.curtis@infopro-digital.com)

Deadline: Tuesday 19 March

Increasingly, clients in heavy industry and manufacturing are looking for insurance solutions to cover property damage that occurs due to cyber-attacks. 

Moves to strip so-called ‘silent cyber’ risk out of property policies in recent years have meant that to meet this demand, insurers have created new products. Insurance Post asks:

  • How big a protection gap did ‘silent cyber’ mandates create and how is the industry working to plug that gap?
  • How has the increased use of operational technology and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems in industrial settings increased the cyber attack surface of industrial and manufacturing clients?
  • What physical problems and damage to property can occur as a result of cyber-attacks?
  • Is business interruption that results from property damage caused by a cyber-attack insurable?
  • Where is the best home for this type of risk: with an organisation’s property insurances or as an extension of a corporate cyber policy?

Topic: How insurers are working to satisfy brokers

Writer: Fiona Nicolson (fiona.nicolson@googlemail.com) 

Deadline: Wednesday 20 March

Brokers need insurers to find fresh ways to cover risks such as increased frequency of flooding and cyber-attacks, plus up their game when it comes to service. 

  • What kind of service and product requests do insurers expect to receive from brokers approaching their stands at this year’s BIBA Conference?
  • Have insurers improved their service, after many brokers complained about slow staff responses and being left hanging on the telephone as the UK emerged from the pandemic?
  • How are insurers using technology and staff to meet brokers and their clients product and service requirements?
  • How are providers supporting brokers to solve existing risks and partner with customers to tackle emerging risks?
  • What do insurers expect from brokers so that they can meet their needs today and in the future?

Topic: Tackling the ‘ethnicity penalty’ in insurance 

Writer: Aamina Zafar (aamina_zafar@hotmail.com)

Deadline: Wednesday 20 March

Once again, the insurance industry has been accused of discriminating against individuals living in ethnically diverse areas.

BBC Verify claimed car insurance quotes were a third more expensive in some areas of England with the biggest minority ethnicity populations after it collected thousands of quotes based on identical driver information, but with different addresses.

Areas with a high number of people from ethnic minorities saw higher prices, even when road accident and crime levels were similar.

  • Why can motor and home insurance policies cost more in ethnically diverse areas?
  • What are the regulatory requirements? Equality Act, etc?
  • How can the insurance industry do a better job of demonstrating racism isn’t a factor in pricing for personal lines policies in these areas?
  • What steps are being taken to make sure any past bias isn’t baked into modern underwriting systems reliant on data?

 

PODCASTS

The following podcasts are being produced for Insurance Post.

If you would like a spokesperson to take part in one of the podcasts listed below, please email emma.hughes@infopro-digital.com.

The podcasts will be recorded on Thursday 18 and Thursday 25 April in our studios at Infopro Digital’s offices, 133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX.

What is going on with EV insurance

Data from QBE shows electric vehicles recorded a 50% premium in repair costs between 2021 and 2023 compared with their internal combustion engine counterparts and a 10% increase in days off road.

  • What is pushing up EV premiums?
  • What can be done to increase competition in the EV insurance market? 
  • How are insurers working with repair networks and manufacturers to reduce the cost of EV cover?
  • Will Tesla ever enter the UK motor insurance market?
  • Ultimately, how can the industry reduce the number of disgruntled EV drivers taking to social media and the personal finance pages of national newspapers to complain about soaring premiums or being unable to get cover?

Social housing providers in push to update cover

Social housing providers are being prompted to update their insurance coverage and give accurate rebuild costs by conducting reinstatement cost assessments. 
This comes after it has emerged that many providers are using outdated or inaccurate data to insure their properties. 
The push is a result of insurers’ growing concerns over inaccuracies in coverage and a greater need for more due diligence across the sector. 

  • What’s behind this trend?
  • What challenges do social housing providers face here?
  • How are they responding?
  • What unique tools are available to the sector to provide accurate figures?
     

Scanning the horizon for connected and complex risks

How did banks fast-track data security and efficiency and what lessons can insurers learn from the approach banks took?

  • How can insurers make sure they are spotting waves of future risks on the horizon and business opportunities in data?
  • How can risk managers and underwriters blend internal and external data sources to paint a picture of insurable risks and mitigation approaches that need to be developed with customers?
  • Can we expect to see more insurers partnering with Google Cloud to speed up real-time pricing and creating fresh products to address swiftly emerging risks?

Tackling Sexism in the City

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recent directive, requiring more than a thousand regulated institutions to report on sexual harassment, discrimination, and other non-financial misconduct cases, marks a pivotal moment in the industry’s approach to workplace culture.

  • What challenge does this create for insurers and brokerages that have not previously prioritised monitoring non-financial misconduct?
  • How does the complexity of modern communication methods, from emails and instant messaging to social media, amplify the difficulty of effectively monitoring for inappropriate behaviour?
  • Once insurers have captured and reported past incidents, how do you sustain an ongoing, proactive approach to monitoring and addressing misconduct?

How AI is changing cyber insurance

As part of Insurance Post’s second AI Week, we want to hear from cyber insurers about how artificial intelligence is resulting in more effective phishing emails, how the technology is being used to deep fake employees allowing access to systems, etc. 

  • What impact is the use of AI by cyber hackers having on the way cyber policies are written and the support insurers offer corporates under attack?
  • How is AI being used for customer personalisation?
  • How can insurers use AI to help customers facing a growing number of cyber criminals utilising AI for scams?

Why insurers should support menopausal colleagues

A menopause policy is a legal obligation. Employers have a legal requirement to provide a safe and supportive working environment for all employees, which includes supporting people going through menopause or perimenopause. 

  • How does menopause impact women at work?
  • How are insurers developing menopause policies?
  • What checks take place to ensure these policies translate to support for women at this stage in life?

Why loss adjusting is not just a science; it is an art

How are technological developments impacting and enhancing the work of loss adjusters? 

What technologies are create new ways of carrying out inspections, accessing information and communicating for loss adjusters?

What knowledge and skillset will loss adjusters need moving forward?

While the science of loss adjusting has increased significantly, how is the sector preserving the underlying skills (empathy and intuition) that constitute the art of loss adjusting?

Will AI ever replace the human component of loss adjusting?

Insurance Post’s Best Insurance Employers are back! 

Insurance Post’s Best Insurance Employers research returns in 2024 seeking the views of staff in broking, managing general agent and insurer firms to find out which organisations really go the extra mile for their people.

The survey only takes a matter of minutes to fill in with the top rated businesses picking up a prize at the British Insurance Awards. Click here to complete the survey.

If you think your business is the best in the UK, then get your colleagues to fill in our survey before 22 March and look out for the full ranking in 2024 and for the winner to be announced at the Royal Albert Hall on the 3 July. 

  • No, you can’t get final sign-off

Dear PR friends,
Following some requests received by Insurance Post’s freelancers and in-house journalists, we’d like to clarify a few points regarding quotations.

  • We prefer you to trust us and not ask to check the quotations. Interviews are recorded; the points made by the spokesperson will be reported faithfully.
  • For features, if you need to get the quotes approved, let us know in advance and get them signed off well within deadline. You’ll be able to see your spokesperson’s quotes, not the whole article.
  • In some cases (technical points, figures, dates, unusual spellings), we’re happy for you to check we didn’t make mistakes.
  • Only factual mistakes will be amended.
  • We have a style guide and we’ll stick to it.

If you find these rules unreasonable, you may opt out of contributing comments. But we hope to continue working with you in a constructive and trusting atmosphere.

The Insurance Post team

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