Consolidation
Cullum’s consolidation credentials face test as he joins Penta in backing GRP
Global Risk Partners warned it must adapt quickly amid market uncertainty.
Editor's comment: Harvest time in EC3?
The UK recently celebrated the Harvest Festival, a time when the growing season has finished and the mature crops have been gathered successfully, ready to feed hungry mouths over the cold winter months.
High Street Brokers: Word on the street
While many had expected the increase in alternative methods of buying insurance to signal the demise of high-street brokers, they are still going strong. What are they doing right?
Legal Market: Joining forces
Mergers and acquisitions in legal markets show no sign of abating. But what is behind the desire to consolidate law firms, and what does it mean for the insurance industry?
View from the Top: You can’t keep a good broker down
With the British Insurance Brokers’ Association conference taking place this week it seems appropriate to consider the sheer resilience of the independent broking sector in the UK market.
View from the Top: Because we’re worth it
Forget the naysayers, brokers play a crucial role in the relationship between insurers and policyholders, says David Ross.
Smaller brokers have nothing to fear from Financial Conduct Authority
An ageing workforce rather than more stringent regulation is likely to drive consolidation of smaller brokers in the year ahead, according to market experts.
Kwik Fit helps staff find new roles ahead of Glasgow consolidation
Kwik Fit Financial Services will press ahead with consolidating its insurance business in Glasgow, after revealing that the majority of the 170 employees affected by the closure of its Birmingham office have secured new positions.
MENA insurance market needs less fragmentation
The future of the Middle East and North Africa insurance market remains bright, but local insurance companies must transition from fragmented companies to become national champions, according to a survey.
Personal injury firms feel pinch as pressure to consolidate intensifies
The sudden demise of Manchester-based personal injury law firm Donns, with ongoing cases sold on and all staff made redundant, has been hailed as a portent of market shake-up and consolidation, with other firms set to be swallowed up.
Editor's comment: Consolidation casualties coming?
The specifics of what went wrong at North West personal injury firm Donns - forcing it into administration at the cost of 42 jobs, while 2500 cases were still in progress - will remain the subject of speculation for some time.
View from the Top: An illusion of choice
With no sign of a turning market, a bout of consolidation looks on the cards
Editor's comment: Speculation turns into action
The chatter around ‘Tesco Law’, alternative business structures and law firm consolidation appears to be getting louder each week as another eye-opening deal is unveiled to the media.
Mergers & Acquisitions: Bucking the trend
As the market weighs up the value of assets such as Groupama and Brit’s UK arms, deal making by insurers appears to be buoyant, especially when compared to other industry sectors. But is this a trend that is set to continue?
Review of the year - Health insurance: Seeds of change
Despite a tough 12 months, and gloom forecast for 2012, the health insurance sector has planted important seeds for future growth this year.
Review of the year - Loss adjusting: Ups and downs
2011 was another rollercoaster ride in the loss adjusting sector, with claims surges, criticism from insurers, struggles with recruitment, and mergers and acquisitions.
View from the top: An apple a day
‘We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them,’ was something Apple founder Steve Jobs once said to a journalist eager to unpick the secrets that underpinned the firm’s meteoric rise to become one of the biggest companies in…
Insurer regionalisation: Spreading your wings
A number of industry players have recently bucked the trend of rationalising, to open new regional bases. Is localism a pasing fad or here to stay?
Interview - Konsta & Payton: Let's get together
The high-profile merger of Clyde & Co and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert has impacted the legal and insurance industries. Michael Payton and Simon Konsta explain the differences.
Interest from Middle East inevitable due to depressed share prices
The European insurance industry is likely to see an investor from the Middle East take a shareholding in an established brand within six to eight months, according to a regional expert.
View from the top: It’s no accident
The number of claims for accidental damage has fallen sharply in the past few years, which has far-reaching implications for the motor insurance, body shop and vehicle recovery sectors alike.
Law firm mergers: Transforming the legal landscape
Insurer demands for scale and scope plus the emergence of Alternative Business Structures are fuelling the fires of law firm consolidation.
Escott returns to London market as Capita MD
The former boss of Brit Insurance's UK business has returned to the London market commercial space with Capita. Brent Escott — who worked for the Lloyd's group between 2002 and 2007, holding the position of managing director of the UK division, before…
Alternative business structures: I bought the law
With the arrival of alternative business structures imminent, Amy Ellis looks at the pros and cons of the ability for those outside the legal sphere to invest in services.