Insurer
Kennedys promotes five solicitors
Kennedys has promoted five solicitors to partner within the UK, and two Hong Kong partners to the global partnership.
William Russell expands global sales team
International expatriate insurance specialist William Russell has restructured and expanded its global sales team with the appointment of six new sales professionals.
Evolution appoints commercial underwriter
Commercial underwriting specialist Evolution Underwriting has appointed James Curtin as a commercial underwriter working within the new business team.
One Group assists charity with £25 000
Travel claims specialist One Group has backed the Willow Foundation, a charity set up by football legend Bob Wilson and his wife Megs to provide special days for seriously ill 16 to 40-year-olds, and pledged to raise £25 000 in 2010.
Time to test yourself: A selection of topical questions from the question banks of ED.Learn - The CII's online training resource
Whether studying for Chartered Insurance Institute exams, or just to test yourself, see how you do. The following is a selection of self-test questions fro mIF1, the certificate in in surance, within the ed.LEARN online learning module. For more details…
Career development & CSR news: Salary offers fall back as vacancies climb higher
The number of positions that employers are seeking to fill within the general insurance sector has risen to its highest level since December 2009, according to recruitment firm Reed.
Career development & CSR news: 40 artists make up Catlin Art Prize shortlist
The shortlist has been announced for the 4th annual Catlin Art Prize, celebrating the work of recently graduated artists.
Public sector - emerging risks: Built for endurance
With sustainability now a buzzword for central and local governments, Jo Hardcastle looks at the emerging associated risks it brings.
Public sector - benchmarking: Join the club
A new club set up by Alarm and Cipfra will allow public sector organisations to assess their risk management processes. Sam Barrett reports on the formation of this useful service.
Insurer ratings: The rate debate
With the troubles that have beset Quinn recently, Daniel Dunkley asks whether brokers should take more notice of whether an insurer has a rating or not.
Comment: Everything to play for
Solvency II has created a cloud of uncertainty over captive insurance companies. Alan Fleming explains.
Five is magic number for benchmarking
Challenged as to whether there is a an ideal number or critical mass of companies that need to take part in external benchmarking exercises to render them effective, Jeff Rieder, president of the Ward Group, suggested five is the magic number.
Lowest common denominator curb
Although modern software systems can potentially track and monitor an almost infinite number of metrics, the ability to externally benchmark these against competitors will always be constrained by the "lowest common denominator effect", said Eugene Lee,…
External comparisons can create unexpected outcomes
External benchmarking can deliver unexpected and additional results, it emerged during a question and answer session. Jeff Rieder, president of the Ward Group, said experience has shown that, when looking at the top quartile of performers, those…
Flaws found in current evaluation methods
The three methods UK insurers typically use to evaluate their performance relative to industry peers all have failings. That was the key message of Paul Tomlinson, director at Deloitte UK Consulting, who outlined the major benchmarking challenges…
Beware of benchmarking pitfalls warns Axa chief
Axa Canada has been benchmarking for years — the only problem was that none of its three measures were giving the insurer what it needed to improve both processes and costs.
RSA "ahead of curve" with cuts
RSA UK chief executive Adrian Brown has said the insurer's swingeing job cuts last year meant it was "ahead of the curve" in responding to the tough economic conditions.
Markel growth despite quake
Markel International reported a 13% growth in gross written premiums in the first quarter of the year to $208.2m (Q1 2009: $185.0m). However, the insurer's combined ratio deteriorated to 109% (Q1 2009: 97%), which it attributed to $17m or 12 points of…
XL boss bemoans 'heavy' Q1 catastrophe claims hit
XL Capital's property & casualty business's combined ratio slipped to 100.5% (Q1 2009: 92.1%) following what chief executive Mike McGavick described as "one of the heaviest levels of first quarter catastrophe activity in history".
Allianz hit by high cat losses
Allianz Group has reported that its property & casualty business wrote gross premiums written of €14.0bn (Q1 2009: €13.9bn) in the first quarter of 2010.
Solvency II could see MGA rise
The rise in capital requirements due to Solvency II could drive up the number of managing general agents in the UK market.
Intermediaries team up to make PMI sales push
Two independent health insurance intermediaries have teamed up to offer a range of cover for children and people who travel abroad for medical or cosmetic treatment.
Oil spill could cost $3.5bn
The Deepwater Horizon oil slick approaching the Louisiana coastline could cost the insurance industry $3.5bn (£2.3bn).
Dismore loses seat
Insurance issue campaigner Andrew Dismore has lost his Hendon seat to the Conservative candidate, Matthew Offord, by 106 votes following a recount.