Property - commercial
Dagenham blaze highlights ongoing high-rise fire safety problems
After a fire tore through a multi-storey building in Dagenham, East London, insurers have observed new notifications regarding building fire safety defects continue to trickle in, and cladding problems highlighted by the Grenfell Tower blaze remain.
Claims ‘hell’ with Policy Expert causes mother to set up group
A mother-of-two, who has been through a 17-month battle with Policy Expert following a fire at her home, has set up an action group to help “other families going through hell with claims.”
Insurers need to unlock the mass-timber revolution
Judith Schulz, fire safety engineering lead at Arup, tackles what insurers need to know about mass-timber risks.
Use ‘data explosion’ to make property claims more predictable
Lessons could be learned from the motor sector in terms of making property insurance data more standardized to help with predictability and clarity around claims.
Q&A: Marc Lewis, Ecclesiastical
Marc Lewis, underwriting director for the UK for Ecclesiastical, reveals how the insurer is embracing artificial intelligence plus its plans to grow the casualty business.
Why asbestos should be in the conversations at renewal
Martin Parker, head of construction underwriting for the UK at specialist insurer Markel, highlights the increasing risk to the many contractors not exposed to the height of the asbestos crisis in the 1970s and 1980s.
Diary of an Insurer: Lisa Usman, McLarens
Lisa Usman, adjuster and conservation specialist at McLarens, helps a museum hit by a storm, tackles broken glass, tries to save soaked photographs and meets with restorers.
Should UK insurers brace for more strong tornadoes?
After homes in Manchester were torn apart by Storm Gerrit, Tegwen Gabb, senior weather and climate analyst at Eurotempest, examines whether tornadoes could become increasingly frequent in the UK and the consequences for the insurance industry.
ABI still 40% short of capacity for fire safety scheme
The Association of British Insurers’ Fire Safety Reinsurance Scheme, designed by McGill and Partners, is still some way off launching, despite numerous claims it would be ready by the end of summer 2023.
Vandals continue to target heritage buildings
Nine out of 10 heritage organisations have experienced crime within the space of 12 months, according to research commissioned by Ecclesiastical.
Questions remain as more brokers sign leasehold pledge
Seven more broking firms have signed up to the leasehold commission pledge in association with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Podcast: How climate change is transforming insurance
Climate change means the areas impacted by subsidence will double by 2050, and double again by 2080, Heikki Vesanto, manager for GIS data science at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, has warned.
Why generative AI is a commercial insurance game-changer
Andy Moss, co-founder and CEO of Send, on how artificial intelligence isn't the future of commercial insurance but an already embedded part of operations today.
Axa reveals how it is already using AI
To kick off Insurance Post’s AI Week, Dougie Barnett, director of mid-market and customer risk management at Axa Commercial, exclusively reveals how the provider has used artificial intelligence to complete tasks in hours rather than months.
Storm Babet to cost insurers at least £450m
Fresh estimates from PWC calculate the costs of damage due to the severe weather caused by storm Babet to be between £450m and £650m.
Why cannabis farms are a growing problem for property insurers
Analysis: Fiona Nicolson examines why the illegal cultivation of cannabis is a growing problem for both residential and commercial landlords as well as the wider community.
Five brokers to scrap third-party leasehold commissions
Five insurance broking groups have pledged to stop sharing buildings insurance commissions with landlords and to cap their own fees.
Q&A: Martin Langhorst, Davies
Martin Langhorst, new major loss director at Davies, reflects on returning to the business after a decade away, and shares his plans for ensuring that his division is the best in the market.
Top 75 MGAs: ICW Insurance Services
With offices in London, Belfast and South Shields, ICW’s links with mortgage lenders have made it one of the UK’s prominent providers of building warranties and building control.
Insurers’ profitability to remain lower than cost of capital
Data analysis: General insurers are adjusting rapidly to the new higher interest rate era ushered in by the most intense monetary policy tightening since the 1980s but profitability is unlikely to soar back to pre-pandemic levels imminently.
Ramifications of crumbling concrete for insurers
Rachael Murphy, senior associate at Browne Jacobson, considers the type of claims insurers can expect from issues with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.