Insurance news

• Interview: Heather Wheeler: Picking up the baton

  27-10-2015 20:28
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Heather Wheeler MP has taken over as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Insurance and Financial Services. She talks to Post about her leadership style and what issues are on the agenda
  
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• Antares set to join Lloyd's Singapore platform

  27-10-2015 19:22
  Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) subsidiary Antares is set to
  become the latest carrier to join the Lloyd's Asia platform in
  Singapore, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  Sources said that Antares has hired former Zurich Singapore
  chief underwriting officer Li Shan Yeo as CEO of the new
  business.
  Antares Underwriting Asia will start writing a book of marine,
  property and specialty (re)insurance from 1 November, it is
  understood.
  Sources said that the Corporation of Lloyd's and the
  Monetary Authority
  
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• Editor's comment: Great Scott!

  27-10-2015 19:22
  
  Stephanie Denton Postonline Last week was Back to the Future day – 21 October 2015 – the date film character Marty McFly travels to in the second instalment of the sci-fi trilogy.
  
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• IPT increase could encourage driving without cover, AA warns

  27-10-2015 18:42
  
  James Verrinder Postonline The AA has warned that higher motor rates may lead to younger drivers taking to the road without cover or with false details.
  
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• FRC paper published on improving board succession

  27-10-2015 18:25
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline The Financial Reporting Council today (27 October) published a discussion paper on succession planning for UK boards in a bid to improve the process.
  
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• Emergence of 'disruptors' keeping established motor players on their toes

  27-10-2015 17:47
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline The launch of a broking start-up that provides motor insurance by the hour has been hailed as an example of a “disruptor” that will force established players to refocus on their customer proposition.
  
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• Rival propositions expected as mass-market telematics app goes live

  27-10-2015 16:22
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Telematics providers and insurers are backing a mass-market motor offering fronted by black box company Carrot amid suggestions other companies - including mobile phone networks - could follow suit.
  
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• Top Mark sees 50% of MGA's property work passed to Pinnacle

  27-10-2015 15:58
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Pinnacle Loss Adjusters has secured its first panel nomination after taking on 50% of Giant Risk Solution’s property adjusting work in the UK and Northern Ireland.
  
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• Top Mark sees 50% of MGA's property work passed to Pinaccle

  27-10-2015 15:58
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Pinnacle Loss Adjusters has secured its first panel nomination after taking on 50% of Giant Risk Solution’s property adjusting work in the UK and Northern Ireland.
  
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• ERS snares fraudster who is given six-month jail term

  27-10-2015 15:29 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Raymond Fearnon ordered to pay £5,000 legal costs with sentence suspended for two years.
  
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• XL Catlin makes $50mn reinsurance saving for 2016

  27-10-2015 13:43
  XL Catlin has made a $50mn saving for 2016 after centralising
  its outwards reinsurance spend, the company has said.
  On a conference call discussing Q3 results yesterday (26
  October), chief underwriting officer for insurance Paul Brand said
  the group had combined several reinsurance programmes following
  XL's $4.2bn acquisition of Catlin.
  The $50mn saving, however, is only "a portion" of what
  XL Catlin can ultimately achieve, CEO Mike McGavick added.
  The Insurance Insider reported back in
  Septembe
  
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• MMC posts 2% organic broking growth in Q3

  27-10-2015 13:43
  Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) posted a 2 percent
  underlying increase in its overall insurance revenue to $1.6bn in
  Q3, as both Marsh and Guy Carpenter delivered organic growth.
  However, on a reported basis, broking revenue dropped by 2
  percent to $1.58bn, as negative currency impacts outweighed the
  both organic and acquisition-led growth.
  Guy Carpenter's third quarter revenue was $261mn, an
  increase of 2 percent on an underlying basis, marking a turnaround
  from the 2 percent fall seen in
  
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• Axa P&C rate increases boost revenues

  27-10-2015 13:43
  Average rate increases of 2.3 percent helped French insurance giant
  Axa boost its P&C revenues by 1 percent over the first nine
  months of the year.
  The global insurer's trading update showed that revenues
  reached EUR24.8bn ($27.4bn) in the year to 30 September, with the
  modest increase in top line primarily driven by personal lines.
  Mature markets were reported as "stable", with tariff
  increases in France, the UK and Ireland, and Germany offset by
  lower volumes in Spain and construction...
  
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• Argo sees top and bottom line improvements

  27-10-2015 13:43
  New York-listed carrier Argo Group reported a 4.7 percent rise
  in third quarter operating profits to $24.6mn last night (26
  October).
  The post-tax operating income equated to $0.86 per diluted
  share, narrowly surpassing the $0.81 seen in Q3 2014.
  Average operating return on equity widened from 5.8 percent to
  5.9 percent.
  The Bermudian also saw top line growth in all of its divisions
  except for international specialty, boosting group gross written
  premiums by 6.9 percent to $531.4mn.
  Pre-tax unde
  
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• Fraudster handed suspended jail sentence following ERS private prosecution

  27-10-2015 13:39
  
  James Verrinder Postonline An insurance fraudster has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay the costs of legal fees after a private prosecution launched by ERS.
  
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• Product liability comes to fore as motor manufacturers take on autonomous vehicle liability

  27-10-2015 13:31
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Motor manufacturers accepting liability for autonomous vehicle crashes does not signal the demise of motor insurance, according to industry experts, who have suggested developments will instead lead to product liability playing a more prominent role.
  
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• MMC nine-month broking profit rises 1.3% despite revenue drop

  27-10-2015 13:06
  
  Revenue fell 2% as strong dollar triggered foreign exchange losses
  
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• FCA communications inquiry billed as opportunity for insurers

  27-10-2015 12:57
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Insurers have been urged to change functions of the market that are “not working” by “grasping the opportunity” presented by the Financial Conduct Authority's consultation on improving communications with customers.
  
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• Biba Young Broker of the Year Award 2016 open for entries

  27-10-2015 11:46
  
  Award will be presented at Biba's 2016 conference in May.
  
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• Heca teams up with Partner Re for Italian growth

  27-10-2015 11:25
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Italian insurance agent Heca has agreed a new partnership with Partner Re Wholesale, the specialist SME-focused division of global reinsurer Partner Re.
  
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• Octo using real-time weather data in telematics mobile app

  27-10-2015 10:42
  
  Data comes from IBM and The Weather Company
  
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• Europe C-Suite: Success in international markets demands strong cultural awareness

  27-10-2015 10:30
  
  Bart De Smet Postonline When considering international expansion, one thing is often overlooked, and yet it should be the number one priority for CEOs: the need to recognise and respond to local cultures and ways of doing business.
  
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• C-Suite: Success in international markets demands strong cultural awareness

  27-10-2015 10:30
  
  Bart De Smet Postonline When considering international expansion, one thing is often overlooked, and yet it should be the number one priority for CEOs: the need to recognise and respond to local cultures and ways of doing business.
  
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• Cunningham Lindsey promotes Gargano to broker business development director

  27-10-2015 09:49
  
  Gargano has been with the company since 2009 and will be covering the South and South East of the UK.
  
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• Cunningham Lindsey promotes new southern broker development head

  27-10-2015 09:41
  
  Steve Gargano has been at the loss adjustor for nearly 7 years
  
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• Gallagher hires former Hyperion CIO to lead new technical board

  27-10-2015 09:33
  
  David Jack previously spent two years at Hyperion Insurance Group
  
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• Broker Apprentice 2015: Charlie Barrett

  27-10-2015 09:30 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Meet the third of the six new apprentices as we get set to start recording the 2015 series.
  
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• Allianz launches risk management tool through telematics team Lightfoot

  27-10-2015 09:18
  
  Customers will also get discounted telematics devices
  
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• Dash cam use is on the rise - Garmin

  27-10-2015 09:11
  
  Dash cams can help lower premiums and chart crash data in a collision
  
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• Brokerbility Academy welcomes new wave of apprentices

  27-10-2015 09:00
  
  The network developed the academy in May 2014
  
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• Zurich acquires in Hong Kong

  27-10-2015 08:52
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline Zurich has bought small general insurer Kono Insurance in Hong Kong for an undisclosed fee.
  
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• Be Wiser wins apprenticeship employer award

  27-10-2015 08:48
  
  The broker has long invested in promoting the value of apprenticeships
  
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• AIG appoints first global head of cyber

  27-10-2015 04:43
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline Tracie Grella, AIG's global head of professional liability, has become AIG's first global head of cyber for commercial lines.
  
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• XL Catlin hit by integration costs and Tianjin claims

  27-10-2015 04:01
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline XL Catlin's first full quarter of results as a combined company saw heavy integration costs and a huge bill for the Tianjin port explosion.
  
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• Milliner resigns from Suncorp

  27-10-2015 03:33
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline Mark Milliner, head of personal lines at Suncorp, has resigned.
  
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• XL Catlin profits hit by Tianjin and integration costs

  27-10-2015 01:18
  In its first period of combined reporting, XL Catlin saw operating
  net income decrease to $70.8mn for Q3, down from $187mn for the
  same quarter last year as it missed Wall Street earnings forecasts.
  At $0.23 a share, the performance was below analysts'
  consensus of $0.40 a share.
  The group said that the bottom line had been affected by more
  than $55mn in integration costs related to XL's recent
  acquisition of Catlin.
  Separately, the group also took $95.7mn hit from...
  
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• WR Berkley beats with $117.6mn Q3 profit

  27-10-2015 01:18
  WR Berkley has reported an operating income of $117.6mn for the
  third quarter, down from $141.6mn generated in the same period last
  year.
  However, at $0.91 a share, operating profits outperformed Wall
  Street consensus forecasts of $0.81 a share.
  The carrier saw gross written premium increase marginally to
  $1.82bn in 2015 from $1.78bn during Q3 last year.
  Its consolidated combined ratio remained stable at 93.7 percent,
  a slight increase from 93.5 percent during the same period in
  2014.
  The compan
  
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• Everest Re beats on Q3 earnings despite cat losses

  27-10-2015 01:18
  Everest Re reported a 29 percent drop in third quarter operating
  income to $200.2mn but still came in comfortably ahead of Wall
  Street expectations.
  At $4.53 a share, the performance was ahead of analysts'
  consensus forecasts of $4.02 a share.
  However net profits dropped significantly from $274.9mn to
  $88.6mn as realized capital losses of $111.7mn hit the bottom
  line.
  Meanwhile, operating profits were dented as net investment
  income dropped almost 19 percent to $115.5mn.
  On the underwriting side
  
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• Axis termination fee sends PartnerRe to net loss

  27-10-2015 01:18
  PartnerRe fell to a net loss of $243.3mn as its third quarter
  numbers were impacted by the $315.0mn termination fee and expenses
  it paid in relation to its proposed merger with Axis and realized
  and unrealized investment losses of $121.8mn.
  Operating profits were broadly stable, however, at $211.6mn,
  compared to $226.7mn in Q3 2014, as interim CEO David Zwiener
  pointed to strong underlying results.
  Indeed the reinsurer, which is being bought by Exor, reported a
  non-life combined ratio that impro
  
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• Adverse development and cats send profits down at The Hartford

  27-10-2015 01:18
  A fall in profits generated by The Hartford's P&C
  operations contributed to core earnings dropping 24 percent to
  $364mn at the US insurer in the third quarter.
  However the company offered some positive news for investors as
  it said standard commercial price increases at renewal averaged 2
  percent.
  P&C earnings dropped 29 percent to $251mn and included
  higher homeowners and cat losses in its personal lines division
  along with an increase in auto frequency trends.
  Core earnings were also i
  
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