Insurance news

• Hudson fleshes out Old Mutual specialty plans

  07-12-2015 23:53
  Major South African insurance group Old Mutual will look to enter
  the specialty insurance market by leveraging Lloyd's
  underwriting, according to Martin Hudson, CEO of its sub-Saharan
  specialty vehicle.
  Back in October, The Insurance Insider revealed that Old Mutual
  Specialty Insurance (OMSI) had hired the former director of
  underwriting at Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyd's to spearhead its
  expansion.
  Speaking to this publication late last month, Hudson explained
  that the structure will see Lloyd's und
  
  Read more

• Bring in Cyber Re, say Catlin and Blunkett

  07-12-2015 23:53
  The UK needs a state-backed indemnity pool for cyber attacks,
  Lord David Blunkett and Stephen Catlin have claimed.
  The insurance industry needs a "Cyber Re" as it cannot
  currently cover the scale of potential losses arising from a cyber
  attack alone, the XL Catlin executive deputy chairman said during
  CFC Underwriting's cyber symposium last week (3 December).
  Catlin's comments came after Blunkett, the former UK Home
  Secretary, claimed that the country should establish a
  government-backed cyber p
  
  Read more

• Amlin and Equinox enter cyber market with new hires

  07-12-2015 23:53
  Amlin and Price Forbes managing general agent (MGA) Equinox are
  the latest entrants into the cyber market, as the London cyber
  talent merry-go-round continues to spin.
  The Insurance Insider has learned Iain
  Ainslie, technology and cyber liability underwriter at Ace, has
  been hired by the MGA to start up a new cyber division.
  Ainslie has been in the role at Ace for more than six years.
  Meanwhile, as revealed by this publication on Friday (4
  December), Amlin has also hired...
  
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• Zurich shares trade down 5%

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Shares in Zurich Insurance Group closed down 4.9
  percent on Friday (4 December) after another tumultuous week for
  the insurance giant.
  The company told Bloomberg on Thursday (3 December) that it was
  upping its planned job cuts from 440 to 1,800, including 500 jobs
  at Zurich Germany, 440 in the UK, 360 at its global corporate
  business and 200 general insurance positions in Switzerland.
  Earlier in the week Zurich announced that CEO Martin Senn had
  stepped down, following months of...
  
  Read more

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• XL $7.8mn double insurance suit dismissed from UK court

  07-12-2015 19:52
  A $7.8mn lawsuit brought by XL against Axa has been dismissed from
  the UK courts, after the French insurer succeeded in its
  application for proceedings to be brought in its home state.
  UK-domiciled XL Insurance Company is seeking to sue Axa
  Corporate Solutions Assurance for failing to pay what it believes
  is Axa's fair share of a claim related to a train crash in
  California in 2008.
  XL and Axa were co-insurers of Delaware Company Connex Railroad,
  which is affiliated...
  
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• US commercial buyer's market to continue in 2016: Wells Fargo

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Commercial insureds in the US will benefit from mid-to-high
  single-digit rate decreases across most lines of business in 2016
  as a buyer's market continues for commercial insurance,
  according to Wells Fargo.
  In its latest outlook on the sector, the broker said softening
  would be driven by competitive forces driven by new and existing
  capital deployed in the market.
  For underwriters some of the premium lost through falling rates
  will be offset by GDP growth, which should lead to higher revenues,.
  
  Read more

• Two Heath Lambert units reinstated in $6mn legacy dispute

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Two former subsidiaries of Heath Lambert have been reinstated as
  part of a legacy reinsurance dispute between the AJ Gallagher-owned
  broker and American International Group (AIG) subsidiary The
  Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (TICSP).
  TICSP sued Heath Lambert, which now trades as Gallagher Heath,
  for $6mn after it was unable to collect on a legacy reinsurance
  policy.
  The claims relate to two personal injury and property damage
  policies written for Castle & Cooke, a fruit compa
  
  Read more

• Tom Bolt's best quotes

  07-12-2015 19:52
  On casualty reserves"The thing is with casualty reserves - you're on your
  third child before you realise you're pregnant"http://www.insuranceinsider.com/assets/_files/emags/Monte_Carlo_2015_Day_3/index.html#/6/
  On the wholesale market"The years of being able to sit back and get something by
  working with the wholesale market - which we had a great and
  wonderful symbiotic relationship with - I think those days are long
  gone, and I don't think they're coming back"
  http://www.insuranceinsider.com/-1
  
  Read more

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• Spotlight on underwriting for PRA in 2016

  07-12-2015 19:52
  UK supervisory body the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will
  begin to shift its focus toward underwriting and pricing governance
  from next year, it announced last week (3 December).
  Speaking at the Westminster Business Forum, the PRA's
  director of general insurance Chris Moulder said that in the
  build-up to Solvency II - which comes into effect on 1 January -
  the regulator had been broadly focused on capital and reserving.
  However, he added that its focus would now change.
  "We will...
  
  Read more

• Multi-speed market develops for excess casualty

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Pricing for US excess casualty insurance remains
  "lumpy", with some pockets still soft and other areas of
  the market continuing to see rate increases, according to
  underwriting sources.
  Recent broker reports have painted a picture of a clear
  buyer's market for the coverage, with some projecting rate
  falls of up to 10 percent in 2016.
  However, the movement of business between carriers as
  underwriters move in and out of excess casualty lines or
  re-underwrite their books has led to the...
  
  Read more

• Lloyd's in government cyber data sharing push

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Lloyd's is working with the UK and US governments to encourage
  anonymous data sharing in relation to cyber attacks, director of
  performance management Tom Bolt said in a speech today (7
  December).
  Speaking at an Insurance Institute of London lecture on managing
  global cyber risk aggregation, Bolt said his performance management
  data team was in discussions with the UK and US governments to get
  access to a common data stream. The data would be provided to the
  market on an...
  
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• Lancashire stock plummets 11.5%

  07-12-2015 19:52
  London-listed short-tail specialist Lancashire saw its share price
  fall by 11.5 percent today (7 December), knocking some £150mn
  off its market capitalisation.
  The company's shares settled at 579.5p per share when
  markets closed in London, compared to a 52-week high and low of
  506.0p and 772.9p respectively.
  The share price fall coincided with news broken earlier today by
  The Insurance Insider that Peter Scales and John Lynch,
  respectively CEO and CFO of Lancashire's Lloyd's managing
  agent
  
  Read more

• Higginbotham appointed life head at Swiss Re

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Swiss Re UK CEO Russell Higginbotham is to leave the post at the
  end of the year to become head of the group's life and health
  reinsurance products, The Insurance
  Insider has learned.
  Higginbotham is to take up the new role as of 1 January and will
  also join the group's reinsurance executive committee.
  He will continue to be based in London.
  Higginbotham replaces Thierry Léger, who has been appointed
  CEO of Swiss Re Life Capital Ltd and a member...
  
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• Deadline day approaches for Xchanging bids

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Ebix and IT services firm Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
  have just two more days to either submit a formal bid or walk away
  from the battle for UK technology outsourcer Xchanging.
  The race for Xchanging began after its rival Capita and private
  equity house Apollo approached the firm about a takeover during the
  summer, as disclosed by Xchanging on 5 October.
  Capita began its pursuit on 11 August, submitting a
  non-binding conditional proposal for 140p a share in cash that...
  
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• Cat risk pools win support at COP21 conference

  07-12-2015 19:52
  The UN has launched a new climate resilience initiative aimed at
  providing more than 30 vulnerable countries with $2bn of insurance
  coverage against the risk of drought, flood and cyclones within the
  next five years.
  The organisation said the initiative, launched during the COP21
  Paris Climate Conference last week, would build on existing
  partnerships such as the African Risk Capacity (ARC), a risk
  sharing pool for African countries that provides cover against
  drought risk. Nephila is among the
  
  Read more

• Bolt exit opens door for new direction at PMD

  07-12-2015 19:52
  Tom Bolt's announced departure from the Lloyd's
  performance management directorate (PMD) could prompt a strategic
  rethink into how the division is run, according to industry
  sources.
  Last week, Lloyd's announced that its director of
  performance management intends to step down midway through 2016,
  having decided he wants to explore new opportunities.
  During his tenure, Bolt spearheaded the introduction of a
  Minimum Standard framework for Lloyd's managing agents;
  delivered the Claims Transformatio
  
  Read more

• BLM warns of spike in UK negligence claims

  07-12-2015 19:52
  An improving economy, inexperienced staff and changes to the
  regulatory environment are likely to cause a rise in professional
  negligence claims in the UK, according to BLM.
  The law firm published a white paper on 2 December on the impact
  of macroeconomic conditions on the insurance market, and in
  particular which industries were likely to see insurance claims
  made as a result of the improving economy.
  BLM noted that historically during times of economic trouble
  professional negligence claims ha
  
  Read more

• Bank of England to study insurers in 2016

  07-12-2015 19:52
  The Bank of England will review the risk of alternative reinsurance
  capital creating connections to other financial systems in the
  first half of 2016, as part of a wider review of insurers.
  The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) - one of the Bank's
  official committees - said in its Financial Stability Report that
  it would assess risks arising from the UK insurance sector further
  in 2016, covering both their underwriting and investment
  activities.
  The committee also said that alternative reinsuranc
  
  Read more

• ANV hires CRO from Talbot

  07-12-2015 19:52
  ANV has hired Sheldon Lacy as its new chief risk officer,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Lacy joins from Talbot, where he has served as head of business
  information for approximately a year and had held various roles for
  three years prior to that.
  He has also previously worked at RSA, Lloyds TSB and Danish
  carrier Codan.
  The hire is the latest in a stream of new appointments at ANV.
  The group hired Janet Helson as CEO of its Lloyd...
  
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• 19 UK carriers receive SII internal model approval

  07-12-2015 19:52
  UK regulator the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has
  approved the internal models of 19 insurers.
  Among the P&C carriers to receive the green light on
  Saturday (5 December) were Amlin, Aspen UK, Markel International,
  QBE Europe, RSA and Lloyd's of London.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider, Jim
  Bichard, UK Solvency II leader at PwC, explained how approval would
  work for carriers that had operations both inside and outside
  Lloyd's.
  "Some have gone for group approval separately
  to Lloyd's
  
  Read more

• Aviva launches £100m tech investment arm

  07-12-2015 18:28 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Aviva Ventures is set to invest £20m per year for five years in digital insurance technologies.
  
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• Aviva prioritises digital tech with venture capital fund

  07-12-2015 18:21
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Aviva will back new digital businesses with a venture capital program, spending £20m a year for the next five years.
  
  Read more

• Andrew Tunnicliffe replaces Jim Herbert as Aon UK broking chief

  07-12-2015 18:15
  
  Herbert promoted to EMEA chief development officer
  
  Read more

• Interview: Aviva Commercial Lines: On top of the world

  07-12-2015 17:52
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Three of Aviva’s commercial lines management team tell Post their plans for building on a business that is already in good shape.
  
  Read more

• Claimant solicitor fees dispute awarded to Axa

  07-12-2015 17:34
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Axa claims it has uncovered cases of exaggerated legal costs from claimant firm Asons, which the insurer has passed on to the Solicitors' Regulation Authority.
  
  Read more

• Jim Herbert moves on from CEO role at Aon Risk Solutions

  07-12-2015 17:21
  
  He is set to become chief development officer for Emea at the firm and will be replaced by Andrew Tunnicliffe.
  
  Read more

• Broker Network launches three commercial e-trade products

  07-12-2015 17:02
  
  Network has teamed up with Open GI to develop proposition.
  
  Read more

• C-Suite - Insurer: Cash in hand

  07-12-2015 16:33
  
  David Williams Postonline The insurance industry must show customers they will reap the benefits of government changes.
  
  Read more

• Direct Line deploys ERNIE to aid Storm Desmond victims

  07-12-2015 14:51
  
  Insurer sends specialist Land Rover to contact hard-to-reach customers in flooded areas
  
  Read more

• Three candidates contest two seats in Lloyd's council election

  07-12-2015 14:48
  Three senior London market figures have lined up to compete for two
  seats on the Council of Lloyd's 2016 elections, with the ballot
  closing on 5 January.
  Willis GB CEO Nicolas Aubert, Allied World president Julian
  James and Beazley chief underwriting officer Neil Maidment will
  compete for two three-year terms as working members of the Council
  when Talbot CEO Rupert Atkin and JLT Re executive Chris Harman step
  down at 31 January.
  Ballot papers were sent to all eligible members...
  
  Read more

• CEO and CFO of Cathedral exit

  07-12-2015 14:48
  Peter Scales and John Lynch, respectively CEO and CFO of
  Lancashire's Lloyd's managing agent Cathedral Capital, have
  been dismissed from the group, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  The two executives are understood to have been released from
  their positions last week, and sources have indicated that other
  staff may follow suit.
  Cathedral is fully integrated into Lancashire Holdings, with
  Scales, Lynch and active underwriter for Syndicates 2010 and 3010
  John Hamblin listed as members of the grou
  
  Read more

• Investment in flood defences must increase - PwC

  07-12-2015 14:44
  
  Defences in some areas of UK were unable to overcome Storm Desmond despite being built or upgraded in recent years
  
  Read more

• Brokers respond to Storm Desmond

  07-12-2015 14:00
  
  Brokers broadly positive on insurer claims service although issues remain.
  
  Read more

• Storm Desmond drives four-fold increase in customer calls to Allianz

  07-12-2015 13:59
  
  AXA has put in extra staff in claims centres to deal with surge as industry braces itself for more rain
  
  Read more

• Gresham increases capacity by £5m with Canopius deal

  07-12-2015 13:18
  
  Agreement sees capacity for the MGA increase immediately.
  
  Read more

• ABI moves to reassure customers about insurers' response to floods

  07-12-2015 13:12
  
  Currently there are 46 severe flood warnings in the North West where there is a danger to life - Environment Agency
  
  Read more

• Aviva working around the clock to help flooded homeowners

  07-12-2015 12:25
  
  Stricken Cumbrian residents looking for insurers to help 
  
  Read more

• UK regulator announces internal model approvals

  07-12-2015 11:56
  The UK's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has granted
  approval for 19 carriers' internal models, effective from 1
  January 2016.
  Among the P&C carriers to receive the green light were
  Amlin, Aspen UK, Markel International, QBE Europe, RSA and
  Lloyd's of London.
  John Parry, director of finance, and Sean McGovern, chief risk
  officer and general counsel at Lloyd's, commented: "This
  is an important milestone for Lloyd's and required a great deal
  of collective effort from the Lloyd's market a
  
  Read more

• Everest extends Addesso contract

  07-12-2015 11:56
  Everest
  Re has extended its employment agreement with president and CEO
  Dominic Addesso until the end of 2018.Addesso took over as CEO at the start of 2014 when current
  chairman Joe Taranto handed over the reins....
  
  Read more

• First ever global insurance FinTech accelerator kicks off in London

  07-12-2015 11:54
  
  Teams with the potential to transform the UK insurance industry will pitch their ideas at the Insurance Times ID2016 conference in April
  
  Read more

• Cunningham Lindsey says it is responding to floods

  07-12-2015 11:47
  
  Loss adjuster says staff in other regions supporting North of England to provide service to storm victims
  
  Read more

• Brokers distribution for niche lines “significant”

  07-12-2015 11:10 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Research shows niche lines more profitable than mainstream lines with brokers bringing in up to 90% of new sales.
  
  Read more

• Chase Templeton buys Healthcare Partners

  07-12-2015 10:45
  
  Company says acquisition adds nearly £7m of annual premium income.
  
  Read more

• PRA approves 19 SII internal models

  07-12-2015 10:12
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline The Prudential Regulation Authority has approved the use of a full or partial internal model under the Solvency II Directive for 19 insurers for use from 1 January 2016.
  
  Read more

• PRA approves Solvency II models for 19 insurers

  07-12-2015 09:43 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Regulator’s list includes both life and general insurers.
  
  Read more

• QBE performance expected to improve, says Moody's

  07-12-2015 09:29
  
  Cost cutting and other efficiencies have strengthened the insurers balance sheet
  
  Read more

• Broker Network launches 3 e-trade products for SMEs

  07-12-2015 09:15
  
  Products expand Countrywide brand into commercial lines
  
  Read more

• PRA approves 19 insurers' Solvency II models fully or partially

  07-12-2015 08:47
  
  Regulator publishes list of general and life insurers whose internal models can be used from 1 January
  
  Read more

• FCA renewal premium plan 'watershed moment', says AXA's Blanc

  07-12-2015 07:30
  
  Insurance industry is waking up to the need for greater transparency and earning customer trust
  
  Read more

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