Insurance news

• Zurich loses Dubai global corporate leaders

  25-02-2016 23:18
  Global insurer Zurich has lost the management team for its
  global corporate business segment in the Middle East, as it waits
  for the arrival of new group CEO Mario Greco from Generali,
  The Insurance Insider has learned.
  CEO Darren Jacobs and CUO Manik Kak, based along with the rest
  of the team, are both understood to have resigned in the last
  week.
  A number of heads of business lines including property, energy
  and marine are also believed to have walked...
  
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• Pusey: US group-level capital rules could come by Autumn

  25-02-2016 23:18
  The first draft of a US-wide, group-level capital standard for
  US carriers could be published as soon as the autumn of this year,
  Leigh Ann Pusey, CEO of the American Insurance Association (AIA)
  said today (25 February).
  Speaking at a lecture hosted by the Insurance Institute of
  London, Pusey said the standard devised by the Federal Reserve
  could work towards finding prudential equivalence between the US
  and the European Union.
  This in turn could contribute towards the work being done...
  
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• Hamblin to leave Cathedral

  25-02-2016 23:18
  Cathedral active underwriter John Hamblin has been named as the
  latest senior executive to leave the Lancashire Holdings-owned
  Lloyd's insurer.
  In a statement, London-listed Lancashire also confirmed that
  outgoing Cathedral CEO Peter Scales will not be replaced
  externally, with group CEO Alex Maloney instead adding the position
  to his responsibilities from 1 April 2016.
  And it said that Cathedral managing director Lawrence Holder
  will step down from the role next year.
  Hamblin's departure comes
  
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• PPI payouts knock down Lloyds profits but boost British shoppers

  25-02-2016 19:48
  
  Around 12 million consumers have claimed a payout since 2011 and most people spend the windfall immediatelyIt is difficult to remember a year when the British consumer was forced to cope without the proceeds from a mis-selling scandal.The payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal has proved to be the most lucrative, punishing banks with fines of £22.5bn and administrative costs of another £8-9bn for attaching the expensive insurance cover to credit cards and loans without consumers&
  
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• RSA's Hester announces £523m profit and warns against Brexit

  25-02-2016 18:39
  
  Turnaround plan complete with better-than-expected results, as insurer’s CEO and former RBS boss reiterates support for staying in EuropeStephen Hester, the chief executive of insurer RSA, has warned about the impact of Brexit on the insurer’s business as he declared that his turnaround plan has been largely completed.Operating profits of £523m beat expectations and the shares raced up almost 10% to 433p, making them the second largest riser in the FTSE 100. Continue reading...
  
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• Steve Lewis encouraged by RSA's 2015 results

  25-02-2016 17:22 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  RSA’s UK CEO says the insurer backs staying in a reformed European Union.
  
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• RSA to reduce office space use at four UK sites

  25-02-2016 17:19
  
  Company targeting UK COR of less than 94%
  
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• Axa “unique” in its growth

  25-02-2016 16:30 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  UK CEO Paul Evans points to seven point COR improvement in five years and says he is “annoyed” by others blaming losses on December flooding.
  
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• RSA shares soar 8% on 2015 profit surge

  25-02-2016 16:16
  RSA shares were up almost 8 percent in early trading this morning
  (25 February) after the UK insurer's full-year operating
  profits grew 43 percent to £523mn ($728mn), beating the
  analyst consensus of £481mn.
  The operating profit line was boosted after RSA's group
  underwriting profit more than quadrupled to £220mn.
  As of 9.05am London time, RSA shares were up 7.7 percent to
  424.9p per share.
  RSA reported strong underlying results in its Scandinavian and
  UK businesses, as the gro
  
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• Pro bullish on contract win

  25-02-2016 16:16
  Industry outsourcer and consultancy Pro Global Insurance Solutions
  (Pro) has announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with a
  leading global reinsurer and a major UK insurer to provide
  long-tail claims management services related to UK liability.
  The service concerns the insurer's claims reinsured by the
  reinsurer, as well as its retained long-tail claims.
  The company said the contract was likely to lead to a revenue
  increase of around 20 percent from 2015.
  It will open a new office...
  
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• MGAA elects new board members

  25-02-2016 16:16
  UK trade body the Managing General Agents Association (MGAA) has
  announced the election of two new directors to its board at its
  general meeting yesterday (24 February).
  Mark Birrell, chief executive of Castel Underwriting, and
  Charles Manchester, chief executive of Manchester Underwriting
  Management, both join the board.
  Birrel was also elected as the association's board director
  for a three-year term.
  He said: "It is a privilege to have been elected by fellow
  MGAs to play a part in the associa
  
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• Maguire becomes BIBA head of commercial

  25-02-2016 16:16
  Nicola Maguire has been announced as the British Insurance Brokers
  Association (BIBA)'s new head of commercial.
  She replaces outgoing commercial chief Chris Knott, who is
  retiring.
  Maguire has been tasked with developing BIBA's schemes and
  facilities, driving forward commercial activity and increasing
  member engagement.
  She was previously area manager at BIBA in charge of the
  southern UK.
  Maguire has been part of BIBA's expansion since joining in
  2014. She has seen the number of BIBA schemes and
  
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• Axa P&C earnings remain flat in 2015

  25-02-2016 16:16
  Underlying earnings after tax at Axa's P&C operations fell
  1 percent to EUR2.2bn in 2015, as a lower investment profit was
  offset by an improved technical result.
  Net technical income grew 21 percent in the year to EUR1.2bn, as
  the combined ratio improved by 0.6 percentage points to 96.2
  percent.
  The combined ratio improvement was due to reserve releases,
  which increased by 0.4 percentage points to 1 point, as well as a
  1.3 point decrease in natural catastrophes on the...
  
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• AM Best: UAE insurer profits 'shattered' in 2015

  25-02-2016 16:16
  National insurers listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and
  Dubai Financial Market (DFM) have suffered severe profit losses in
  2015, according to AM Best.
  In a report, the ratings agency said that preliminary results
  for 2015 indicated a market loss of approximately 106mn dirham
  ($29mn), compared to profits of 859mn dirham ($234mn) in 2014.
  The report attributed the losses to weak technical performance,
  reserve strengthening and investment losses last year.
  Of the 29 listed insurers, 20 re
  
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• Axa's Evans 'surprised' by competitors' flood figures

  25-02-2016 15:02
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Axa's £80m flood bill did not materially affect its 2015 results, according to UK and Ireland group CEO Paul Evans, who was "surprised" at some of the results released by competitors.
  
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• Four more regional sites to be ‘optimised' in RSA cost-saving drive

  25-02-2016 14:52
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline RSA's offices in Liverpool, Halifax, Horsham and Chelmsford will be impacted by the insurer's plans to reduce its regional footprint.
  
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• AXA’s Blanc: rival Allianz’s Insurance Act plan is ‘a bold move’

  25-02-2016 14:17
  
  GI chief executive hails turnaround of direct motor business but notes challenges on brokered side
  
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• One in four UK companies hit by cyber crime

  25-02-2016 13:46
  
  Almost a third of companies surveyed in the UK have no plan to respond to a cyber attack
  
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• Covéa recruiting for northern region leader to replace Owen

  25-02-2016 12:59
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Covéa Insurance north region head Maureen Owen is to leave the business at the beginning of March, the company has confirmed.
  
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• Cooke & Mason MD welcomes takeover by PIB

  25-02-2016 12:19 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  David Charles says his brokerage is eyeing growth across the business.
  
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• Axa UK and Ireland reports improved COR and £80m flood bill

  25-02-2016 11:25
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Underlying earnings for Axa UK and Irelandincreased 25% to £312m in 2015 (2014: £250m) alongside an improved combined operating ratio of 97.1% (2014: 98%).
  
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• CEO email scams on the rise

  25-02-2016 11:18
  
  The scams have cost businesses around the globe more than $2bn in little over two years
  
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• Lloyds Bank GI profit drops 35% after storm claims of £58m

  25-02-2016 11:13
  
  COR jumps seven points to 83%
  
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• The way insurers lock out people with court convictions is bizarre

  25-02-2016 11:11
  
  Mainstream home and car insurers have a blanket ban on people with unspent convictions – these kinds of policies are unfair and sometimes illegalTo many of the 1.2 million people convicted in court each year, it comes as a surprise to find that if they try to take out home insurance, or renew their existing policy, they’ll probably struggle. Every mainstream home insurer has a blanket ban on people with unspent convictions.
  They say that ex-offenders are higher risk, citing vigilanti
  
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• Axa UK COR falls to 97.1%

  25-02-2016 10:55
  
  Results for 2015 in UK and Ireland show GI and healthcare revenues up 7% to £4.1bn.
  
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• UK premiums and COR flat at RSA in 2015

  25-02-2016 10:39
  
  Insurer promises “ambitious plans to transform the UK business”.
  
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• Applied Systems partners with Premium Credit

  25-02-2016 10:35
  
  Deal adds premium finance products to software provider's Applied TAM system.
  
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• Europe: Peer-to-peer insurance - is this the future?

  25-02-2016 10:30
  
  Tim Kunde Postonline The sharing economy meets insurance - so is it time for reciprocity insurance contracts to take off?
  
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• RSA Group post-tax profits jump threefold

  25-02-2016 10:19
  
  RSA’s core group combined operating ratio improved by 2.8 percentage points to 96%, despite the December weather storms
  
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• RSA reports large rise in profit

  25-02-2016 10:14
  
  CEO Hester hails “year of major achievement”.
  
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• Lorega completes private equity-backed MBO

  25-02-2016 10:13
  
  Company to launch new products for SMEs
  
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• Lorega completes MBO

  25-02-2016 10:10
  
  Deal was backed by Alcuin Capital Partners.
  
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• Cooper Gay sells North American business for £358m

  25-02-2016 09:46
  
  Deal excludes Canadian MGA Creechurch Underwriters
  
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• RSA to focus on underwriting rather than price increases

  25-02-2016 09:43
  
  Stephen Hester says since Zurich ended discussions to buy RSA the insurer has not received any other approaches
  
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• Blog: Managing risk in bricks and water

  25-02-2016 09:29
  
  Cathy Hawkins Postonline
  
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• AXA UK puts storm bill at £80m as it reports improved profit and COR

  25-02-2016 09:26
  
  97.1% COR bolstered by £39m of reserve releases
  
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• RSA UK underwriting profit rises threefold despite £134m storm claims bill

  25-02-2016 08:56
  
  COR improves to 99.5% but personal motor came in at 107.8%
  
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• RSA UK profit rises threefold despite £134m storm claims bill

  25-02-2016 08:56
  
  COR improves to 99.5% but personal motor came in at 107.8%
  
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• RSA unveils record underwriting profit as Hester declares turnaround "largely complete"

  25-02-2016 08:23
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline UK-headquartered RSA's after tax profits climbed 221% to £224m in 2015 compared with 2014.
  
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• Safe and sound: how to beat the burglars and protect your property

  25-02-2016 08:00
  
  From mortise locks to cameras, there are many ways to ensure your home is as secure as possible Domestic burglary figures fell to a 35-year low in 2015, yet there were 785,000 offences reported to the Office for National Statistics by households in England and Wales. Not all were reported to the police though, as official figures recorded 411,425 crimes.There are a range of things you can do to avoid becoming part of the statistics. The police recommend burglar alarms and external lights on a si
  
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• XL Catlin doubles terror limits

  25-02-2016 07:25
  XL Catlin has doubled the limits it offers for standalone terror
  cover to $200mn and added liability coverage for events involving
  an active assailant.
  When the carrier first launched its terror cover in 2014 it
  initially offered a $100mn limit to cover events that did not fall
  within the scope of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
  Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA).
  The act, which first appeared in 2002 in response to the 9/11
  attacks, provides a federal backstop for insurance claims related...
  
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• Universal third quarter profits up 40%

  25-02-2016 07:25
  Floridian Universal Insurance saw net income jump by almost 40
  percent in the final quarter of last year, to what it described as
  a record level.
  The carrier reported net income of $29.2mn for the quarter, up
  from $21mn for the same period the previous year.
  Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.82 for the fourth
  quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of $0.23.
  Direct premiums climbed by 9 percent to $199.3mn, but net
  written premiums surged from $84.1mn to $127.9mn...
  
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• BB&T agrees to buy Swett & Crawford for $500mn

  25-02-2016 07:25
  BB&T Corporation has agreed a deal to buy US wholesaler Swett
  & Crawford from Cooper Gay (CGSC) for $500mn in cash after
  winning out in a sales process against private equity bidders.
  The deal to acquire Swett & Crawford adds to the US
  company's wholesale operations, which already include CRC and
  Crump.
  The acquisition price implies a valuation multiple of
  approximately 10x the wholesaler's estimated Ebitda of around
  $50mn.
  As previously revealed by The Insurance
  Insider, BB&T wa
  
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