Insurance news

• Budget forecast: what the chancellor might be planning – checklist

  15-03-2016 23:00
  
  From the economy and pensions to fuel duty and a sugar tax, what financial changes is Osborne ready to unleash?This is George Osborne’s eighth Budget, and the second with a Conservative majority in the Commons. The chancellor has warned of a cocktail of threats to the UK economy in preparation for a likely downgrade in economic growth this year and next, and a tougher spending package to meet his demand for a budget surplus in 2020. Continue reading...
  
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• Budget forecast: checklist for the chancellor

  15-03-2016 23:00
  
  From the economy and pensions to fuel duty and a sugar tax, what financial changes is Osborne ready to unleash?This is George Osborne’s eighth budget, and the second with a Conservative majority in the Commons. The chancellor has warned of a “cocktail of threats” to the UK economy in preparation for a likely downgrade in economic growth this year and next, and a tougher spending package to meet his demand for a budget surplus in 2020. Continue reading...
  
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• Continuity for Aviva and brokers key as CFO Holmes takes on UKGI top job

  15-03-2016 18:47
  
  The internal appointment of Colm Holmes to take over the Aviva UK general insurance reins from Maurice Tulloch has been billed as good news for brokers by commentators both insider and outside the insurer.
  
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• Editor's comment: The bad apple?

  15-03-2016 18:37
  
  Regulation is a good thing … except where it is bad thing.
  
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• Drones: Attack of the drones

  15-03-2016 18:33
  
  Unmanned aircraft and the risk they pose are under close scrutiny from the London market as they try to decide what can and cannot be covered
  
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• Insurance Jobs: A game of snakes and ladders

  15-03-2016 18:29
  
  Insurance employees need the right skillsets if they are to keep their jobs. Which roles offer the most potential for future success?
  
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• Fraud: The fight goes on

  15-03-2016 18:15
  
  The insurance fraud taskforce has reported, but now we are in limbo, so will there be work to ensure the report’s recommendations materialise or will it be a missed opportunity?
  
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• C-suite Insurer: Aviva's Rob Townend - Well done insurers

  15-03-2016 17:49
  
  By showing the value of insurance and the claims process, customers may one day say “well done”
  
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• C-Suite MGA: Dual's Talbir Bains - Mind and matter

  15-03-2016 17:43
  
  A culture of firm underwriting discipline will breed sustainability and scalability
  
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• Getting brokers out of the dark

  15-03-2016 17:31
  
  Helen Devery at BLM calls for collaboration between brokers and insurers
  
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• L&G’s Holweger: Home insurance rate rises needed

  15-03-2016 17:22
  
  Rivals not factoring long-term weather claims into pricing, insurer’s partnerships MD says
  
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• Brain Training: 10 things you need to know about ... workplace monitoring

  15-03-2016 17:18
  
  1. Insurance firms are increasingly well informed about the risks and obligations entailed in handling client data, but often less so about personal data relating to their own employees.
  
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• Penny Black's Insurance Week - 17 March 2016

  15-03-2016 17:15
  
  Penny is feeling empowered as a women after spending Friday at the Southbank’s Women of the World festival of diversity.
  
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• IPT rise would not have ‘significant impact’ on Hastings

  15-03-2016 17:15
  
  A speculated insurance premium tax hike in tomorrow’s (16 March) budget would not disadvantage Hastings Insurance Group due to the company’s high market share from comparison websites, according to its chief financial officer, but customers would be worse off.
  
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• Hastings to keep focus on motor and telematics

  15-03-2016 16:45
  
  CFO Hoskins says Brexit and possible IPT hike would not impact the firm.
  
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• Chubb launches new motor offering for older cars

  15-03-2016 16:39
  
  Owners of cars older than 15 years can receive pay-out for subsequent loss in value after accident
  
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• Chubb launches new high net worth motor offering

  15-03-2016 16:39
  Owners of cars older than 15 years can receive pay-out for subsequent loss in value after accident
  
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• Chubb launches cover for repairing damage to older cars

  15-03-2016 16:26
  
  Diminution in Value will also compensate clients for vehicles' loss of value following repairs.
  
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• Munich Re confirms CEO changeover

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Munich Re today (15 March) confirmed that its CEO Nikolaus von
  Bomhard will step down from the role on 26 April 2017.
  Reports surfaced earlier this week that the executive had
  decided against renewing his contract once he reaches the age of
  60.
  Joachim Wenning, board member responsible for life reinsurance
  and human resources, has been named as his successor.
  Wenning is young enough to serve as CEO for two five-year terms.
  German finance publication Manager Magazin had also
  suggested...
  
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• Marsh & McLennan Agency acquires Aviation Solutions

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA) has acquired aviation risk
  adviser and insurance broker Aviation Solutions.
  The Marsh middle market agency subsidiary acquired the company
  for an undisclosed consideration.
  Missouri-based Aviation Solutions offers customised aviation
  risk insurance programmes for individual, corporate and commercial
  clients across the US.
  The addition of the new team "provides specialised aviation
  industry expertise and experience that will benefit clients
  throughout the upper M
  
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• Liberty names head of marine

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has promoted Michael Burle to head
  of marine with immediate effect, it announced today (15 March).
  Burle was previously underwriting manager for war and terrorism,
  fine art and specie. He replaces Simon Clapham, who has taken on
  the new role of head of underwriting performance management across
  LSM.
  Burle will report to active underwriter Peter Smith.
  Smith said: "Michael is a highly respected specialist in
  his field. Having developed a range of market-leading pro
  
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• Ironshore hires Alexander for global property

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Ironshore has appointed market veteran Melanie Alexander as head of
  global property programmes, it announced yesterday (14 March).
  Alexander will oversee the London-based property facility
  business and report to Tony Mammolite, president of global
  property.
  Most recently, the executive was director for broker Shepherd
  Compello, a position she had held for just over a year.
  At the intermediary, Alexander held responsibility for lender
  protection-related products, as well as the development of
  spe
  
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• GIC Re expects $223mn loss from Chennai floods

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Indian reinsurer General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) has taken a
  hit of 1,500 crore rupees ($223mn) from the Chennai floods,
  according to chairman and managing director Alice Vaidyan.
  The hit to GIC Re is part of an overall industry loss of 5,000
  crore rupees ($745mn), the company told newspaper India
  Times.
  Torrential rainfall from a particularly strong northeast monsoon
  brought severe flooding to southern India and Sri Lanka in
  December, with substantial damage suffered in the Chennai area.
  
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• Charles Taylor P&C run-off sale completes

  15-03-2016 16:25
  Insurance services provider Charles Taylor has completed the
  sale of non-life run-off company Cardrow Insurance Limited to a
  Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, it announced today (15 March).
  Charles Taylor originally announced the sale in October, when it
  agreed to transfer its insurance businesses to Tenecom Limited.
  The deal is part of Charles Taylor's plans to reduce its
  exposure to non-life insurance companies in run-off and follows the
  completion of the sale of its holding in Bestpark Internati
  
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• Helvetia COR improves but IFRS profit down 21% due to “accounting effects”

  15-03-2016 14:16
  
  Swiss-based Helvetia Group saw its IFRS after tax result fall to SFr309m (£220m) (2014: SFr393m) but there was an improvement in its combined operating ratio to 92.1% (2014: 93.5%) and other profit metrics.
  
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• Admin fee transparency in the spotlight as insurers report 2015 results

  15-03-2016 14:04
  
  Insurers' reporting of administration fees and non-risk income came under scrutiny in the 2015 full-year results reporting period as firms' balance sheets were dominated by commercial flood losses.
  
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• IPT increase bad for consumers, neutral for Hastings, says CFO

  15-03-2016 13:52
  Further tax increase would encourage clients to shop around more, says Hoskins
  
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• Government’s 2015 IPT discussions revealed

  15-03-2016 13:29
  
  Exclusive coverage of the Treasury’s talks with the Association of British Insurers.
  
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• Cyber criminals increasingly moving from privacy breaches to extortion

  15-03-2016 13:21
  
  Increasingly sophisticated malware and ransomware attacks are rising to the top of the cyber threat list, with industry cyber experts predicting a surge in ransomware incidents in 2016.
  
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• L&G reports drop in GI profit for 2015

  15-03-2016 12:14
  
  Provider says it lost £15m due to last year's floods.
  
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• Concern expressed as 'rigorous' SIMR adds pressure on senior roles

  15-03-2016 11:51
  Insurers have welcomed the launch of the Senior Insurance Managers Regime, however, there remains uncertainty as to what extent top ranking employees will be impacted.
  
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• ArgoGlobal launches click and buy portal for drones market

  15-03-2016 11:46
  
  Insure4Drones has been developed with Lloyd’s coverholder JRW Group
  
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• Argo Global targets commercial drone market

  15-03-2016 11:07
  
  Insurer has developed an online portal offering click-and-buy products for the sector.
  
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• Cheltenham charity bets: Day One - Champion Hurdle

  15-03-2016 10:47
  
  Cheltenham Festival kicks off today. For the second year in a row Insurance Age will be revealing the top bets from our tipsters every day.
  
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• Storms cost L&G £15m as GI operating profit drops

  15-03-2016 10:44
  
  Legal & General paid £15m of claims related to the December 2015 storms as its general insurance operating profit reduced to £51m (£59m) for the year ended 31 December 2015.
  
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• Profits up at Hastings in 2015

  15-03-2016 10:34
  
  GWP also increases following IPO float last year.
  
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• Hastings sees GWP rise 27% as it announces first dividend

  15-03-2016 10:32
  
  Hastings has reported a 27% increase in gross written premiums to £614.9m (2014: £483.4m) for the 12 months ended 31 December 2015 and expects to pay shareholders a maiden dividend of 2.2p per share.
  
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• Blog - Adapting insurance for the digital age

  15-03-2016 10:30
  
  If insurers cannot keep up with customer preferences and technology they will be supplanted by those who can.
  
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• Towergate warns further 'IPT tax hike' could leave SMEs without cover

  15-03-2016 10:24
  
  Kent area director David Armstrong says insurance sector is easy target for the Chancellor
  
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• December storms drive down L&G GI profits by 13.6%

  15-03-2016 09:20
  
  The insurer incurred losses of £15m from December storms
  
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• Cheltenham 2016: Insurance Times insider's tips for first day

  15-03-2016 09:12
  
  The Horse Whisperer looks ahead to the first day at the Cheltenham Festival
  
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• Hastings 2015 operating profit up 19% to £126m

  15-03-2016 08:44
  
  Gross written premiums rise 27% while COR rises to 91.3% from 88.7%
  
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• SSE Services flushes out the real issue with boiler cover insurance

  15-03-2016 07:59
  
  Its engineer quoted me £800 for work I did not need … now it refuses to pay for the repair that I did needIn November last year I called SSE Services to fix my boiler, which was failing to produce hot water – I pay the firm almost £19 a month in cover. An engineer was unable to fix it, even after talking frequently to the manufacturer Viessmann. He advised a power flush, for which SSE quoted me a price of £806. I knew that this was not required as when I bled the r
  
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• US financial lines chief Sparro flies from AIG

  15-03-2016 05:31
  The head of AIG's North American financial lines division is
  the latest executive to leave the insurer's dwindling senior
  management ranks, The Insurance Insider
  can reveal.According to sources, Christopher Sparro departed the insurance
  giant - however his destination remains unknown.He has been president of AIG's financial lines segment for the
  US and Canada since April 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.Prior to that he spent two years as chief operating officer of the
  Americas region for
  
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• Sompo Canopius hires from Chaucer for Asia head of engineering

  15-03-2016 05:03
  
  Global specialty insurer Sompo Canopius has hired Wah Chuang Ng to become head of engineering for its Asia operations.
  
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• Ageas settles Fortis legal claims for €1.2bn

  15-03-2016 04:04
  
  Ageas, the insurer spun out of banking group Fortis, yesterday agreed a settlement of €1.2bn (£934m) for outstanding legal claims from the 2007 and 2008 financial crisis.
  
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