Insurance news

• Port of Xiamen vulnerable to Category 4 storm: RMS

  27-09-2016 20:01
  Modelling agency RMS has warned Typhoon Megi will hit the
  economically significant Chinese province of Fujian, which includes
  the international deepwater port of Xiamen, later this evening.
  The agency cautioned that the region houses several economic and
  technological development zones, including Xiamen - one of the
  busiest port cities in China and an international deepwater
  container port.
  Additionally, there are five major industrial zones surrounding
  the city that could be severely impacted b
  
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• Alton Towers crash could see more attention paid to risk management, insurers say

  27-09-2016 18:14
  
  Following the Alton Towers operator, Merlin, being fined £5m insurers have said that the incident will promote closer attention to risk management.
  
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• Lloyd's feels underwriting margin crunch

  27-09-2016 16:28
  An investment-driven increase in pre-tax profits in the first half
  of 2016 could not mask the mounting challenges for the Lloyd's
  market, as underwriting profits crashed and rates continued to
  deteriorate.
  Pre-tax profits at Lloyd's climbed by 22.4
  percent to £1.46bn ($1.90bn) for the period.
  The market reported an 8.5 percentage point yearly increase in
  its headline combined ratio to 98.0 percent, with an accident-year
  combined ratio well in excess of 100 percent and major losses still
  3
  
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• The Hartford climbs on possible Talcott sale

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Shares in The Hartford climbed 2.3 percent last week following
  The Insurance Insider's revelation
  that it was seeking a buyer for its $4.7bn variable annuity
  business.The carrier's stock was trading at $42.77 when the closing
  bell rang in New York on Friday (23 September), having given up a
  little ground after a strong Wednesday and Thursday.The benchmark Dow Jones index was up 0.78 percent for the
  week.On Wednesday (21 September), this publication revealed that the
  insurer had...
  
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• Scales prepares for soft market launch

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Peter Scales' start-up Blenheim is set to launch at 1
  January amidst the most challenging market conditions seen in
  Lloyd's since the late 1990s, with the market running
  normalised combined ratios above 100 percent.Last week (21 September)The Insurance Insider revealed that Asta and Scales had
  secured in-principle approval from the Franchise Board to launch
  Syndicate 5886 with stamp capacity of £150mn ($195mn),
  making it the second biggest start-up seen at Lloyd's over the
  last decade.
  htt
  
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• Property D&F market faces $250mn-$400mn Gap loss

  27-09-2016 14:39
  A fire at a warehouse belonging to US retailer Gap could
  generate a loss of $250mn-$400mn for the property direct and
  facultative (D&F) market, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.Ascot is understood to be the overall lead on the programme,
  while XL Catlin and Endurance also write lead lines.In a complex placement (see graphic), Ascot has a 25 percent
  line on the primary $25mn xs $0mn layer, as well as a 10 percent
  line on a $300mn xs $250mn...
  
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• P&I clubs hit with unpaid wages liability

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Proposed changes to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) could see
  marine mutual protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs become
  liable for sailors' unpaid wages.
  The amendments, which come into force on 18 January 2017, would
  transfer financial liability for crews' unpaid wages in the
  event of being stranded at sea, as is currently the case following
  the collapse of Korean shipping giant Hanjin.
  International Group secretary and executive officer Andrew
  Bardot confirmed the liabilities would no
  
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• JLT holds out on PPL

  27-09-2016 14:39
  JLT is the only major London-based broker not to sign up to
  electronic trading system Placing Platform Limited (PPL),
  The Insurance Insider
  understands.PPL, which launched in July, is one of the core initiatives of
  the London market's Target Operating Model, a reform programme
  that aims to modernise market processes.Last September, senior executives of 16 broking firms
  representing more than 80 percent of business placed in the London
  market made a formal commitment to the electronic placement o
  
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• Insider View: Lloyd's results

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Headline profits went up, but in truth it's difficult to find
  many real positives in the latest set of results from Lloyd's.
  Had it not been for a Brexit-related windfall during the second
  quarter, the bottom line would have looked very different.
  Underwriting profits at Lloyd's in the first half were down
  80 percent on the same period in 2015, and while this year saw a
  cat-heavy second quarter, the level of losses was not exceptional
  in a historical context....
  
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• Insider View: Blenheim is Lloyd's-only capacity

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Peter Scales' start-up is not without its detractors, and
  this publication published an opinion piece last week exploring the
  question of what value a new start-up can add to the market at this
  stage of the cycle without a transfer book.That piece presented a number of perspectives which were
  circling in the market, but it missed something crucial.Blenheim will be a dedicated Lloyd's (re)insurer. Something
  which is an increasingly rare phenomenon.As Lloyd's businesses like Catlin and Amlin...
  
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• Expense growth eats away at underwriting margins

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Global specialty insurers and reinsurers, particularly those
  trading in the Lloyd's market, are struggling to deal with a
  mounting expense problem.
  The issue of creeping expenses is occurring in tandem with
  softening rates to squeeze underwriting margins, with reported
  numbers to date flattered by low loss activity and strong reserve
  releases that cannot last forever.
  After adding Gen Re to his empire earlier this year,
  Berkshire Hathaway's Ajit Jain flagged a cost
  "problem" at the direct reinsu
  
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• CRC launches all risk and cat facility with V3

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Wholesale broker CRC has launched a new exclusive nationwide all
  risk and catastrophe facility underwritten by specialty managing
  general agency (MGA) V3 Insurance Partners, The Insurance Insider
  can reveal.According to marketing material seen by this publication, the
  facility, which is known as Prop+, is backed by domestic US and
  Lloyd's capacity.Sources have suggested US specialty insurer Markel is one of the
  lead markets supporting the facility.The platform is understood to be an expansion of
  
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• Bulk of Everest E&S property team decamp to Rockhill

  27-09-2016 14:39
  A team of up to 14 property underwriting executives have
  followed Tracy Upton from Everest National to Rockhill Insurance
  Group, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  Last week State Auto subsidiary Rockhill announced it had hired
  Upton to lead its newly launched excess and surplus lines (E&S)
  property platform offering to wholesale brokers.
  And according to sources, the insurer has attracted a raft of
  his colleagues from the Bermudian's US insurance platform.
  They include Mike Ryan, who led Eve
  
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• Brit looks for flexibility with second syndicate

  27-09-2016 14:39
  Flexibility was the main reason behind Brit establishing a Names
  capital-backed syndicate, according to the carrier's group
  deputy CEO.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider,
  Matthew Wilson, who is also CEO of Brit Global Specialty, said that
  a fully-fledged individual syndicate gave the carrier more wiggle
  room than a special purpose syndicate would have.
  "The new syndicate will allow us to write individual risks
  completely independently of Syndicate 2987," he said,
  following Lloyd's decision to gi
  
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• Willis extends autism employment programme to UK

  27-09-2016 13:42
  
  Willis says adults with ASD thrive in certain skills
  
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• Vitality offers Apple Watch in 'health telematics' deal

  27-09-2016 13:33
  
  Health insurer Vitality has become the first in Britain to encourage customers into exercising by offering an Apple smartwatch as a reward.
  
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• Insolvent Enterprise parent suspends bondholder payments

  27-09-2016 12:54
  
  Holding company of failed insurer Enterprise issues update
  
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• Allianz Insurance says whiplash reforms 'are not about fraud'

  27-09-2016 12:41
  
  Allianz Insurance has responded to Sue Brown’s Post blog on why she believes the government's banning of small personal injury claims is a mistake.
  
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• PIB granted Lloyd's status

  27-09-2016 12:39
  PIB Insurance Brokers has been approved as a Lloyd's registered
  broker, the company announced today.
  The UK broker consolidator provides broking services across a
  variety of lines including residential and commercial property,
  high net worth, and professional indemnity construction.
  The company can now place directly into the Lloyd's market
  on behalf of clients in the UK.
  CEO Brendan McManus said the intermediary would seek to continue
  to expand the insurance services it currently provides.
  PIB
  
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• Munich Re buys Citi reinsurer

  27-09-2016 12:39
  Munich Re has purchased investment bank Citi's special purpose
  reinsurance unit Financial Reassurance Company (FRAC).
  The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  The carrier reinsures a block of term life insurance policies
  issued by Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada that were in
  force as of 18 December 2009.
  Citi said the transaction would remove around $460mn of assets
  from the balance sheet of its non-core holdings group, Citi
  Holdings.
  Citi Holdings CEO Francesco Vann
  
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• Lloyd's hires Singapore country manager

  27-09-2016 12:39
  Lloyd's has appointed Angela Kelly as Lloyd's country
  manager for Singapore, it announced today.
  Kelly joins from Swiss Re, where she was CEO of Swiss Re
  International's Singapore branch and head of casualty for Swiss
  Re Corporate Solutions in Asia Pacific.
  She will take up the role on 14 November.
  Kent Chaplin, CEO of Lloyd's Asia Pacific, described
  Singapore as an "incredibly successful" underwriting
  marketplace for Lloyd's, with more than 200 underwriters
  representing 23 syndicates.
  Premium i
  
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• Higginbotham made IIL president

  27-09-2016 12:39
  Russell Higginbotham, global head of life and health at Swiss Re,
  has been made president of the Insurance Institute of London (IIL)
  for 2016-17.
  Higginbotham succeeds Dominic Christian, CEO of Aon UK, and is
  joined by new deputy president Roger Sanders, managing director of
  group employee benefits at Lighthouse Group.
  The theme of Higginbotham's presidency will be technology,
  he said.
  "With London being a world leader in the financial
  technology revolution we have a great opportunity over the n
  
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• GRP acquires broker Marshall Wooldridge

  27-09-2016 12:39
  Global Risk Partners (GRP), the UK broker consolidator led by
  broking veteran David Margrett, has acquired UK commercial
  insurance intermediary Marshall Wooldridge.
  Marshall Wooldridge, which controls in excess of £20mn
  ($25.9mn) in gross written premiums, has conducted business in and
  around Leeds for more than 40 years and employs 50 staff.
  GRP's investment will allow Marshall Wooldridge to fund its
  plan to double in size over the next three years, GRP said in a
  statement.
  James Hall, ma
  
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• Dual sees further senior departures

  27-09-2016 12:39
  Hyperion-owned managing general agency (MGA) Dual has seen another
  swathe of senior departures, including staff from its core
  financial lines business, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Sources told this publication Paul Russell and Liz Hanlon,
  managing directors for financial lines, have both left the
  organisation.
  Financial and professional lines constitutes around 70 percent
  of Dual's portfolio.
  Chief claims officer Angus Watson is also understood to have
  resigned from Hyperion's MGA arm. Wa
  
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• GRP buys Marshall Wooldridge in Leeds

  27-09-2016 12:10
  
  New owner aims to double size of £20m GWP business in three years.
  
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• Sentiment Survey: Share your views today

  27-09-2016 12:03
  
  The survey closes on Friday. Complete it before then to be in with a chance of winning a £100 voucher.
  
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• GRP buys sixth retail broker

  27-09-2016 11:46
  
  Acquired broker embarks on ‘very ambitious’ growth plan
  
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• Yutree launches binding authority liability product with Endurance

  27-09-2016 11:42
  
  Yutree Underwriting has launched a binding authority liability product backed by Lloyd's syndicate Endurance.
  
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• Scor to appeal EC judgment on CCR state guarantee

  27-09-2016 11:07
  Scor intends to appeal the European Commission (EC)'s decision
  over the state guarantee provided to French reinsurer Caisse
  Centrale de Réassurance (CCR) to the EU's Court of First
  Instance.
  Yesterday, the ECdeclared that the state guarantee provided to CCR for natural
  catastrophe risks complied with EU internal market rules.
  However, French reinsurance giant Scor disputes that the state
  aid is compatible with the internal market, arguing it is not the
  French state's role to take catastro
  
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• Aegis CEO retires after 20 years at the top

  27-09-2016 11:07
  Aegis president and CEO Alan Maguire is to retire after 20 years at
  the helm of the company.
  He will be succeeded by Owen Ryan, who most recently served as
  CEO of Deloitte Advisory, but has also been a strategic adviser to
  the energy mutual and its directors for the past five years.
  Ryan will take up the role from 27 October, while Maguire will
  remain in contact with the company in a consulting role.
  Ryan will also be elected...
  
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• PIB becomes Lloyd's registered

  27-09-2016 11:06
  
  Broker now has access to the Lloyd's underwriting market.
  
  Read more

• PIB granted Lloyd’s broker status

  27-09-2016 10:58
  
  Consolidator can now place business directly into Lloyd’s
  
  Read more

• Regional review: Newcastle and the North East

  27-09-2016 10:30
  
  Talk of the Toon: The economy in the North East has been on the up, but how will the broking community and their clients fare after the Brexit vote?
  
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• Opinion: Tony Cornell

  27-09-2016 10:25
  
  Concern over commission creep: Climbing commission could push premiums ever higher says Tony Cornell, but what can brokers or insurers do to stop it?
  
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• Live blog: High Net Worth Forum 2016

  27-09-2016 10:05
  
  The event created solely for the insurance broker community in the high net worth space takes place today at The Bloomsbury in London.
  
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• Catch up on the High Net Worth Forum 2016

  27-09-2016 10:05
  
  The event created solely for the insurance broker community in the high net worth space took place at The Bloomsbury in London.
  
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• Yutree Underwriting signs capacity deal with Endurance

  27-09-2016 10:01
  
  Underwriting division builds on previously teaming up with Biba.
  
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• Insurers face threat from blockchain

  27-09-2016 09:43
  
  The new technology can be used to automate insurance solutions and bypass third parties, reports our sister publication StrategicRISK
  
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• Insurers face 'big threat' from blockchain

  27-09-2016 09:43
  
  Experts say the new technology can be used to automate insurance solutions and bypass third parties
  
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• Yutree Underwriting strikes biggest deal yet

  27-09-2016 09:34
  
  The managing general agency specialises in contracting trades
  
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• Live blog: Dive In

  27-09-2016 09:15
  
  Post's journalists are attending the Dive In festival.
  
  Read more

• Video: SME underinsurance with Harriet Conway

  27-09-2016 08:00
  
  With more than five million SMEs in the UK and a recent warning that up to 40% of these may be underinsured,it is time for the insurance industry to step up and start tackling this rising problem.
  
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• SME underinsurance: Protecting customer outcomes

  27-09-2016 08:00
  
  With 5.4 million SMEs in the UK, more can be done to enhance the claims service they receive
  
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• SME underinsurance: Fixing the SME market

  27-09-2016 08:00
  
  Has anything changed in the SME sector since the FCA’s thematic review? And if not, why not?
  
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• Loss adjuster Woodgate & Clark hires new director

  27-09-2016 07:30
  
  Woodgate & Clark looks to insurance group for new appointment
  
  Read more

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