Insurance news

• There's comfort in the GDP figures – but it's strictly early days

  27-10-2016 20:57
  
  Philip Hammond’s response to the data shows that he also knows it is too soon to take a ‘steady as she goes’ approach Philip Hammond took comfort from the latest GDP figures – and well he might. When the chancellor moved into No 11 there was still the possibility that doom-and-gloom forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and even the Treasury itself would come to pass.That Britain has avoided a recession and, more than that, maintained an annual growth rate of aroun
  
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• There's comfort in the GDP figures – but it's early days

  27-10-2016 20:57
  
  Philip Hammond’s response to the data shows that he also knows it is too soon to take a ‘steady as she goes’ approach Philip Hammond took comfort from the latest GDP figures – and well he might. When the chancellor moved into No 11 there was still the possibility that doom-and-gloom forecasts by the International Monetary Fund and even the Treasury itself would come to pass.That Britain has avoided a recession and, more than that, maintained an annual growth rate of aroun
  
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• Wright departs in Willis Towers Watson overhaul

  27-10-2016 18:51
  Willis Towers Watson today announced a string of management
  changes that will see Tim Wright, head of corporate risk and
  broking, leave the firm.
  Todd Jones, co-head of North America, will replace Wright as
  head of corporate risk and broking.
  Fellow co-head of North America Carl Hess will now serve as head
  of investment, risk and reinsurance.
  Joe Gunn, northeast region lead for North America, has been
  promoted to head of North America.
  Head of strategy Anne Pullum will now...
  
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• Government 'does not understand' cyber threat to driverless cars

  27-10-2016 18:11
  
  The government does not fully understand the risk posed to driverless cars by hackers, Parliament heard.
  
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• Car premiums up by £20 in Q3 2016

  27-10-2016 16:28
  
  AA Index says rise in IPT and the high volume of whiplash claims are to blame.
  
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• PIB linked to TFP Schemes takeover

  27-10-2016 16:20
  
  Deal could occur before the end of the year.
  
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• Insurers 'must adapt lines to changing terrorist threat'

  27-10-2016 16:13
  
  Insurers must create new lines of cover to protect against the changing threat of terrorism, according to a new report.
  
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• Company bosses face personal fines over nuisance calls

  27-10-2016 15:43
  
  Government to curb bad practice by holding individuals responsible
  
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• XL will not lose business from P&C shake up: McGavick

  27-10-2016 15:04
  XL's P&C restructure, which will result in the departure of
  some senior staff, should not lead to the loss of any business, CEO
  Mike McGavick has said.
  Alongside the publication of third-quarter results, XL Group
  announced
  a revamp of its operating model into four distinct business
  groups, effective from 1 January.
  The organisational structure will see P&C operations divided
  into global lines, international insurance, North America insurance
  and global reinsurance.
  Reinsurance CEO Greg H
  
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• Bill for PPI mis-selling scandal tops £40bn

  27-10-2016 14:46
  
  Move by Barclays to set aside extra £600m further inflates already huge cost of UK mis-selling scandal to banking sectorBanks and financial services companies have racked up more than £40bn in costs to handle the payment protection insurance scandal.The costliest mis-selling bill in UK financial services history became even more expensive on Thursday after Barclays set aside a further £600m to handle the cost of claims. Continue reading...
  
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• Market rallies round Reid as he leaves Gallagher

  27-10-2016 14:45
  
  Market observers say Michael Rea is a safe pair of hands for Gallagher
  
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• XL Catlin reports decrease in GWP in Q3 2016

  27-10-2016 13:30
  
  XL Catlin has seen a decrease in its gross written premiums due to higher premiums costs.
  
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• Nuisance phone call bosses face fines, plus a rise in car insurance premiums

  27-10-2016 12:55
  
  Also, rogue landlord property scams, rising ground rent and tickets trader Viagogo criticisedHello and welcome to this week’s Money Talks – a roundup of the week’s biggest stories and some things you may have missed. Continue reading...
  
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• Ransomware hacks could balloon: Beazley

  27-10-2016 12:34
  Cyber-attacks involving malicious software that locks a targeted
  device until the owner or user pays to free the hacked unit are
  expected to quadruple this year, according to market leader
  Beazley.
  The rising frequency of attacks was most apparent among
  financial services providers, retailers and hotels, the
  London-based insurer said yesterday in a report. The average cost
  to unlock a hacked device is about $1,000, Beazley said.
  The company based its estimates on reports from clients, saying
  it
  
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• Irdai clears way for ITI Re

  27-10-2016 12:34
  The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
  (Irdai) has given second-round approval for the launch of the
  country's first private reinsurer, ITI Re.
  Sources told Asia Insurance Review that Munich Re,
  Hannover Re, Swiss Re, Scor and Reinsurance Group of America have
  also cleared the second stage of the application process.
  Meanwhile, XL Catlin has been given first-round approval.
  The reinsurers that have been granted second-stage approval now
  need to bring in the required capital
  
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• AJG UK retail CEO exits after FCA delay

  27-10-2016 12:34
  Stuart Reid, the UK retail CEO at AJ Gallagher, is to leave the
  broker after waiting for more than a year for Financial Conduct
  Authority (FCA) approval.
  As first reported by Insurance Times, Reid will be
  replaced by chief operating officer for the international division
  Michael Rea, who joined AJ Gallagher last June, having previously
  been in charge of Cullum Capital Ventures and COO at Towergate.
  Reid joined AJ Gallagher in October last year after leaving
  Bluefin - where he...
  
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• Vantage holdings set to acquire more brokers following NSM acquisition

  27-10-2016 12:03
  
  NSM has acquired Vantage Holdings, owner of outdoor leisure and liability broker Vantage Insurance Services and Classic Insurance Services.
  
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• Newbie news: Cheviot Insured's Joel Marks

  27-10-2016 11:33
  
  Beat the barriers: Joel Marks, director of Newcastle-based Cheviot Insured, on the road to authorisation.
  
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• Market surprised by Reid's Gallagher exit

  27-10-2016 11:23
  
  Reid is fifth person to leave UK Retail CEO role in five years.
  
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• WCMA makes senior M&A hire

  27-10-2016 11:10
  Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) has hired Daniel Ohana
  from Bank of America Merrill Lynch as senior vice president.
  Ohana will join WCMA on 31 October. Based in London, he will
  report to Brian Shea, head of WCMA Europe.
  WMCA is adding to the team after Leo Beckham left the firm in
  September to join TigerRisk as managing director of its investment
  banking arm in London.
  Ohana worked in the financial institutions group at Bank of
  America Merrill Lynch...
  
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• Italy suffers two more quakes

  27-10-2016 11:10
  Two concurrent earthquakes struck Italy in the early hours of
  yesterday evening around 70km from the epicentre of the magnitude
  6.2 quake in August.
  A magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 7.10pm local time near Visso in
  the Macerata province, followed two hours later by a magnitude 6.1
  tremor in the same area.
  The first earthquake occurred at a depth of 9km, while the
  second was at a depth of 10km.
  Media reports have suggested serious damage in the town of...
  
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• Fadata increases investment in Nordic region with new Stockholm office

  27-10-2016 11:10
  
  Fadata has decided to increase its investment in the Nordic region through the launch of its new office in Stockholm.
  
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• Supreme court rules in AIG's favour against Impact

  27-10-2016 10:03
  
  The Supreme Court yesterday allowed AIG’s appeal against Impact Funding Solutions by a majority of four to one.
  
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• Vantage looks to begin acquisitions

  27-10-2016 10:00
  
  NSM deal has provided the broker with a “war chest” to buy other specialist brokers.
  
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• Photo blunder leads to police caution

  27-10-2016 09:54
  
  Claim identified as fraud after claimant’s photo error
  
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• Stuart Reid leaves Gallagher

  27-10-2016 09:50
  
  Michael Rea to lead UK retail business.
  
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• Scor Global P&C Q3 income misses consensus

  27-10-2016 09:48
  Scor Global P&C's third quarter operating income fell 17
  percent to EUR166mn ($181mn), down 14 percent against analyst
  consensus.
  The miss was driven by a marginally higher combined ratio, a
  lower premium base and weaker investment income, Citi analyst
  Andrius Budnikas wrote in a note this morning.
  The net technical result fell 9 percent in the quarter to
  EUR185mn, as the reported combined ratio ticked up 0.8 percentage
  points to 91.4 percent.
  The increase in reported combined ratio stemmed
  
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• Stuart Reid to leave Gallagher

  27-10-2016 09:41
  
  Retail boss had still not received FCA approval for the role more than a year after joining
  
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• Fraudsters caught after jewellery mistake

  27-10-2016 09:39
  
  Fraud uncovered after stolen items spotted
  
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• ​Voice recognition to spark ‘explosive change’ in insurance

  27-10-2016 09:18
  
  Guidewire boss Ryu points to innovative technology
  
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• Barclays' PPI costs rise by another £600m

  27-10-2016 09:16
  
  Bank makes extra provision to pay compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance as it reports fall in profits The cost of the payment protection insurance scandal continues to mount after Barclays took another £600m hit to pay compensation to customers who were mis-sold the insurance product.The extra provision, announced as the bank reported a 10% fall in nine-month profits, takes Barclays’ claims cost to £8.4bn. The total bill for the industry is likely to hit £
  
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• Reinsurers leading innovation battle – Trov

  27-10-2016 09:11
  
  Insurers lost their competitive edge, Guidewire conference told
  
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• Admiral's Stevens reveals disruption predictions

  27-10-2016 09:02
  
  Admiral Boss questions value of disruptive concepts
  
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• Motor premiums sharply higher - AA

  27-10-2016 08:45
  
  AA survey blames whiplash and IPT for hike in rates
  
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• QBE's Richard Pryce on why the insurance industry must seek certainty on Brexit

  27-10-2016 08:00
  
  We all planned for it but it’s fair to say that few among us believed we would actually have to execute our Brexit contingency strategies.
  
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• Articulating terror risks with construction policies

  27-10-2016 08:00
  
  As the areas affected by war and terrorism expand, the number of risks seeking insurance in those regions is increasing.
  
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• XL Catlin's reinsurance segment grows 23%

  27-10-2016 01:57
  XL Catlin grew the top line in its reinsurance business by about
  23 percent in the third quarter as profit surged by more than
  two-thirds.The premium increase was driven by a "significant" uptick
  in new property treaty and credit business written in the Asia
  Pacific region, XL said.It added that the number was further bolstered by an increase in
  property and casualty treaty business in North America.However the growth was partly offset by a reduction in premiums...
  
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• Axis profits more than triple in Q3

  27-10-2016 01:57
  Axis saw operating income more than triple in the third quarter
  as it reported profits of $161mn, up from the $51mn it reported for
  the same period last year.
  The Bermudian posted modest growth in its top line with gross
  written premium creeping up by 2 percent to $1bn.
  The increase was made up of an 11 percent hike in premiums taken
  by the group's larger insurance division that was partly offset
  by a 14 percent drop in the reinsurance...
  
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• Aspen profit climbs as reinsurance gains boost top line

  27-10-2016 01:57
  Aspen Insurance Holdings said third-quarter profit rose about
  6.3 percent as revenue and margin improvements in its reinsurance
  segment bolstered its sagging insurance operations.
  The Bermuda-based insurer said pre-tax operating profit rose to
  $73.9mn from $69.5mn in the same period a year earlier, while gross
  written premiums (GWP) climbed 6 percent to $763.5mn.
  All of the top-line increase came from the reinsurance segment,
  where GWP jumped almost 16 percent to $365.9mn. Aspen said net
  income
  
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• Arch profits jump 13% in Q3

  27-10-2016 01:57
  Arch Capital Group reported a 13 percent jump in third-quarter
  operating profit as gross premiums written climbed about 7.5
  percent and its combined ratio strengthened.
  The insurer reported that its top line climbed to almost $1.28bn
  from $1.19bn in the year-earlier quarter, in a news release today.
  After-tax operating income increased to $142.5mn, or $1.14 a share,
  from $125.8mn, or $1.01 a share a year earlier.
  Arch said its combined ratio improved to 88 percent from 90.7
  percent.
  Net income..
  
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• AA urges chancellor to 'keep his hands' off IPT

  27-10-2016 01:28
  
  The AA has urged chancellor Philip Hammond to “keep his hands” off Insurance Premium Tax as the insurer's latest British Insurance Premium Index reveals a mixed bag for homeowners.
  
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• AA reports rise in car insurance premiums

  27-10-2016 01:01
  
  Average annual policy costs rise 16% year-on-year, with expensive technology on cars and whiplash claims cited as reasonsDrivers are paying almost £82 more for car insurance than a year ago and are likely to see premiums rise further, according to the latest figures from the Automobile Association (AA).The average annual cost of a new policy rose to £586 in the three months to the end of September, a 16.3% increase on the same period in 2015, the motoring group said.Continue reading.
  
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• PartnerRe profits slip 13% on flat premiums

  27-10-2016 00:21
  PartnerRe saw operating income fall by 12.6 percent to $185mn in
  the third quarter while premiums remained stable.
  The Bermudian reinsurer, acquired by Italian investment house
  Exor last year, said gross written premiums from its property and
  casualty operations grew by less than 1 percent to $963mn for the
  most recent three-month period.
  On a net basis, premiums contracted by 4 percent. The carrier
  blamed cancellations and non-renewals across all of its business
  lines.
  The reduction was partly
  
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