Insurance news

• Claims Excellence Awards 2017: Winners revealed

  18-05-2017 23:43
  
  Insurance Times reveals who the big winners are at the Claims Excellence Awards 2017
  
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• JLT Re brings in Messenger from Guy Carp

  18-05-2017 22:16
  JLT Re North America has hired Greg Messenger from rival Guy
  Carpenter as executive vice president in its Chicago, Illinois
  office.
  Messenger will focus on expanding and developing the reinsurance
  broker's regional, mutual and national global practice areas,
  said the firm in a statement.
  He will officially join JLT Re in July 2017 once he has
  fulfilled his current contractual obligations.
  Before joining Guy Carpenter, the executive had held senior
  positions at Aon Benfield and EW Blanch.
  JLT Re
  
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• 'Unsettling evidence' on London future: Beale

  18-05-2017 22:16
  Lloyd's CEO Inga Beale has urged underwriters not to be
  complacent about London's future and warned that there is a
  risk of decline if it fails to embrace change.
  In a letter to Lloyd's managing agency executives on 9 May,
  seen by The Insurance Insider, Beale said
  theupdated London Matters report provided "some unsettling
  evidence of where London is under intense pressure".Beale called on market participants to "redouble"
  efforts to modernise and improve the market.
  The report, commissioned...
  
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• Mapfre shares slump as investors fret over Brazil

  18-05-2017 22:16
  Mapfre shares dropped 4.8 percent to EUR3.60 at close on the Bolsa
  de Madrid today, weighed down by political instability in Brazil.
  The Brazilian president Michel Temer has been accused of
  corruption after local media reported he had endorsed bribes to a
  jailed politician.
  The Spanish (re)insurance giant wrote EUR1.2bn ($1.3bn) of gross
  premiums in Brazil over the first quarter of 2017 across its life
  and non-life books.
  The insurer also has EUR4.7bn of investments, real estate and
  cash in...
  
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• Lexis Nexis brings motor claims loss predictor to market

  18-05-2017 18:01
  
  Technology firm Lexis Nexis have developed a new predictor of motor claims loss.
  
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• Development of Medco platform stalled by election

  18-05-2017 17:15
  
  The development of the Medco platform is being stalled by the shelved whiplash consultation and the general election.
  
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• Germany long-time frontrunner for Markel Europe choice

  18-05-2017 16:50
  Markel expects to add at least two senior staff to its Munich
  branch as the operation prepares to become a fully capitalised
  subsidiary in time for Brexit.
  Markel International's director of national markets Simon
  Wilson told The Insurance Insider that
  the company will probably hire a finance director and some
  actuarial capacity in Munich.
  He expects the subsidiary to be led by the branch's current
  head, Frederik Wulff, though the appointment is subject to
  regulatory approval.
  The new Markel Eur
  
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• Davies on acquisition hunt: CEO

  18-05-2017 16:50
  Outsourced insurance services company Davies Group is looking
  for further acquisitions following its first purchase under new
  private equity owner HGGC Partners.
  Davies last month bought regulatory services company Cynergie, a
  £6mn ($7.8mn) revenue company. It acquired the business from
  management, who will stay on at the firm.
  The deal came less than two months after Palo Alto,
  California-based HGGC closed the purchase of Davies from Epiris for
  an enterprise value of £90mn.
  Davies C
  
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• Boardroom risk tops future concerns of UK business

  18-05-2017 16:50
  British businesses perceive boardroom risk as their top concern,
  according to a survey conducted by CNA Hardy.
  In the carrier's inaugural Risk and Confidence Survey 46
  percent of companies surveyed predicted risks at a director level -
  defined as fraud, corruption and poor governance issues, among
  others - would rise over the six months to autumn.
  That was greater than the number of those worried about the
  political and economic situation.
  CNA Hardy CEO Dave Brosnan said boards needed to...
  
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• Ariel Re CFO to depart as Argo takeover beds in

  18-05-2017 16:50
  Ariel Re's chief financial officer Angus Ayliffe is set to
  leave the reinsurer at the end of June, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Ayliffe had worked at Ariel Re since its 2005 launch, becoming
  CFO in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.
  Ariel closed its $235mn sale to Argo in February this year,
  marking the carrier's fourth ownership change in the past five
  years.
  Argo said it expected to realise $15mn of savings after the
  acquisition by cutting about 20 percent...
  
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• Allstate estimates April cat losses at $235mn

  18-05-2017 16:50
  US insurer Allstate has indicated an expected April catastrophe
  toll of $235mn before tax, or $153mn after tax, derived from 11
  events.
  The New York-listed company said the pre-tax figure comprised
  estimated losses of $229mn for new events and the balance for
  reserve strengthening on previously reported catastrophe
  losses.
  The disclosure came after Allstate reportedpre-tax catastrophe losses of $781mn in the first quarter, a
  result exacerbated by an extreme hailstorm in Texas.The figure was grea
  
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• Ageas launches AI claims-handling pilot scheme

  18-05-2017 16:50
  UK carrier Ageas has completed a first-stage pilot of using
  artificial technology (AI) for motor claims handling.
  The pilot, which was completed at the end of last year, was
  performed in conjunction with AI technology specialist Tractable
  and involved the analysis of several thousand images of vehicles
  that had been involved in accidents or required repairs.
  The technology identified repair efficiencies across a
  proportion of the claims and these were verified by Ageas'
  motor engineers.
  Ageas sa
  
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• Dacre Bleu: will the industry act after Daily Mail attack on insurer 'sharks' and 'pirates'?

  18-05-2017 16:14
  
  Post content director Jonathan Swift reflects on the Daily Mail coverage of insurers reportedly ripping off loyal customers, and asks if beneath the tabloid headlines there lies a home truth the industry needs to act on?
  
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• Fraud, corruption and poor governance risks are top future business concern

  18-05-2017 15:25
  
  Boardroom risks, defined as fraud, corruption and poor governance, is the top concern for UK businesses, according to CNA Hardy.
  
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• Ageas pilots artificial intelligence for motor claims

  18-05-2017 14:18
  
  Insurer working with artificial intelligence firm Tractable
  
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• Interview: Sabine VanderLinden - making the insurtech weather

  18-05-2017 14:00
  
  Startupbootcamp InsurTech managing director Sabine VanderLinden reveals the key to insurance innovation
  
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• CGI recruits former LV digital head Paul Wishman as global insurance VP

  18-05-2017 13:33
  
  Former LV e-commerce director Paul Wishman has been appointed vice-president of global insurance at CGI.
  
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• Neil Woodford buys into housebuilders and property

  18-05-2017 13:17
  Fund manager’s move shows confidence in UK economy, say analysts
  
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• Lloyd’s seeks voluntary redundancies as it reviews structure

  18-05-2017 12:21
  
  Lloyd’s looking for voluntary redundancies at it aims to improve efficiency
  
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• PICC plans to list in Shanghai

  18-05-2017 12:00
  PICC Group, the parent company of PICC P&C, is planning to list
  on the Shanghai Stock Exchange four years after it went public in
  Hong Kong.
  According to a statement on PICC Group's website, the
  carrier will sell no more than 4.6 billion shares in Shanghai -
  equivalent to 9.78 percent of its total stock - pending approval
  from its shareholders and Chinese regulators.
  Its shares closed down 0.9 percent in Hong Kong on Thursday.
  Based on PICC's closing market...
  
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• Opinion: see-through accounting

  18-05-2017 12:00
  Did you notice when "transparent" stopped being a dirty
  word? When it ceased to apply to, perhaps, an errant boyfriend or a
  vote-hungry politician, but got co-opted by regulators and
  virtue-signalling companies alike?
  The adjective is now designed to chivvy, to uplift and to
  justify increased paperwork after below-the-radar financial sector
  misdemeanours during and just after the credit crisis.
  And insurers will be hearing more of that rehabilitated
  descriptor as the sector grapples with new acc
  
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• New IFRS model poses a major challenge, experts say

  18-05-2017 12:00
  Insurers implementing the International Accounting Standards
  Board (IASB)'s new IFRS 17 will find the process a major
  challenge due to the huge scale of the operation, according to
  Willis Towers Watson.
  From 2021, insurers across the world will be expected to use the
  IFRS 17 reporting standard - the first global accounting standard
  for insurance contracts.
  The current standard, IFRS 4, has allowed local Gaap to be used
  as a guide in each country, leading to little consistency across
  borders...
  
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• Markel chooses Germany for EU subsidiary

  18-05-2017 12:00
  Markel is to set up a German insurance subsidiary, as the US
  carrier prepares for the UK's exit from the European Union.
  Markel said today that the company is planning to apply for
  regulatory approval to set up the Munich-based unit "to ensure
  that whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, a Markel
  insurance company will be able to meet the insurance needs of
  clients in the EU-27 countries".
  The insurer hopes to have the fully capitalised subsidiary up
  and...
  
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• Interview: Conor Brennan, Zurich UK

  18-05-2017 11:51
  
  Zurich has seen a seismic shift in the last year. A group-wide restructure also saw a reworked operating model in the UK, with commercial, general insurance and life businesses under a single leadership.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Ageas to use AI in claims handling

  18-05-2017 11:49
  
  Insurer claims first on using AI in motor claims handling.
  
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• Tory manifesto pledges to 'consider ban' on cold calling for personal injury

  18-05-2017 11:26
  
  The Conservative Party has pledged to consider a ban on cold calling for personal injury claims if it wins the general election.
  
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• Ageas to use AI tech in motor claims handling

  18-05-2017 11:20
  
  Ageas will use Artificial Intelligence in its motor claims handling, using software to assess damage based on pictures.
  
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• Markel chooses location for post-Brexit insurance unit

  18-05-2017 10:26
  
  US insurance group to set up post-Brexit insurance unit to maintain EU access
  
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• Markel to open office in Germany in Brexit move

  18-05-2017 10:11
  
  Markel plans to open an office in Munich as it seeks to meet the needs of its clients in the remaining 27 EU countries.
  
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• Markel to set up German subsidiary in light of Brexit

  18-05-2017 09:58
  
  Markel will apply for regulatory approval to establish an insurance company in Germany in light of Brexit.
  
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• Reporting standards are 'biggest shake up' of insurance for decades

  18-05-2017 09:51
  
  The International Accounting Standards Board today released IFRS 17, a “fundamental overhaul” of insurance accounting.
  
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• Lloyd's contacts all staff about voluntary redundancies

  18-05-2017 09:38
  
  Corporation sends email to staff about voluntary severance programme.
  
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• ‘Fundamental overhaul’ of insurance accounting launched

  18-05-2017 08:00
  
  New standard aims to improve understanding of insurance accounting
  
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• UK insurers to be hit by radical shake-up of accounting rules

  18-05-2017 06:01
  Biggest change in decades could lead to lower and more volatile profits
  
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• UK insurers hit by biggest accounting shake-up in decades

  18-05-2017 06:01
  Radical shift in regulations could lead to lower and more volatile profits
  
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• Texas lawmakers pass limits on weather claims lawsuits

  18-05-2017 02:01
  Insurers stand to gain some relief from abusive lawsuits in
  Texas, where lawmakers passed and sent a reform bill to Governor
  Greg Abbott today.
  Abbott ,a Republican, reportedly supports the measure, which
  would take effect in September once he signs it into law.
  The legislation aims to counter an explosion in lawsuits tied
  weather-related insurance claims which surged 1,400 percent in the
  Lone Star state from 2012 to 2015, according to analyses by state
  regulators and the nonpartisan House Resea
  
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