Insurance news

• USI Southwest partners with Trisura on truck program

  12-04-2018 22:33
  Hybrid US fronting carrier Trisura Specialty will provide its
  paper to USI Southwest for an intermodal truck insurance program,
  the latter said today.
  The program will first target Texas intermodal transportation
  companies but the program will expand across the US over time, USI
  Southwest announced.
  USI Southwest is part of Valhalla, New York-based top ten US
  retail broker USI.
  USI Southwest's transportation division based in Dallas,
  Texas, has provided truck insurance for more than 30 years.
  Th
  
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• Church's franchisee sues Lloyd's insurers over Harvey

  12-04-2018 22:33
  A Church's Chicken franchisee has filed a lawsuit in Texas
  accusing several Lloyd's underwriters of not living up to their
  commercial policies when it comes to 54 stores affected by
  Hurricane Harvey.
  Delaware-incorporated Royal Hospitality, which filed the suit in
  the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston
  division, is seeking more than $10mn in damages.
  The Lloyd's firms named in the suit are W1E467190101,
  Beazley 2623, Beazley 623, Lloyd's 93PRX17EEF8 and Novae
  2007.
  N
  
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• Swiss Re targets E&S insurance expansion with new unit

  12-04-2018 19:35
  Swiss Re Corporate Solutions (SRCS) has launched a standalone
  excess and surplus lines (E&S) business unit for North America
  as it looks to expand in the space.
  In an email to wholesale brokers, the insurance arm of the
  European reinsurance giant said the unit will include its
  established E&S property and E&S casualty groups, but would
  look to broaden its offering.
  "Our E&S group will be fortified with the addition of
  multiple lines of business in the near future," said...
  
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• Eos Venture Partners targets $100mn for tech fund

  12-04-2018 19:35
  Eos Venture Partners is aiming to raise $100mn for a global
  InsurTech fund, according to the London venture capital firm.
  Eos has already made eight insurance investments since it was
  established in 2016, among them home insurance provider Neos and
  Digital Fineprint, a company that helps insurers use social media
  data.
  The new fund, which will be known as EVP I, has already received
  a $20mn commitment from an unnamed global insurer, Eos said in a
  statement. Another carrier has...
  
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• Alliant confirms Crystal deal

  12-04-2018 19:35
  US retail broker Alliant has confirmed it has agreed a deal to
  buy New York-based Crystal & Co in a move firstrevealed by The Insurance Insider
  last Friday.In a statement, the California-headquartered firm said buying
  Crystal would bring it one of the most established independent
  insurance brokerage firms in the US, with 450 professionals and 11
  offices, expanding Alliant's growing national footprint and
  areas of expertise in the process.
  Alliant chairman and CEO Tom Corbett, said: "Adding a
  
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• Insurtech initiative to set 'industry standard' for sector

  12-04-2018 18:01
  Exclusive: A cross industry initiative has been established to draw up a roadmap for future insurtech innovation.
  
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• Phil Barton hails Clark Thomson buy as the "perfect deal"

  12-04-2018 17:36
  CEO says Jelf was previously underrepresented in Scotland and opens up on the potential for future deals.
  
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• Price cuts pay off for Saga as customer numbers rise

  12-04-2018 17:09
  Pre-tax profits at insurance and travel specialist down 7.6% year on year
  
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• USAG sues seven insurers over Nassar-related suits

  12-04-2018 16:54
  USA Gymnastics (USAG) has filed a lawsuit against seven of its
  insurers, accusing them of breaching their contracts when it comes
  to defending and indemnifying the non-profit organisation against
  legal actions associated with convicted sex offender Larry
  Nassar.
  In the lawsuit, which was filed in Marion Superior Court in
  Indianapolis, where USAG is based, the organisation said the
  insurers are not providing a full defense against a number of
  lawsuits related to its employment of Nassar and its k
  
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• US property price rises already slowing: Willis

  12-04-2018 16:54
  US commercial property insurance rate increases are already
  calming as the initial reaction from underwriters to record 2017
  cat losses is tempered by the realities of a well-capitalised
  P&C industry, according to Willis Towers Watson.
  However, the firm added commercial insurance buyers would still
  face upward pricing pressure on many other lines of business in
  2018.
  This includes elevated predictions for increases in some
  casualty and executive risk classes.
  In its latest Marketplace Realit
  
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• Sydenham and Schiffer promoted in Swiss Re specialty reshuffle

  12-04-2018 16:54
  Swiss Re has restructured its specialty reinsurance management
  structure, reducing the number of divisions from five to two,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Peter Sydenham, previously global head of marine, will take
  oversight of aviation and agriculture in addition to his existing
  responsibilities.
  A new combined division which brings together engineering and
  credit, surety and political risk will be headed up by former
  engineering chief Gregory Schiffer.
  Agriculture was previously headed by
  
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• Lloyd's reduces syndicates' data burden for 2019 forecasts

  12-04-2018 16:54
  Lloyd's has streamlined the data it is requesting from
  syndicates for their 2019 business forecasts, reflecting a plan
  devised by performance management director Jon Hancock.
  In a market bulletin, Hancock also asked syndicates for
  forecasts of the gross premiums they expect to write next year
  through Lloyd's Insurance Company, the Brussels hub that will
  write European Economic Area renewals and new business from 1
  January.
  The Brussels gross written premium figure will feature in the
  "high level
  
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• GRP expands northern base with Thomas Sagar

  12-04-2018 16:54
  UK broker consolidator Global Risk Partners (GRP) has acquired
  Thomas Sagar Insurances for an undisclosed sum.
  The acquisition came after GRP secured £200mn ($283.7mn) in
  additional capital from Ares Capital Europe and HSBC in December to
  fund more deals. This isGRP's acquisition number 23, more than half of which were
  signed in 2017.
  Burnley-based Thomas Sagar employs 24 people and wrote £9mn
  in gross written premiums (GWP) last year. Directors John and Susan
  Meadows will continue t
  
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• CCR 2017 profit down 23% after EUR2.2bn of losses

  12-04-2018 16:54
  French state-owned reinsurer CCR said its pre-tax profit fell by
  almost 23 percent in 2017, as it transferred EUR1.1bn ($1.4bn) of
  reserves to cover record losses from Hurricane Irma, a drought in
  France and other catastrophes.
  CCR made pre-tax profits of EUR228mn and had a non-life combined
  ratio of 93.1 percent, up 3.2 points from 2016, the group said.
  Net profit fell by 68 percent to EUR45mn, while gross written
  premiums slipped by 2 percent to EUR1.29bn.
  Total claims in...
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Axa teams up with on-demand motor broker By Miles

  12-04-2018 15:57
  Axa UK has partnered with pay-by-mile insurtech start-up By Miles and will underwrite its policies when it goes lives.
  
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• GRP buys Thomas Sagar Insurances

  12-04-2018 15:00
  GRP says deal boosts its northern footprint and follows its purchases of County Group, Camberford Law and Country & Commercial Insurance Brokers.
  
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• Marsh unit acquires Clark Thomson

  12-04-2018 14:33
  Marsh-owned retail broker Jelf has acquired Clark Thomson, a
  Scottish retail and commercial lines intermediary.
  Marsh said that Clark Thomson is Scotland's largest
  independent insurance broker.
  Clark Thomson made a loss before tax of almost £2.8mn
  ($3.9mn) in 2017, according to an accounts filing in Companies
  House. In 2016 the company made a profit before tax of
  £659,000.
  The company has roughly 200 staff, with offices in Dundee,
  Glasgow, Inverness, Kirkwall, Oban, Elgin, Thurso, an
  
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• Exin questions mount as exec walks and liabilities go unpaid

  12-04-2018 14:33
  Questions about the resilience of Matt Fairfield's insurance
  business Exin have multiplied after the executive lined up to
  become CEO of takeover target Ethniki walked out and as liabilities
  in the UK remain unsettled.
  Fairfield is fighting for the future of the group after it was
  unable to put together a fully financed proposal to buy a majority
  stake in the Greek state-owned insurer by a crucial 28 March
  deadline. Exin subsequently lost exclusivity in the process.
  With the sale...
  
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• Opinion: Sirius IPO

  12-04-2018 12:11
  Is there a London premium anymore?
  In recent years London specialty (re)insurance stocks have
  tended to trade at higher valuations than New York-listed
  Bermudians, and this situation still persists, with our thinned-out
  London composite trading at 1.8x book and our Bermuda cohort at
  1.3x.
  But the most recent Bermuda M&A deals - AIG-Validus and
  Axa-XL - carried multiples that ran ahead of the 1.5x headline
  multiple seen in Axis-Novae and the 1.2x Centerbridge paid for
  Canopius.
  And while the
  
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• Gard names Hong Kong managing director

  12-04-2018 12:11
  Protection and indemnity (P&I) club Gard has appointed Mark
  Russell as managing director of its Hong Kong office.
  He will take up the role on 1 August and replaces Trygve
  Nøkleby, who will move to a senior role in Bergen.
  Russell is currently vice president, head of cargo claims, a
  role he has held since 2010. Before joining Gard in 1996 he had a
  career at sea.
  Gard CEO Rolf Thore Roppestad noted: "Gard has invested
  considerable resources over the...
  
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• Jelf to buy Clark Thomson

  12-04-2018 11:36
  First deal for Jelf since it was bought by Marsh in 2015.
  
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• FCA renewal transparency rules driving customer switching

  12-04-2018 11:08
  Data shows drivers and homeowners who switch provider could save up to £100 a year as analysts say new rules are encouraging customers to shop around.
  
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• Video: Meet Chris Guillaume

  12-04-2018 10:54
  Learn more about Open GI's CEO in our quick-fire Q&A.
  
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• Blog: Can GDPR alter the public mindset on data protection?

  12-04-2018 10:34
  GDPR could help build a culture where protection of virtual assets is seen to be as important as locking the front door. Paul Dix, the vice president of insurance at CGI, explains the opportunities for insurers if this scenario works out.
  
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• Analysis: Takaful, all promise and little delivery

  12-04-2018 10:29
  With more than three million Muslims in the UK, there has long been a feeling that sharia-compliant insurance products should find a market but the reality has proved the opposite. So far, every attempt to establish a takaful insurer in the UK domestic market has failed.
  
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• Gallagher replaces Aviva as Premiership Rugby sponsor

  12-04-2018 10:24
  The broker has signed a multi-year deal beginning with the 2018-19 season.
  
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• Volante appoints Probert from QBE

  12-04-2018 09:22
  Talbir Bains' MGA platform Volante has hired Jerry Probert
  as underwriting and franchise director.
  Probert has more than 35 years' underwriting experience and
  joins from QBE, where he was director of Europe.
  He reports to Volante founder and chief executive Bains and is
  tasked with monitoring technical and business performance across
  all portfolios within the group.
  Probert joined QBE in 2007 from Gen Re, where he headed their UK
  and European facultative casualty and financial lines
  portfolios.
  
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• US-based insurer Arthur J Gallagher to sponsor rugby in UK

  12-04-2018 06:00
  Broker targets brand recognition through 4-year deal with Premiership Rugby
  
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• Insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher to sponsor rugby in UK

  12-04-2018 06:00
  Broker targets brand recognition through 4-year deal with Premiership Rugby
  
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• Everest Re reports wildfire creep in Q1 cat losses

  12-04-2018 02:22
  Everest Re has said it expects to take $100mn of estimated cat
  losses in its first quarter results, largely from the California
  wildfires and related events.
  The Bermudian said the losses, which are net of reinsurance
  recoverables and reinstatement premiums, reflected higher industry
  estimates for both the Northern and Southern California events.
  It explained that its initial estimate for the wildfires - part
  of $161.5mn of cat losses it reported for Q3 2017 - was based on
  the best available...
  
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• New safeguards for British holidaymakers who book online

  12-04-2018 01:01
  EU travel rules will give internet deals the same levels of financial cover as traditional packagesBritish holidaymakers will benefit from greater protection when booking online under new EU rules that come into force this summer. Updated UK package travel regulations, part of an EU directive due to take effect for holidays booked from 1 July, aim to create a level playing field by making online retailers as responsible for consumer protection as traditional travel agents.Continue reading...
  
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• USAG sues seven insurers over Nasser-related suits

  12-04-2018 00:10
  USA Gymnastics (USAG) has filed a lawsuit against seven of its
  insurers, accusing them of breaching their contracts when it comes
  to defending and indemnifying the non-profit organisation against
  legal actions associated with convicted sex offender, Dr. Larry
  Nasser.
  In the lawsuit, which was filed in Marion Superior Court in
  Indianapolis, where USAG is based, the organisation said the
  insurers are not providing a full defense against a number of
  lawsuits related to its employment of Nassar and
  
  Read more

• R&Q partners with MGA specialising in cargo cover

  12-04-2018 00:10
  Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings (R&Q) has entered
  a program underwriting partnership with American Team Managers
  (ATM), an MGA and wholesaler that specialises in providing cargo
  insurance.
  R&Q's Accredited Surety & Casualty subsidiary will
  serve as ATM's issuing carrier.
  Anaheim, California-based ATM provides insurance coverage to the
  US inland transportation industry in 12 western states with limits
  of up to $250,000.
  Accredited will act as the insurer on ATM's behalf on a
  
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• Property treaty exec Henderson leaves Brit Bermuda

  12-04-2018 00:10
  Brit Insurance's head of property treaty in Bermuda, Julia
  Henderson, has left the company, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  The executive joined the Lloyd's (re)insurer from PartnerRe
  in 2013 to co-launch a Bermuda office for Brit Syndicate 2987 with
  workers' compensation specialist, Joe Bonanno.
  The move to open a Bermuda office was aimed at targeting
  business not currently seen by Brit in London.
  Henderson was responsible for building out a book of US property
  cat reinsurance, assumed retroc
  
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