Analysis
Analysis: Tackling the skills shortage
The insurance industry is facing a huge skills shortage, with employers struggling to find ways to attract and retain top talent
Analysis: 5G ready: Super signal surge
Powerful 5G smart tech devices are expected to be rolled out this year. They are anticipated to overtake 4G in terms of reliability and innovation, as well as increasing data speeds, resulting in faster downloads and increased capability for digital…
180 years of Post: The magazine that shook up insurance
Post Magazine first appeared on Saturday 25 July 1840, just seven months after the introduction of the Penny Post and was the first publication anywhere in the world to be sent by post – hence its name. It, therefore, ranks among one of the most…
Analysis: Embracing data ethics
With the increasing use of machine-learning models, the data being inputted into these models raises a number of ethical questions, but how are insurers addressing these potential issues?
Analysis: What's on the horizon for 2020?
For an industry that strives to understand and manage risk, uncertainty is not something that is relished. But with some market hardening, a final report from the Financial Conduct Authority on pricing practices and the possibility of Brexit all on the…
Penny Black's Social World: December 2019
Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards, keeping safe on the roads, and embracing flexible working
Spotlight: Autonomous Vehicles: The insurance implications of a driverless marine cargo market
Similarly to developments in the auto industry, unmanned seafaring vessels could become prevalent in the future. But today the trend is towards partial autonomy. Valerie Hart looks at the prospects of improving vessel performance and safety, hurdles, and…
Analysis: Discount rate disparity - will the Scottish market become unfavourable?
With the Ogden discount rate in Scotland set to remain at minus 0.75%, could insurers in the country start to feel squeezed, and begin to be squeezed out?
Analysis: Review of the Year 2019
It feels as if 2019 was an uncomfortable year for the general insurance market as it never quite seemed to grasp control of its own destiny. Wherever you look, carefully laid plans were derailed by the unexpected – and often unwanted – intervention of…
Analysis: Managing general agents - Gaining momentum or overheating?
Within insurance, it’s managing general agents seeing all the deals, attracting the money and the talent. The potential for big profits and lower costs drives the sector forward, but will the sector gather yet more momentum or will it overheat?
Analysis: Reservoir dams - a water-tight insurance risk?
With almost 3000 dams supplying drinking water to towns and cities they are a common feature in the UK countryside. However, when heavy rain in August threatened the integrity of the emergency spillway at Toddbrook Reservoir an emergency evacuation of…
Penny Black's Social World: November 2019
Three Peaks Challenge, cycling to Amsterdam and helping communities
Analysis: The challenges of cyber modelling
The size and complexity of cyber perils are constantly increasing and pose a major challenge to insurers and insureds alike as they attempt to assess potential cyber losses.
Analysis: E-vehicles - A missed opportunity?
As people are increasingly switching to electric vehicles, are insurers taking the opportunity to explore this market?
Analysis: Brexit: A view from Europe
As the negotiations over Brexit reach another crescendo of confusion, especially as the EU, UK and European leaders meet in Brussels, the insurance industry can only look on nervously. Those nerves, spiced with concern, are not just felt in the UK but…
Analysis: How far has the insurance industry evolved to respond to natural catastrophes?
Sedgwick loss adjusters arrived on Great Abaco Island in the wake of Hurricane Dorian aboard a Black Hawk helicopter on 6 September.
Analysis: Telematics - telling it as it is?
Fabricating a motor insurance claim used to be as simple as arranging for a mate to drive into your car but with today's new technology, Veronica Cowen explains how much harder insurers are making it for the fraudsters.
Penny Black's Social World: October 2019
Going for gold, tackling diversity and new partnerships
Analysis: Climate change - Getting to grips with global warming
Insurers have been forced into the front line of the fight to stop global warming and climate change and they are beginning to feel uncomfortable and exposed. While several major insurers have issued bold commitments to join the fight to halt global…
Top 100 UK Insurers 2019
The 100 largest UK-regulated insurers, ranked by non-life gross premium written, reported a combined underwriting profit in 2018, compared to a loss in 2017. Catherine Thomas, senior director of analytics in London at AM Best, explains how they achieved…
Special report: The future of claims in commercial broking
To find out what brokers think of commercial claims handling Post and Aviva carried out some extensive research. Sam Barrett reflects on results that highlight insurers have some way to go to meet their expectations.
Analysis: How well have insurers and brokers adapted to providing access to insurance for people with disabilities?
With the introduction of the Equality Act, it became illegal for insurers to price disabled customers’ premiums on any factors that do not directly impact on the risk
Analysis: Rash of cancelled cover highlights the role of the broker
A rise in the volume of UK businesses that have cancelled at least one type of insurance cover over the past few years has served to highlight the importance of the broker’s role in the insurance buying process
Analysis: Trampoline parks – on an upward trajectory for insurance?
To borrow an analogy from Forrest Gump’s mother, writing about insurance can be like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. On the topic of trampolines, an assortment of ‘no comments’ left a rather nasty taste