Articles by Martin Croucher
Insurers may be guilty of price discrimination, finds FCA
Insurers may not have sufficient oversight of pricing practices, which could mean some customers are paying significantly higher premiums than those who have similar risk profiles, according to an official review.
Applied looks at acquisitions following Google investment
Applied Systems will consider entering Australia, New Zealand or South Africa if an acquisition opportunity presents itself.
Google: We believe in brokers
Google’s investment in Applied is a vote of confidence for the longevity of the broker channel, the company said.
Hastings issues warning over rising claims inflation
Hastings has seen shares fall as it warned of a “competitive” market with rising claims inflation.
Google to host machine learning ‘bootcamp’ for Applied
Google will host a “bootcamp” on machine learning for Applied Systems engineers next month in the first skills transfer between the two companies.
Google looking for further investment in insurtech
Google is actively looking for further investment in the insurtech space, following its acquisition of a minority stake in Applied Systems.
Dual pricing: Interview: Jonathan Davidson, Financial Conduct Authority
Insurance has come under fire for the way it prices policies. Jonathan Davidson, director of retail at the Financial Conduct Authority, discusses the problem with Martin Croucher
Applied gets ‘nine figure’ investment from Google VC
Applied Systems has secured a “nine figure” cash injection from a Google investment firm in a move that will further drive growth at the company.
This Week in Post: Boing! It’s the executive magic roundabout
The last few months have seen some major executive changes across the UK’s largest insurance companies.
Swinton CEO departs following Ardonagh acquisition
Gilles Normand has stepped down from the CEO job at Swinton following its acquisition by Ardonagh.
Ageas insurance CEO departs in management shakeup
Ageas has restructured its senior management, resulting in the departure of insurance CEO François-Xavier Boisseau as well as other senior figures.
Aviva’s head of digital departs the business
Aviva’s head of digital Andrew Brem has left the insurer and will not be replaced.
Compare the Market owners see profits rise despite blow from abandoned IPO
Compare the Market owner BGL Group has seen underlying pre-tax profits soar by 16% in spite of its abandoned initial public offering.
Mark Wilson steps down as Aviva CEO
Mark Wilson has stepped down as CEO of Aviva after completing a ‘turnaround phase’ at the company.
McCafferty re-affirms strategy as Brightside hit by £10.2m loss
Brightside saw pre-tax losses of £10.2m last year, but incoming CEO Brendan McCafferty said there is “no need to alter strategy”.
Davies has ‘no limits’ to acquisitive ambition
Davies Group said it doesn’t have “limits to its ambition” over acquisitions, as the company saw earnings grow by 47%.
Coverys outlines growth plans for Lloyd's business
Coverys is in talks about buying three large books of business in run-off, the company said.
Brokers look for alternatives following Premium Credit outage
Exclusive: Brokers have been seeking alternative premium finance partners as backup in the wake of the Premium Credit outage.
Dual pricing complaint likely to result in ‘significant market change’
The super complaint over dual pricing is likely to result in “serious and profound” change in the insurance market, analysts believe.
Ardonagh to enter consolidation phase in retail
Ardonagh will hit pause on further major retail acquisitions as it consolidates its current assets.
Swinton to be ‘repackaged’ under Ardonagh
Swinton will continue its trajectory toward becoming primarily a digital business, Ardonagh CEO David Ross said, but he refused to call time on the high street broking model.
Start-up motor MGA to target £20m premium in first year
Motor managing general agent Hedgehog aims to reach £20m in gross written premium in its first year of operations, following its launch in Q4.
Scor CEO rounds on 'baseless' threats from activist investor
Scor’s CEO has slammed an activist investor for “baseless accusations and threats” over a rejected takeover bid from Covéa.
Insurers warn of red tape burden from EU green cards
Insurers have warned of an extra layer of bureaucracy for drivers in the form of ‘green card’ permissions to drive in Europe, if a no deal Brexit occurs.