Feature
High Net Worth: Asia's growing wealthy and insurers gradually waking up to opportunities
The population of wealthy people in Asia is continuing to soar, creating significant opportunities for insurers offering premium products catering to their needs.
Application fraud: Revving up rates
In an effort to bring down premiums, many drivers are telling 'white lies' on their application forms, compelling brokers to beef up their own fraud detection alongside insurers.
Analytics: Cultivating customers with tailored data
Customers need to be offered more than just a cheap deal to persuade them to stay with an insurer, and tailored data can help achieve an increase in retention rates.
Terrorism and civil unrest: Risky business
With several parts of the world engulfed by violence and civil unrest, is traditional terrorism and political risk cover increasingly irrelevant?
Dispute resolution: Cutting in the middle man
Financial savings and court support have never been sufficient to switch insurers onto alternative dispute resolution in big numbers. Will the Jackson reforms provide the essential incentives?
Workplace Stress: Under pressure
With an estimated 18 000 financial services employees taking time off work due to stress in 2011, how can companies protect themselves in financially fraught times?
Communicating Change: Preparing to be purchased
Groupama UK and its broker subsidiaries were put up for sale in January. How has its management communicated the process to ensure that positive commercial momentum is maintained?
Opening the Takaful market
Initial forays into the Takaful market in the UK have so far met with failure. Despite this, there is still a conviction that a relevant Takaful market exists.
Social Media: The social media circle
With a culture of risk aversion, insurance is not a major social media player. But will the emergence of innovative German player Friendsurance change things?
Countdown to ISA: Is the renminbi the new dollar?
As the valuation of the Chinese renminbi has an impact on the global currency markets, Andrew Leung looks at Chinese monetary policy and the Global Reserve Currency System in a global context.
Making 'Agile' an insurance priority
As insurers face escalating regulatory control, fragile investor confidence and weakened demand in many key markets, John Milway explains why insurance companies can speed up responses to business process change by embracing an 'Agile’ approach.
Technology: more cash to splash?
With global insurance spend on IT set to increase by 6% over the next year, will a similar trend emerge in the UK during 2012 and beyond?
Mobile Phones: Success with smartphones
The development of mobile network technology combined with the increasing sophistication of smartphones has fundamentally changed the £620m mobile phone insurance market.
Marine: A stormy start to 2012 and choppy waters ahead
With the Costa Concordia disaster in January, the marine market has had a tough start to the year. What impact has this had on the state of play in an already difficult sector?
Health and Safety: Inspectors go hi-tech for a better service
Technology is transforming plant and equipment inspections and creating substantial improvements in the quality, speed and effectiveness of the inspections carried out and the inspectors that undertake them.
Health and Safety: All about the money
Facing a huge cut in its budget, the Health and Safety Executive is preparing to claw back the shortfall. But plans to charge fees for interventions have met with a mixed response.
All change as super-regulator hovers over Hong Kong
The Hong Kong insurance market is due to undergo some significant changes in the near future as an independent insurance regulator is established. Jonathan Swift looks at the market now and the challenges to come.
Post Broking Supplement: Digital technology roundtable
It is vital for brokers to keep abreast of the latest developments, but they must not lose sight of the value in 'old technologies'.
Post Broking Supplement: Biba preview – the keynote speakers
As the broking community prepares to head to Manchester for Biba 2012, Stephanie Denton had a private audience with some of the conference's keynote speakers to get to know them better.
Post Broking Supplement: M&A top tips for brokers
Broker mergers and acquisitions are always a much debated topic. Stephanie Denton asked the experts what brokers should do to attract the right buyer if they are considering a potential sale this year.
Post Broking Supplement: The big issues for brokers
With the British Insurance Brokers' Association conference looming, brokers are warming up for the networking event of the year and their best opportunity to thrash out market issues. Post caught up with some of the biggest hitting national players to…
Lloyd's: Can the market fully recover from the losses in 2011?
Lloyd's' market performance and underwriting discipline has long been praised by the industry but, after the near unprecedented losses in 2011, many are wondering whether it can fully bounce back.
RTA Portal extension: Delivering swift justice
The extension of the road traffic accident claims portal has met with mixed reactions, with concerns over the practicalities involved and how it will affect the personal injury market.
Contingent commissions: The reasons behind the latest u-turns
With Willis the latest broker to perform a u-turn on contingent commissions, how will the market react?