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Aviva's Christmas present
Direct Line Group accepted a £3.6bn bid for Aviva, showing unlike most of us the latter’s CEO Amanda Blanc doesn’t have to wait until 25 December to get what she wants. To secure Direct Line under her tree, Aviva chiefs have until 5pm on Christmas Day to formalise their offer. What will the deal mean in terms of the shape of Direct Line and Aviva in 2025? Will Direct Line Group bosses continue to push ahead with their plans to axe about 550 roles by the end of 2025? Could it send former Direct Line suitor Ageas into the arms of Esure in a move to ensure this mega-merger doesn’t leave smaller personal lines providers floundering? Post promises to keep a close eye on the waves created by the mega-merger. Insurers on nice list
Plenty of providers earned a place on MY nice list this year by sharing their views on the type and level of cover Father Christmas requires for a fun feature ahead of the festivities. I am sure Santa Claus will reward Marcus Latchford of Allianz Partners, Matt Washington at Aviva, Ernesto Suarez of Gigasure, Toby Clegg at Markerstudy-owned Clegg Gifford, Nick Dinsdale at Peach, Alix Bedford at Zurich Municipal, Richard Webb of Pen Underwriting, Mark Andrews at Altus Consulting, Daniel Keir for Zurich Resilience Solutions, John Bissell of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, Sarah Brown at Crawford & Company, Lee Masson of Halliwell Forensics, Kim Alcock at McLarens, and Kieran Fisher at Percayso Vehicle Intelligence, and the team at Admiral for the time, care and consideration they have shown him in assessing his risks and recommending products and services to ensure everyone can enjoy a holly, jolly Christmas this year. Ready for 2025
To make sure you are aware of all the major events in the insurance industry in 2024, and ahead of the game in 2025, I highly recommend reading our Reviews of the Year. Insurtechs unpick how the sector upped their artificial intelligence plus data analytics game in 2024 and predict the industry will push the boundaries of digital transformation even further in 2025. Insurance company CEOs from the likes of Admiral, Zurich, Aviva, QBE, Allianz, Markel and Axa hope for economic stability, less regulatory tinkering, and fewer storms in the year ahead. Essential reading to get ahead of the game. What to watch
Before the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special and the last ever Gavin & Stacey hit television screens, I advise you get in the mood for Santa Claus coming to town by watching a cracker of an edition of Post’s Podcast? Our content director Jonathan Swift and news editor Scott McGee demand I ditch the usual award-winning format of the Insurance Post Podcast to deliver a Christmas Special featuring Biba’s Graeme Trudgill, iCan’s Ajay Mistry, the ABI’s Meryvn Skeet, and Cila’s Adam Humphrey taking part in a news quiz. Our Christmas special also features a Top of the Pops-style countdown of our Top 10 news stories of the year and a heart-warming, CBeebies-style story of the power of broking called: ‘Twas the Day before renewal, read by the MGAA’s Mike Keating, the CII’s Matthew Connell, KPMG’s Huw Evans, plus our brand director Chris Finnegan and amazing reporting team Harry Curtis, Tom Luckham and Damisola Sulaiman. Thanks to the host of famous faces who donned festive jumpers, fairy light necklaces, reindeer antlers and Santa hats to take part in this podcast and make it such a spectacular production. Merry Christmas from the Post team. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and amazing 2025. Emma Ann Hughes Editor of Insurance Post Newsletters recommended for you
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