UK
Ageas announces raft of personal lines hires
Ageas UK has today announced changes to its executive leadership team, as it commits to growing in the personal lines broker market.
Lord Chancellor announces UK-consistent Ogden rate
Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood has announced her intention to increase the personal injury discount rate to 0.5% from -0.25%, in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Is a Direct Line sale an inevitability?
Briefing: Even though it said it will not “engage further” after Aviva’s takeover attempt, is a Direct Line Group sale an inevitability?
Lack of trust in telematics hampering potential
After a survey found only 8% of respondents had received any communication from insurers about adopting telematics-based insurance to help reduce premiums, Fairer Finance’s James Daley said “telematics still doesn’t seem to be fulfilling its potential”.
Axa accused of threatening to pull cover from brain injury victim
Axa Partners reportedly insisted that a woman suffering from multiple brain injuries must be repatriated against the advice of her doctors, or face losing her travel insurance coverage.
Guidewire teases enhanced focus on pricing products
Will McAllister, senior vice president and managing director of EMEA at Guidewire, has told Insurance Post the firm will begin deploying pricing products “in a much shorter timeframe”.
Big Interview: Ernesto Suarez, Gigasure
Ernesto Suarez, CEO of Gigasure, outlines his plan to turn the recently launched travel MGA into the neo-bank of insurance.
Commercial insurers should be ‘just as ambitious’ as retail with tech
Joe Diss, director of claims analytics at Arch Insurance Services has urged commercial insurers to up their ambitions when it comes to technology.
Property payouts hit £4bn; RSA's latest launch; Konsileo's £8m fundraise
Friday Round-Up: Insurance Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
Close Brothers to seek consent to pay premium finance commission
From next week, Close Brothers will seek consent from commercial customers for the payment of broker commissions for premium finance.
CMA criticises Prima over £300K NCB breach
The Competition and Markets Authority has sent a letter to Prima because of a series of breaches relating to no claims bonus that affected more than 38,000 customers.
Yet another exit at Allianz as Major heads to HDI
HDI Global has this morning announced the appointment of Allianz Commercial’s Tom Major as its chief claims officer for the UK and Ireland.
UN insurance head highlights transition plan shortage
Butch Bacani, head of insurance for the United Nations Environment Programme, has said there are currently not enough underwriting transition plans in the insurance industry.
Howden buys Storfield; Hiscox’s drone partnership; SiriusPoint's CUO
Friday Round-Up: Insurance Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches, investments and strategic moves of the week.
UN forum finds ‘major gap’ in industry underwriting transition plans
The United Nations Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero has identified a “major gap” in the transition plans for insurance underwriting portfolios.
Allianz to launch refreshed SME proposition in 2025
Allianz Commercial plans to launch a refreshed SME proposition in 2025, following investment to broaden and modularise its product suite, UK managing director Nadia Côté has told Post.
RSA brand name to be dropped for Intact next year
Insurance Post understands the RSA and NIG brand names are both to be dropped next year, to be replaced by the branding of parent company, Intact.
Insurers must embrace rather than resist motor OEM disruption
Delegates at the Insurance Innovators conference were told to welcome fresh competition from original equipment manufacturers, and that they don't have a "God-given right" to be the only ones to sell insurance.
Howden rolls out pilots to increase efficiency
Carl Shuker, UK & Ireland CEO for Howden Insurance Brokers, has outlined three examples of how the broker has increased efficiency within its operations.
ManyPets exits US market
ManyPets has exited the US market to focus on the UK, after exiting the Swedish market last year.
Aviva pulls plug on Applied Systems pilot
Insurance Post can reveal that just six months after entering a pilot with Applied Systems for its property owners product, Aviva has pulled the plug, saying the results “do not justify the ongoing investment”.
Allianz and Aviva reportedly considering Esure bids
According to a report by Bloomberg, both Allianz and Aviva are considering bids for Esure, which has been owned by Bain Capital since 2018.
Post-pandemic supply-chain issues beginning to ‘stabilise’
Aviva's technical claims manager Martin Smith has told Insurance Post that supply-chain issues caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have ‘stabilised.’
Big Interview: Kevin Spencer, Markerstudy Group
In his first interview since the completion of the £1.2bn merger between Markerstudy and Ardonagh’s Atlanta Group, Kevin Spencer sits down with Scott McGee to talk through the process of completing the deal, and how it allows his business to overtake…