Post magazine – 12 December 2013

In this week's edition the team looks in more depth at the recently announced partnership between Arthur J Gallagher and reinsurance veteran Grahame Chilton.

Market insiders have described the tie-up as a "coup", claiming the launch of Capsicum Re will enable Gallagher to move on from its previous failings in the reinsurance market.

Gallagher announced last week it was partnering with the ex-Benfield chief executive on a reinsurance intermediary business that is being billed as a "challenger brand" to the ‘big three' global brokers operating in the reinsurance space.

In other news, the technical committee charged with the development of the credit hire portal has said the project could launch as early as quarter three of 2014 after it decided to plough on with the project confident the Competition Commission inquiry into private motor insurance will find the "right conclusions" regarding credit hire; analysts are not expecting insurers' full-year results to suffer significant damage following the turbulent end to 2013, which has seen claims from the recent St Jude's Day storm compounded by windstorm Xaver; senior loss adjusting sources have questioned Davies chief executive Dan Saulter's assertion that his firm will focus on organic growth following the acquisition of Garwyn - a deal that some market rivals have dismissed as being of little concern; and the government's commitment to persuade international insurers to domicile in the UK has been supported by industry leaders, who claim it will enhance the UK insurance market's competitive position.

Plus, the team brings you all the news from the European Insurance Technology Conference and the winners from the Insurance Technology Awards.

Direct Line Group chief executive Paul Geddes explains why the industry must keep doing the right thing for consumers under the glare of government; while Warren Downey, managing director, JLT Specialty writes about his hopes for the future in the C-Suite.

In this week's interview, Transactor founder Ray Vincent celebrates 10 years since the software firm was born out of the ashes of disaster, by explaining why increasing headcount, the mainstream market and London managing general agents will feature in the future of the brand.

This week, the reviews of the year look at Lloyd's and the legal sector. 2013 saw Lloyd's celebrate its 325th birthday - and is still looking to innovate. Francesca Nyman talks to key figures in the market to review the past 12 months and look forward to the coming year. Meanwhile, Callum Brodie tackles a big year in the legal arena, which saw both positive and negative changes coming thick and fast. He explores how key figures in the industry reacted to such a period of change.