hard market
Editor's comment: Here's to a better second half
We had high hopes for 2021. We were keen to see the back of 2020 which brought with it a global pandemic, toilet roll hoarding, national lockdowns, home schooling hell, business interruption court cases, a ban on sports, enforced staycations, and yet…
Aston Lark's Peter Blanc on relevance and opportunity
Aston Lark group CEO Peter Blanc assesses why the market can’t just continue to offer the same old products, tweaked to be one step ahead of the next best, with cover for intangible assets coming to the fore along with the need to have challenging…
Q&A: Randall Goss and James Begley, Oxford Insurance Group
Post caught up with Randall Goss, chair and CEO of parent company US Risk, and James Begley, chief operating officer of Oxford Insurance Group, to track how the offering was formed, its growth, expansion and acquisition targets. The pair also share their…
Reich targeting £120m GWP within five years
Reich is on track to hit its £100m of gross written premium target for 2022 and will push on to £120m over the next five years, CEO Simon Taylor told Post.
Colonial Pipeline: Cyber attack must be a 'wake up call' for insurance sector
The ransomware cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline that led to a shutdown of the 5500-mile-long fuel pipeline in the US should be a “wake up call” for all businesses and the insurance market, according to experts.
Briefing: Tracking the Ardonagh Portfolio Solutions and Beazley deal
The recently announced tie-up between Ardonagh Portfolio Solutions and Beazley is most immediately of interest to those with a London Market leaning. However, there are potential future implications for the UK retail market.
Gallagher’s Simon Collings on market conditions and if - just if - we are seeing positive signs
Times have been tough recently but as new entrants enter certain parts of the market Simon Collings, managing director of national broking and placement at Gallagher, asks if this could be the start of more positive signs across the insurance market?
Interview: Mark Allan, Ki
Lloyd’s first algorithmically driven syndicate Ki began trading on 1/1 this year. Jonathan Swift caught up with its CEO Mark Allan to discuss early progress, its plans to integrate brokers on its platform with APIs and why it should not be simply…
Big four brokers post organic growth during pandemic hit 2020
The 2020 results from Aon, Gallagher, Marsh and Willis Towers Watson showed the big four still delivering global organic growth despite the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, though in some cases figures for Europe, the Middle East and Africa units showed…
For the record: Brightside sold to Markerstudy; Aviva acquires Axa XL HNW team; Aston Lark buys Bruce Stevenson and Inflexion invests in broking again
Post wraps up the major insurance deals, launches and investments of the week
Aviva confirms £84m Covid hit as commercial lines book surpasses £2bn
Aviva has posted a combined operating ratio of 98.5% for its UK general insurance business in 2020, reporting growth across commercial lines and progress on its pledge to slash its available personal lines products by 80%.
PI Analysis: Construction sector locked out by high rising premiums
Many companies in the construction sector are struggling to obtain professional indemnity insurance cover, with the Grenfell Tower fire and the building safety crisis key drivers of premium hardening and exclusions.
Interview: Chris Croft, London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association
After a year dominated by the Covid-19 crisis and Brexit, Liiba leader Chris Croft discusses the future of the trade association and London Market with Emmanuel Kenning, his passion for the Americas and how he got into insurance after working on rail…
PI Analysis: Independent financial advisers count the cost of insurance red flags
Professional indemnity premiums for independent financial advisers have soared, driven by a perfect storm of legislative and claims change
Marine premium growth of 50% in next 10 years an opportunity for London, says Munich Re
The $30bn premium global marine market could reasonably grow to $45bn in the next ten years according to Rob McAdams, head of marine at Munich Re Syndicate.
Interview: Rob Gibbs, RSA
Having worked at RSA for more than two decades, commercial managing director Rob Gibbs has certainly seen his fair share of the business, both in the UK and overseas. He speaks to Jonathan Swift about his latest challenge, navigating a newly combined…
Allianz BI claims came from broker wordings says CEO Jon Dye as insurer reveals 2020 results
Allianz was hit by £175m of UK Covid-19 business interruption claims in 2020, net of reinsurance, the insurer has said, as LV confirmed 300 redundancies from its Legal & General integration.
Blog: Underinsurance in a hardening market
Alistair Steward, Questgates director, mulls the problem of underinsurance for businesses facing a hardening market.
Ratings agencies see ‘meaningful debate’ between insurers and reinsurers over Covid-19 recoveries
Experts have reiterated that insurer ratings are unlikely to be hit by the outcome of the Supreme Court’s Covid-19 business interruption claims ruling but noted that there will “meaningful debate” over how much insurers can claim from their reinsurers.
Analysis: Calmer waters in yacht market
Post investigates how the yacht market has reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, and asks what comes next after years of market hardening and consolidation.
Biba unveils 'resilience' theme for 2021 manifesto
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has launched its 2021 manifesto with the heading of ‘Resilience’ as it highlighted the ways it said brokers can help as the UK adapts to a post-pandemic normal after Brexit.
Editor's comment: How will the class of 2020 fare?
The traditional school ‘Class of 2020’ had a tough year – my son proudly wears his year six leavers’ hoody but thanks to Covid-19 he never got to sit his SATS or say goodbye to class mates.
Q&A: Max Carter, New Dawn Risk
Formed in 2008, New Dawn Risk grew to handle £81m of premium last year. It started 2021 by looking to target UK regional brokers for the first time. Founder Max Carter reviews the growth of the company and explains why now is the right time for the firm…
Analysis: The class of 2020 emerges
The emergence of a cluster of start up and scale up carriers, or a class of 2020, caught analysts by surprise despite the hardening market.