Wesleyan appoints BUPA to protection panel
by Gill Montia
Story link: Wesleyan appoints BUPA to protection panel
Wesleyan Assurance Society, which specialises in insuring the medical, dental, legal and teaching professions, has appointed Bupa Individual Protection (BIP) to its protection panel.
From this month, BIP life and critical illness products, which have recently attained a five star accreditation from Defaqto, will be available to the society’s members.
According to Callum Girvan, Wesleyan’s Director […]
Chaucer reports ’satisfactory’ Q1 performance
by David Masters
Story link: Chaucer reports ’satisfactory’ Q1 performance
Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer Holdings PLC has reported its results for the first quarter, with gross written premiums up marginally on year to £181.2 million.
This is compared to gross written premiums of £178.9 million for the first quarter of 2007.
The London-based insurer said that despite no major catastrophes during the quarter, insured market losses were high.
Furthermore, […]
QBE revises IAG bid
by Gill Montia
Story link: QBE revises IAG bid
QBE Insurance Group, Australia’s leading insurer by premium income, has raised its bid for Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to A$8.7 billion (US$8.3 billion).
QBE is now offering 0.145 of its shares and A$0.90 in cash for each IAG share, up from 0.142 of its own shares and A$0.70 in cash.
The revised bid is in line with […]
Brit appoints two divisional underwriting directors
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Brit appoints two divisional underwriting directors
Brit Insurance Holdings PLC has announced the appointment of Jennifer Martin to the post of divisional underwriting director of the International Legal and Professional Risks Division.
Martin brings to her new role two decades of industry experience, and has been with Brit since 2000.
In addition, the firm has also appointed Janet Henderson as divisional underwriting director […]
Lack of insurance in small business
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Lack of insurance in small business
New research commissioned by Insurantz.com has revealed that 29% of small businesses are eschewing business insurance.
The unexpected finding means that almost three in ten firms are exposing their customers, staff and business to unnecessary risk.
The UK has approximately 4.45m owners of small businesses, and as many as 156,000 of them could be risking their own […]
Cooper Gay earnings soars by 32%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Cooper Gay earnings soars by 32%
Cooper Gay (Holdings) Limited has revealed that its EBITDA earnings have soared by 32% for the year ending 31 December 2007.
Disregarding exceptional items, EBITDA hit £15.8m, up 32% from the previous year’s £12m.
The group revenue also increased, though by a more marginal 3%, to reach £68.1m in 2007 compared to £66.3m in 2006.
However, the change […]
Whittington sells Americas Insurance Company
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Whittington sells Americas Insurance Company
Whittington Group has concluded an agreement to sell off Americas Insurance Company to ISG Acquisition II LLC for an unknown sum, pending regulatory approval.
The selling of Americas Insurance Company, Whittington’s non-core US insurer, will see the firm depart from the market in the US.
Consequently, Whittington plans to focus its attention upon the rapidly emerging economies […]
Mobile phone motorists face higher premiums
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Mobile phone motorists face higher premiums
Drivers who refuse to stop using mobile phones whilst at the wheel face not just attention from the police, but from insurers.
The AA has released data showing the motor insurers are penalising offending motorists with increased premium payments, or, in some cases, refusing to offer a quote at all.
At present the fixed fine for using […]
Turner becomes active underwriter for Brit syndicate
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Turner becomes active underwriter for Brit syndicate
Today Jonathan Turner was appointed by Brit Insurance Holdings PLC to the post of active underwriter for Syndicate 2987 at Lloyd’s of London.
It is three years since he first joined Brit to serve as the head of the firm’s reinsurance business.
Two years ago he became a member of the executive management committee, and last year […]
Heath Lambert moves to new Sheffield Premises
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Heath Lambert moves to new Sheffield Premises
Heath Lambert Group has relocated to new premises in Sheffield which will afford the firm greater space for expansion.
With over three hundred local companies as a client base in the city, Heath Lambert has traded in Sheffield for two decades.
Its staff numbers have been bolstered recently, following growth of over 10% last year.
With strong growth […]
Steamship Mutual records strong financial results
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Steamship Mutual records strong financial results
Steamship Mutual has announced its latest financial results, which saw the firm achieve record levels.
Steamship, a P&I Club, has managed to attain an operating surplus of $27.6m, defying the difficult market conditions currently prevailing in the P&I environment.
The firm’s free reserves have hit a record level, up 17.5% to reach $185.8m, with entered tonnage rising […]
Information sharing threatens fraudsters’ credit histories
by Gill Montia
Story link: Information sharing threatens fraudsters’ credit histories
RSA Group has published the results of a survey on insurance fraud, which suggests that 1.2 million Britons do not believe it is wrong to lie when making an insurance claim.
Over half of those surveyed thought people who commit insurance fraud were likely to get away with it, however, 74% of respondents were aware that […]
Catlin premiums unchanged on year
by David Masters
Story link: Catlin premiums unchanged on year
Bermuda-based Catlin Group Ltd. has announced its first quarter results, with gross premiums written unchanged on year at $1.2 billion.
The Lloyd’s insurer also reported a slight rise in net premiums, up to $0.8 billion compared to $0.7 billion for the same period last year.
The results were slightly below company expectations, and are projected to […]
Axa’s IFA Thinc subsidiary fined £900,000
by Gill Montia
Story link: Axa’s IFA Thinc subsidiary fined £900,000
Axa’s independent financial adviser subsidiary, Thinc Group, has been fined a colossal £900,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for serious failures in its sub-prime mortgage business.
The FSA found evidence of poor record-keeping and a number of other offences, including the failure to demonstrate why some customers were sold sub-prime mortgages.
The findings questioned whether the […]
Strong Q1 for Zurich
by David Masters
Story link: Strong Q1 for Zurich
Zurich Financial Services Group has reported its first quarter results, with net profit up 3% on year despite a higher number of claims.
The Switzerland-based insurance provider - the fourth largest in Europe - reported total net profit of $1.43 billion. This is compared to $1.39 billion for the first quarter of 2007.
The results exceeded […]
Friends and Norwich Union agree pension buy-in
by Gill Montia
Story link: Friends and Norwich Union agree pension buy-in
Friends Provident has effectively sold its pension scheme by insuring around £350 million of the scheme’s liabilities with Norwich Union.
The move, which is being couched as a pension fund buy-in, transfers the responsibility for paying 3,200 pensioners in Friends Provident’s final salary scheme to Norwich Union.
The scheme’s chairman, Mike Hampton, is keen to point out […]
Phillips made MD of Aon Capital Markets
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Phillips made MD of Aon Capital Markets
Aon Re Global has announced that Peter Phillips is to become Aon Capital Markets’ new managing director.
He brings with him almost two decades of experience, and has worked with a variety of firms across Europe and North America.
In his new role Phillips will be tasked with responsibility for variable annuity hedging and related asset management […]
Hindle becomes chairman of Ropner
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Hindle becomes chairman of Ropner
Frank Hindle has been named as the new chairman of Ropner Insurance Services Ltd.
Hindle, formerly chief executive officer and executive director, succeeds Gordon Whiteley, who has occupied the role of chairman for 13 years.
The two men have collaborated together for almost four decades and joined Ropner together in 1995.
Last year Richard Steel took over the […]
New Kopel Insurance implements InsFocus data mangement
by Gill Montia
Story link: New Kopel Insurance implements InsFocus data mangement
New Kopel Insurance Company (NKIC), part of the Israeli-based Shlomo vehicle leasing group, has implemented a business intelligence systems supplied by InsFocus.
NKIC began operating in the field of general insurance in 2007 and has ambitious plans to expand to all branches of the industry in the coming years.
The system, InsFocus BI, has been designed specifically […]
Aspen repurchase $100m shares from Candover
by David Masters
Story link: Aspen repurchase $100m shares from Candover
Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has announced that it has agreed to repurchase 4.1 million of its ordinary shares from management fund Candover Partners Ltd.
The repurchase, worth around $100 million, is part of Aspen’s $300 million share repurchase program. All shares repurchased will be retired.
Candover, one of Aspen’s founding shareholders, is to sell its […]
