The NatWest and the Halifax have published surveys revealing that a substantial proportion of students (42% according to the NatWest) will be in part-time employment at the beginning of the academic year. Weekly spending averages £109 (according to the Halifax), of which accommodation costs are typically £74.70. The remainder is made up of food, leisure [...]
According to reports in the press, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) has been amassing a stake in Prudential, using a nominee account. The Times and Sunday Telegraph have both reported that the central bank now holds around 1% of the UK’s second-largest insurer. The Government of China is apparently keen to use its foreign [...]
West Midlands personal lines broker, Bromwich Insurance, has opted to trade all of its business via the Open GI platform. The firm, which as an independent offers a wide of products, has been reviewing the IT infrastructure across its seven offices and plans to integrate 41 system users onto a centralised platform. The contract will [...]
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) has announced that its new chief financial officer and executive vice president is to be Vanessa A. Wittman. Wittman joins the firm from Adelphia Communications Corp., where she occupied the same two positions she will take on with MMC. In her time at Adelphia she was one of a [...]
The leading title insurance provider in the UK and Europe, First Title Insurance plc, has announced that Philip Eilmer has been appointed to the firm’s European business development team. He leaves behind his post as deputy sales director with German newspaper WirtschaftsBlatt. Eilmer takes on the role of business development executive, and is tasked with [...]
Chris Lorsung has been named by Willis Group Holdings as leader of the Minneapolis Commercial Construction Practice. He joined Willis nine years ago, leaving behind St. Paul Insurance Company, where he worked in the construction unit in a number of roles. Lorsung, who assumes his new position with immediate effect, will keep his title as [...]
Aon Corporation has reached a definitive agreement with Benfield Group limited whereby Aon will acquire Benfield for £3.50 per share. The deal adds a 29% premium to Benfield’s share price, as of 21 August and is contingent upon approval by Benfield’s shareholders and regulators. In addition, Aon will take on its acquisition’s debt of £91m. [...]
Aon Corporation has announced the appointment of Karen Reutter a senior vice president within Aon Construction Services Group. She brings with her extensive experience from her career in risk management and construction insurance. Her career began with International Risk Management Institute, and flourished with Zurich Insurance and St. Paul Construction. Immediately before being recruited by [...]
Old Mutual has acquired a 49% stake in TEDA Fund Management from Fortis, the Belgian-Dutch financial group, for approximately €165 million (£131 million) in cash. TEDA is a Chinese joint venture which Fortis acquired last year when it joined forces with Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander to buy Dutch bank, ABN Amro. The sale [...]
As many as two million* loan Payment Protection Insurance policies have been sold to people who may never be able to make a claim, according to new research by Which? A third* of consumers who have taken out a loan with payment protection insurance during the past five years may fall foul of at least [...]
AXA Wealth Management has launched an Estate Planning account via its Isle of Man subsidiary. The new product sits alongside AXA’s range of inheritance tax planning products and according to Mike Foy, AXA Isle of Man’s managing director, is a more straightforward version of the company’s Estate Planning bond. The account is a unit-linked investment [...]
Lloyd’s of London insurer Amlin has posted its results for the first half of 2008 with pretax profit down 26% on year. Pretax profit for the 6 months ending 30th June was £137.3 million, compared to £185 million for the same period in 2007. Net income for the period was £108.1 million, or 22.5p per [...]
Homeowners struggling with the belt-tightening amid rising fuel and food costs could be missing a trick, according to Abbey Mortgages. The mortgage provider states that a grand total of £63.4bn could be earnt in rent per year if unused bedrooms were let out. Furthermore, 1.6m families are considering renting out a spare room to lodgers [...]
Walter A. Bell has been appointed by Swiss Re to serve as Swiss Re America Holding Corporation’s chairman. He will leave behind his role as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance, which he has occupied for the last 5 years, to take up his new position, which is effective from 2 September. During his [...]
Legal & General has conducted research which reveals that the effects of the credit crunch has given the British public pause for thought when considering holiday plans. More than a quarter (26%) replied that they were now not going on holiday, with a fifth stating they were to go on a less expensive holiday. Almost [...]
Which? is asserting that financial comparison websites are misleading Britons. The consumer watchdog has carried out a study which revealed that “best buy” quotes obtained across various financial comparison sites can vary by hundreds of pounds, despite that fact that exactly the same information has been entered into each site. Checks were run on three [...]
Illinois-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, has acquired Texas-based retail broker Wm. W. George & Associates Inc. Details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Wm. W. George & Associates, based in Dallas, was established in 1972, and offers risk management and employee benefit services, as well as commercial [...]
Philip A. Simone has been appointed by Aon Risk Services to serve as senior vice president of Aon Risk Services. Simone, who rejoins the firm from Marsh, will be based in Irvine in California. He leaves behind his post as sales leader with Marsh to take up his new role, and brings more than three [...]
