Zurich Financial Services Group has announced a number of personnel changes in the upper echelons of its management structure. Inga Beale, head of Organizational Transformation and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), is to become global chief underwriting officer, effective from 1 June. Beale will bring in-depth knowledge of Zurich’s businesses and operations to the post, as [...]
Closed life fund consolidator, Pearl Group, has revealed plans to raise £500 million of capital prior to an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange. The group, which is best remembered for its lengthy battle to acquire Resolution in 2007, has told The Times that, while it sees itself in a market full [...]
M&S Money is looking for a cat or dog with that indefinable ‘X-Factor’ to star in its pet insurance ad campaign. The high street financial provider has set up a competition to find the celebrity pet they’re looking for. Owners can write in with a photo and a few sentences about why their cat or [...]
The British Furniture Association (BFA) has lambasted the government’s support for the furniture industry during the recession as ‘inadequate’ and has demanded state-backed credit insurance for its members. In a letter to The Times newspaper, BFA chairman Martin Jourdan said government action on credit insurance is a must to save otherwise healthy businesses from bankruptcy. [...]
Luxury yachts are being beached or sunk around the US coastline as their owners make fraudulent insurance claims. A growing number of dumped boats are clogging the water around the coast of states such as Florida, according to a report in The New York Times. The boats’ owners can no longer afford mooring and maintenance [...]
Aon’s UK division is proposing to cut the contribution it makes to employees’ pensions as part of a cost reduction strategy. The firm has already closed its final salary scheme and according to a BBC report is now proposing to reduce the level of its employer contributions by up to a half. Aon has been [...]
General insurance and reinsurance firm Brit Insurance Holdings PLC has announced it is bolstering its Birmingham presence with the additions of Edward Hanson and Gary Suffolk. Hanson and Suffolk, Professional Risks underwriter and Commercial Combined underwriter respectively, have been appointed by Brit to enhance the firm’s underwriting capabilities in Birmingham. Hanson leaves behind RSA Insurance [...]
The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) has reported that people suspicious of insurance fraud are increasingly using its Cheatline Internet facility, which was relaunched in an enhanced version in November of last year. According to the Bureau, 50% of reports are now being made online, with January and February of this year seeing a rise in [...]
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is unhappy about the way consumers are being treated when they complain about the products and services provided by the UK’s financial institutions. According to the watchdog, a growing number of consumers are receiving “dismal” treatment when they raise a complaint, which the FOS suggested could reflect a “weary cynicism” [...]
Lloyds TSB has announced that if any of its new home insurance customers are made redundant they will not have to pay premiums for up to six months. The waiver applies to any customer who purchases a Home Solutions policy in branch between 6 April and 6 June, and who is made compulsorily redundant between [...]
Fortis’s Asian insurance unit is not for sale, the company has said yesterday. Stuart Frasier, CEO of troubled Belgo-Dutch insurance group Fortis, said the company has no plans to sell its Asian unit, and has not discussed a sale with any party. “There has been media speculation that Fortis Insurance Company Asia is for sale,” [...]
DIY accidents will peak the day after Good Friday, costing an average of £900, according to AXA. The spike in accidents, the most common of which is spilled paint, could see a large number of people perusing their insurance policies anxiously or even heading for A&E. AXA has commissioned research showing that 23% of the [...]
The Nursing Times has reported that new government proposals could mean that all nurses and midwives will need professional indemnity (PI) insurance in place before they can register to practise. The magazine is warning that nurses and midwives may therefore eventually have to pay for the own insurance, as is the case with their doctor [...]
Heritage’s growth plans in the Middle East were secured this week as it received an official license to set up an insurance management company in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) approved Heritage’s plans to establish a UAE-based subsidiary, Heritage Insurance Management (Dubai) Ltd. (HIMD), in the DIFC. HIMD [...]
The chief executive of Norwich Union (NU) General Insurance has apologised for sending “conflicting messages” over job cuts. In a recent interview with Professional Broking magazine, Igal Mayer indicated that there would be no redundancies announced during the remainder of this year. However, last week, NU owner Aviva said it is proposing to cut 1,100 [...]
European insurer Glacier Insurance has announced that it is to open a new underwriting office in Zurich. In addition to providing an office for Glacier Insurance’s underwriting operations the new accommodation will also provide space for Glacier Re’s marketing presence to take root in the city. The chief executive officer of Glacier Insurance, Richard Etridge, [...]
A pair of Consumer Intelligence Gold Awards have been given to LV= for its motor and home claims service. In February of this year the firm was awarded the Which? Magazine’s People’s Choice award for its car insurance claims handling meaning it has won a brace of awards already in 2009 for its car insurance. [...]
Specialist executive search firm GRS has stated that over half of insurance professionals support legal changes designed to enable parents greater flexibility in their working hours, effective from 6 April. Under the changes parents with children of 16 and under will be entitled to request more flexible hours, a move backed by 50.8% of the [...]
Claims services provider, Crawford & Company UK, has appointed Mike Woolston to its UK Executive Committee. Mr Woolston is managing director of Crawford subsidiary, “SLS, a Crawford company” which was established last year, when the group completed the integration of its casualty operations with its Specialist Liability Services Unit. The company has also announced further [...]
