Aviva is reported to be negotiating the sale of its Project Ed portfolio to Chester Properties in what could become the largest transaction of its kind since the beginning of the credit crisis. The portfolio, which comprises 47 commercial properties across the UK, was put up for auction earlier this year for around £800 million. [...]
Friends Provident has followed up its rejection of a takeover approach from Resolution Limited with proposals for a merger of the companies. Resolution Limited was formed by Clive Cowdery following the sale of Resolution Plc, the closed life consolidator also headed by Mr Cowdery until it was acquired by Pearl in 2007. Friends was also [...]
Independent wholesale, reinsurance and specialist retail insurance broker Cooper Gay has announced it has signed up Megumi Ugai as a consultant. Ugai is a specialist in Japanese reinsurance, and will be tasked with providing companies beneath the Cooper Gay Group umbrella with support and advice in exploiting opportunities in the Japanese reinsurance sector. He is [...]
Aviva’s regulatory capital cushion is strengthening, chief executive Andrew Moss said Wednesday, adding that the group is not planning any further disposals. More stable financial markets have lifted the insurer’s capital surplus to £2.8 billion, up from £2.5 billion at the end of March. “The capital position of the group is very strong and it’s [...]
AIG is pushing through plans to splice American Life Insurance Company (Alico) from its control and establish the unit as an independent business. “We are determined to get [Alico] out from under the AIG brand as quickly as we can,” said AIG spokesperson David Monfried. A separate board of directors and management team will be [...]
Chicago’s Sears Tower has been renamed Willis Tower in a ceremony this week. Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley officially renamed the tower in a ceremony attended by local government leaders, the building’s owners, and Willis staff. London-based insurer Willis secured naming rights for the building as part of an agreement [...]
A bridegroom has been jailed for twelve months for attempted insurance fraud on his wedding day. Andrew Singh, 26, was sentenced with his parents at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for making exaggerated insurance claims after wedding coaches booked to transport guests on his wedding day were involved in two collisions. Graham Singh, 53, and [...]
Insurer Ecclesiastical has warned homeowners to be wary as burglaries are forecast to rise during the course of the summer. The summer months represent the peak of home insurance claims activity following a spike in burglaries, according to research commissioned by Direct Line. In 2008 some 800,000 homes were burgled over the summer. Direct Line [...]
The Government has announced a rise in the levy on package holidays that exists to cover losses from the financial collapse of tour operators. From October, travellers who have booked package holidays will have to pay an extra £1.50 under the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (Atol) protection scheme, taking the cost per individual to £2.50. [...]
One in nine motorists would flee the scene if they bumped a parked car, research from AA Insurance has discovered. Of 8,800 drivers polled by the AA, 1,000 said they’d drive away rather than owning up if they accidentally damaged a parked car. Applied across the UK, that’s nearly 4 million motorists. The AA also [...]
Brits getting behind the wheel undergo a personality change on a par with Jekyll and Hyde, new psychological research has discovered. Four in ten motorists experience a radical personality change in the driving seat. Nearly two thirds (61%) become more aggressive and take greater risks, while 39% become quieter and over-cautious. The study of 4,000 [...]
Elderly people in England could be charged up to £20,000 to guarantee basic social care and support at the end of their lives under new proposals being considered by the government. The compulsory insurance scheme is one of three options under consideration to fund a new National Care Service. Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the [...]
A new company with ambitions to build a broker network of up to 20 branches has been launched by two former directors of Equity Insurance Group. NMJ Insurance is headed by former Equity Insurance Brokers’ managing director, Nick Potts, and the firm’s former acquisitions and insurer development director, Mike Hutton. Once the start-up has been [...]
Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has announced the appointment of Judith Cooper as a client executive within its UK Real Estate Practice. She joins Marsh from fund and asset management firm GPT Halverton Ltd. During her career Cooper has held a number of senior director posts in the insurance sector, both within the United [...]
The ABI has called upon the British political class to unite around the need for radical reformation of the payment of longterm care in the future. Such reform, the ABI asserts, is essential to encourage the private and public sectors to collaborate closely in guaranteeing the UK’s old and ageing population proper care in its [...]
Guy Carpenter has won the Reinsurance Broker Initiative of the Year award at the British Insurance Awards. The triumph was delivered in recognition of Guy Carpenter’s intellectual capital website www.GCCapitalIdeas.com. The British Insurance Awards are in their 15th year and this is the first time of the Reinsurance Broker Initiative of the Year category. Guy [...]
Aviva has announced the successful launch of a new commercial property owners’ policy via its online trading platform, Fast Trade. The offering, which is available exclusively online, has been developed with owners of one to 10 commercial properties in mind. The maximum buildings sum insured is £2 million per property and the policy provides rates [...]
Aviva is offering free life insurance to new parents. Cover of up to £10,000 is available to those with first offspring aged less than six months, and lasts until the child’s first birthday. The promotion is in response to recent research from the insurer indicating that 40% of parents have no life insurance in place. [...]
