Everest Re’s second quarter earnings climbed 78% as equity markets improved, revenues increased, and claims costs fell. The Bermuda-based reinsurance group posted net income of $272.6 million, or $4.42 per share for the three months ending 30 June. This is compared to $153 million, or $2.46 per share, in the year ago period. Revenues increased [...]
Price comparison site moneysupermarket.com is to pay £25 million in special dividends to shore up investor confidence as first half pretax profits plummeted 87%. The firm said the special dividend of 4.93p per share highlights its “confidence in the ability of the business to continue to generate cash”. Pre-tax profits for the six months to [...]
Intermediary firm the Green Insurance Company has celebrated two years of business by announcing ambitious plans for growth. The firm is part of Kwik Fit Financial Services and operates in an unusual place within the insurance market as its car insurance product guarantees to offset every molecule of carbon dioxide emitted from clients’ cars. To [...]
Munich Re has recorded profits of €1.1bn in the first six months of 2009. The German firm made a profit in the second quarter of this year of €703m, a rise on Q2 2008 of 12%. It is also a very substantial increase on the €420m profits the firm made in Q1 of this year, [...]
UK insurance broker and adviser Heath Lambert has announced that it has expanded its Birmingham presence with the appointments of Adrian Moore and Martin Wellbelove. Moore, formerly of Perkins Slade, joins the firm as an account director and brings with him decades of experience of businesses in the Midlands region. Earlier in his career he [...]
Aon Trade Credit criticised the government’s “failed” credit insurance scheme this week as inadequate for larger companies. The company called on the government to increase the cover limit to £10-£15 million from the current limit of £1 million. It added that the UK government should follow the example of the French government by not limiting [...]
Nearly one in ten Brits taking a well-earned break abroad this summer plan to save money by travelling without insurance, Saga Travel Insurance has discovered. A Saga-commissioned poll found 8% of Brits are planning a holiday overseas without travel insurance. The majority of these will be travelling within the EU, and will rely on the [...]
Saga Boat Insurance has advised boat owners to lock away valuables out of sight. Wet weather gear, GPS navigation equipment and valuable personal items should all be securely stored, or removed from vessels that will be unused for a period of time, Saga said. Curtains should be closed when the boat is moored, and life-rafts, [...]
The Board of Directors of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has announced the election of Robert H. Benmosche as the insurer’s new chief executive officer and president. Benmosche, who was also elected to the Board itself, will assume his new positions on 10 August when the incumbent CEO and chairman Edward M. Liddy retires. Benmosche [...]
Aon, the world’s largest insurance broker and risk management firm, has announced the appointment of Grant Foster as head of enterprise risk management (ERM). Before joining Aon he worked as the UK head for general industries consulting Det Norske Veritas and is also a chartered engineer. Foster was an instrumental part of the team behind [...]
The number of motorists driving without insurance has increased by a third in the past 12 months, research by moneysupermarket.com revealed this week. One in five drivers are now getting behind the wheel without insurance cover, a poll by the price comparison site discovered. This is compared to the 15% of drivers who took to [...]
Legal & General has cut its interim dividend by 45%, to 1.11p The UK’s third-largest insurer is responding to a 92% drop in operating profit, which came in at £31 million for the half year. The result, which compares with operating profit of £391 million in the first six months of 2008, is attributed to [...]
jml has extended its offering to include Protectmyholiday Financial Failure Insurance. The cover, provided by International Passenger Protection (IPP), is designed for the independent traveller who wants to protect against airlines and other carriers going bust. At a cost of £5 per person for 30 days’ protection, the policy also covers overseas hotels and villas [...]
Jardine Lloyd Thompson this week posted first half profits, which are up 12% and said it expects further growth despite challenging economic conditions. The UK-based insurance broker, which earns commission selling insurance policies, reported an underlying first half pretax profit of £59.7 million, up from £53.4 million for the first half of 2008. Commissions earned [...]
Sportscover Australia has scooped the accolade of Underwriting Agency of the Year at this year’s Australia and New Zealand Insurance Industry Award. The specialist sports and leisure underwriting agency was named at the 2009 awards ceremony last week in Sydney, Australia. “Being named as a winner is no ordinary feat,” said Joan Fitzpatrick, awards spokesperson, [...]
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has been named 2009 Trade Association of the Year. The body, which represents 17,000 UK brokers, received the Best Practice Award from the Trade Association Forum and also won the Commercial Initiative and Exhibition categories. Thirty seven other associations were in the running but judges were impressed with BIBA’s [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is calling on the Insolvency Service to improve the transparency of pre-pack administrations. Pre-pack administrations allow insolvent companies to continue trading while some of their assets are sold to meet secured debts, such as bank loans. Unsecured creditors can therefore be left out in the cold and the ABI [...]
In response to extensive consultation with brokers, MMA Insurance has launched a new micro underwriting team dedicated to handling non-standard micro commercial business. Matt Brown, commercial underwriting services manager, will lead the new team which will cover Master Tradesman, Shops, Offices & Surgeries and Residential Property Owners and whose membership will consist of experts in [...]
