Fire damage costs are at their highest since records began, and Aviva is warning businesses to be on the alert. According to the insurer, statistics from the Association of British Insurers show a 20% rise in fire claims between the first half of 2007 and the first half of 2009, with arson a main contributor [...]
Home insurance claims across the UK numbered 373,000 in the first six months of 2009, compared with 527,000 in the same period of 2008, and the average value of a claim for the periods stood at £735 and £918 respectively. The figures appear in Sainsbury’s Home Insurance Claims Index, which tracks both the volume and [...]
Willis Re enjoyed a good night at The Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards, winning the 2009 Analyst/Research Award. The prize, given in the Dorchester Hotel in London, recognised the biggest collaborative effort between scientists and insurers in the Willis Research Network (WRN). The WRN participates in sponsorship at more than a score of prestigious universities across [...]
LV= has reported its financial results for the first six months of 2009. The firm saw gross written premiums soar by 92% to £397.5m, including a 61% rise in general insurance products to £106.9m. Its Life and Pensions business saw annual premium equivalent increase by 14% to £45.2m Group chief executive Mike Rogers has welcomed [...]
Swiftcover, which received mixed publicity for its “Iggy Pop” adverts, has come up with a run down on premiums for rock icons. Following a row over the appearance of Iggy in a TV and poster campaign, the firm chose to insure musicians rather than drop the adverts. The Axa-owned insurer now declares itself one of [...]
Having studied Government data, Standard Life has come up with a realistic retirement age for Britons with no retirement savings. The insurer estimates that those who have neglected their financial planning will need to remain at work until between 74 and 86-years-of-age, taking into account the Government’s decision to increase the state pension age to [...]
Aon Risk Services has announced a pair of appointments, with Jim Herbert and Ian McLellan named as managing directors of its Corporate & Affinity businesses, respectively. They will both report directly to the CEO of Aon Corporate & Affinity, Robert Brown. Herbert becomes MD of Corporate, the team of brokers which is dedicated to handling [...]
The Board for Actuarial Standards (BAS) has published a consultation paper setting out proposals for a technical actuarial standard (TAS) on insurance. The body, which forms part of the Financial Reporting Council, says the move is aimed at ensuring that actuarial information provides the best possible support to management, governing bodies, policyholders, shareholders and others [...]
Increasing litigation in the UK has seen a proliferation of accident management firms handling personal injury claims. However, businesses can now fight back and save millions of pounds as Itsmyclaim.com enables individuals to handle their own personal injury claim. The website, specifically designed to be user friendly, permits individuals to deal with their own claims [...]
Loss adjuster, Cunningham Lindsey, has reviewed its project managed subsidence teams. The move follows a downturn in subsidence claims and could result in the loss of 59 jobs. From 1st October, the company will expand remote working into the day-to-day management of subsidence work, leaving 50 subsidence administration staff and nine members of its technical [...]
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), The Law Society and The Association of British Insurers (ABI) have launched a guide to buying professional indemnity (PI) insurance for solicitors, providing a resource for the renewal process. According to the trade bodies, the solicitors’ PI insurance market is “complicated and unique with a specific policy wording and [...]
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is to sell part of its investment advisory and asset management business to Bridge Partners, L.P. The purchase price is approximately $500m including $300m cash at closing, as well as a performance note and a continuing share of carried interest. AIG will, however, keep its in-house investment operation that supervises [...]
The Law Commission is dissatisfied with current insurance law, The Daily Telegraph has reported. The independent body, which keeps the law under review and recommends reform where needed, is due to report on insurance law this autumn. According to the newspaper, it will say that current insurance law is unsuited to mass-market consumer insurance policies [...]
Insurer and reinsurer Glacier Group has published its interim financial results, covering the first six months of 2009. Gross written premiums declined from $372m in the first half of 2008 to $314.1m, a fall attributed to plans for reduction in North American property exposed business as well as the non-renewal of participation in Glacier’s Lloyd’s [...]
Admiral’s chief executive, Henry Engelhardt, has lashed out at the salaries paid to other insurance bosses. The American millionaire, who takes home a £320,000-a-year salary, said he is “amazed” at the pay packets of other leaders in the insurance industry. “What can a [chief executive] do to warrant the kind of packages put together compared [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) would like to see large companies able to use Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) as a means of avoiding insolvency, the Independent has reported. CVAs give businesses an opportunity to reach agreement with their creditors while the directors of the company remain in post. However, they are currently only used [...]
The UK’s financial sector has come under fire as a report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) reveals a huge gap in the value of bonuses paid to men and women. According to an EHRC study of 44 leading companies, men working in the financial sector receive five times more in bonus payments [...]
Allianz Engineering is keen to help brokers and their client expand their knowledge of plant machinery, and has launched a free online guide with this in mind. Visitors to the site are shown how to identify plant machinery equipment and how to meet statutory and regulatory requirements. Details of how equipment should be inspected and [...]
