PruProtect is launching a new “Essentials” range comprising life only and life with serious illness cover. The plans are being made available online only to all UK intermediaries and includes the option to upgrade to the provider’s existing PruProtect plan. With the new products, some features (including automatic children’s cover, guaranteed insurability options and immediate [...]
AllClear, the medical travel insurance specialist, has warned that 60% of travellers are invalidating their insurance by refusing to reveal pre-existing medical conditions. Sometimes information is simply not volunteered as the traveller does not recognise its importance, but it is also the case that some travellers deliberately withhold relevant information from their insurer. It is [...]
After monsoon rains Somalian pirates have resumed activity in the Gulf of Aden, Lloyd’s of London has warned. The number of piratical attacks in the first nine months of this year already exceed the 2008 full-year total, with gun usage up 200% on a like-for-like comparison with 2008. Of the 661 individuals taken hostage by [...]
Keoghs’ Fraud Ring team scooped the Personal Injury Team of the Year award last night. The Fraud Ring team was established three years ago, and is thought to be the only one of its kind in the industry, collaborating closely with police and other authorities in the fight against organised insurance fraud. The firm enjoyed [...]
Aviva is introducing a continuous money-back guarantee option for new with-profits investments. The insurer says the move is in response to customer demand and will give savers peace of mind. The guarantee will be available from 30 November 2009 on new investments in the group’s With-Profit Guaranteed Fund. It means that investors moving out of [...]
Allianz Insurance has released its financial results for the last quarter. The firm saw its operating profit increase markedly despite the continuing recession, recording a rise of 23.1% on the third quarter in 2008, and profits stood at £173.3m (pre-tax) for the first nine months of the year. Previously Allianz had made profits of £88.3m [...]
Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has been named Broker of the Year at the Annual Asia Insurance Industry Awards. It is the third consecutive time the firm has won the award, and the fourth occasion in the past five years. The award’s winner was decided by a panel of two dozen insurance industry professionals [...]
Beazley has announced a major expansion of its marine underwriting business which should benefit freight forwarders, port operators, ship managers, naval architects and marine surveyors, among others. The Lloyd’s insurer is enhancing its professional liability and logistics coverage and has formed a new team, headed by Zareena Hussain, to lead its drive into this section [...]
Roland Smith Insurance has expanded its web-based home and motor business using Open GI technology. The broker, which specialises in arranging insurance for police officers and fire fighters, can now provide instant online home and motor quotes via Open GI’s eBroker quote and buy solution. The Liverpool firm says it has seen sales of both [...]
Paymentshield has made more than 60 members of staff redundant, or around 20% of its workforce. According to reports, the job losses are centred on the firm’s Southport office. The mortgage payment protection insurer, which is part of the Towergate group, says some of its processes were being duplicated. Since the UK entered recession, mortgage [...]
Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has reported that the group’s performance for the third quarter of 2009 was in line with expectations and that it remains on track to achieve its financial objectives in 2009. According to the broker, insurance market conditions continue to be competitive in most classes of business with no consistent evidence of [...]
Willis Europe BV has announced the appointment of Niek Post as the new chief executive officer of the firm’s Dutch operations. Post, who assumes his position with immediate effect, is based in Amsterdam and will report directly to the CEO of Willis Continental Europe, Adam Garrard. He joins Willis from Aon Netherlands, and brings with [...]
Crawford & Company has announced its financial results for the third quarter. The firm saw revenues decline from $266.9m in Q3 2008 to $245.8m in the third quarter of this year, a fall attributed to lower revenues in Broadspire and the Property & Casualty segments, as well as foreign currency changes. Net income also fell [...]
Heath Lambert has announced that it is to be the sole provider of cover for Admiral’s Diamond home insurance brand, which is aimed at female customers. The new assignment comes alongside Heath Lambert’s existing involvement with Admiral’s elephant.co.uk brand. According to the broker, the revamped Diamond product will be unique to the market, providing a [...]
AA Insurance has launched a range of own-brand products aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The group has joined forces with Moorhouse Brands, a subsidiary of Welsh broker Moorhouse, to develop an offering that contains a range of policies tailored for SMEs, trades people and the construction industry. The selection includes liability insurance, professional [...]
Groupama is relocating its London headquarters on 16th November when it is leaving offices at Minories (where the lease is due to expire) to take up new premises in nearby America Square. The French insurer says the move will increase operational efficiencies as it is effectively scaling down its presence in the City and increasing [...]
Golfplan Insurance, which claims to be Europe’s largest specialist golf insurance provider, has signed a five-year extension to its agreement with The Professional Golfers’ Association’s (PGA) Official Supplier programme. Launched in 1984, Golfplan provided the UK’s first specialist golf insurance policy and the firm now protects over £50 million worth of golf equipment. Cover includes [...]
AXA is reported to be preparing a €2 billion rights issue that will allow the insurer to expand through acquisitions. However, the group’s Australian subsidiary, AXA Asia Pacific, has just rejected a $10 billion bid from its French parent company and Sydney-based competitor, AMP. AXA Asia Pacific has independent board directors and the joint offer, [...]
jml Property Insurance has added Simple Rent Guarantee Insurance to its offering. The online intermediary has recently launched a specialist “Rent Guarantee” section on its website, in response to landlords’ growing concerns over arrears. HomeLet, Letsure, Endsleigh and Rentguard already appeared on the site which now also contains Simple Insurance’s offering. The new policy covers [...]
Young Marmalade, the young person’s car insurance provider, is to receive an award from Prince Michael at the Road Safety Conference in Cambridge this Friday. The award will be in recognition of the firm’s policy to provide low-cost insurance to drivers who pass a road safety course. Young Marmalade has led the way with Provisional [...]
