American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has announced that the vice chairman of Legal, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Communications, Anastasia Kelly, has resigned from the firm. The cutting of her base salary prompted her resignation under the term of ‘Good Reason’ as per the Executive Severance Plan. President and CEO Robert H. Benmosche thanked [...]
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is calling on the Government to do more to ensure that small businesses can survive a major incident. According to the Association, 80% of small businesses affected by events such as a fire, flood, an act of terrorism, or a pandemic close down within 18 months. However, research commissioned [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published a Good Practice Guide aimed at insurance comparison websites, insurers and brokers selling general insurance online. According to the Association, over two-thirds of customers are now using the Internet to arrange their motor insurance alone, and the guidelines should help consumers better identify the right policy for [...]
AXA Insurance has reacted to the fact that two in three British drivers are unsure what to do in an accident by the release of a new iPhone app for motor insurance claims. The new app (AXAdent) is available via the Apple iTunes app store and aims to guide the unfortunate motorist through the claims [...]
Tim Fillingham has been named by Torus as UK chief operating officer for Torus UK. Fillingham’s primary duty will be providing clients and brokers accessing the London and UK markets with top quality service, as well as fostering good relationships with brokers based in the UK. He was formerly chief marketing officer, but will retain [...]
Enservio is predicting that 2010 will be “the year of contents” in the US, as insurers roll out new products to enhance their offerings. The Boston-based firm, which provides contents inventory, valuation and replacement services and software, argues that homeowner products have been a “loss leader” in the past ten years. It blames the decade-long [...]
Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA), which was established by Marsh Inc in 2008 to meet the needs of mid-sized businesses in the US, has acquired NIA Group, LLC. The purchase forms part of a series of strategic acquisitions by MMA, aimed at building a national business. NIA is the 34th-largest independent broker in the US [...]
With night time temperatures well below zero, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is reminding motorist that most motor insurance policies include a clause that excludes cover for theft, attempted theft or malicious damage, if the ignition keys are left “in or on the vehicle”. According to the watchdog, drivers who start their engines for a [...]
Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s has opened an office in Sydney, Australia. The firm, which forms part of Dublin-based Arch Insurance Europe (AIE), has appointed Adam Matteson as regional director Australasia. Mr Matteson has 20 years’ underwriting experience in the Australian market and recently held national responsibility for Munich Re’s property product in the country. In [...]
Insurance company managers are committed to making the development of their teams a priority in 2010, according to research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). In its Future Forecast survey, the CMI found that concerns over staff development came before networking or even spending more time with customers, and the body attributes the shift to [...]
Broker solutions firm, Open GI, has appointed a new head of insurer relations. Jason Potter moves from Allianz, where he has gained significant experience of developing key broking customers and the company’s e-trading strategy, over the past 20 years. In his new job Mr Potter is responsible for personal and commercial lines business, particularly across [...]
New figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show over 100 families and individuals a day claiming on their life or critical illness insurance, during 2008. According to the ABI, the average claim stood at £52,000 or double the average UK annual salary. In addition, the number of critical illness claims paid out rose [...]
Standard Life is postponing the flotation of HDFC Standard Life, its Indian join venture with Housing Development Finance Corporation, one of the country’s leading housing finance providers. According to reports, the flotation could be delayed for over a year (to 2011) because David Nish, who succeeds Sir Sandy Crombie as group chief executive on 1st [...]
HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed that the bank payroll tax (better known as the bank bonus tax) announced in the pre-Budget report does not apply to insurance companies, asset managers and stockbrokers. Concerns had been raised over the definition of a “bank” as used in the draft legislation and HMRC has concluded “that the [...]
Amlin has announced that it is in talks with Lockton regarding the acquisition of the broker’s UK insolvency practitioners’ insurance unit. The Lloyd’s of London insurer has previously indicated that it is lining up potential takeovers, having acquired Fortis Corporate Insurance in June. The latter is a leading provider of corporate property and casualty insurance, [...]
Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has announced that it is to acquire HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd (HIBL), a subsidiary of HSBC Bank. The deal was earlier reported in November by the Daily Telegraph, which stated that talks were at an advanced stage for the acquisition of HSBC Insurance Brokers by Marsh. HIBL employs around [...]
Global leader in travel financial failure International Passenger Protection Limited has stated that the recent Globespan collapse has reaffirmedhow important it is that travellers have appropriate travel insurance. Last month travel protection site ProtectMyHoliday.com warned that there would be airline failures during the Christmas period, a warning which has unfortunately proven accurate. Three out of [...]
Liberty International Underwriters Europe (LIU Europe) has announced the appointment of Michael Hemesath as Germany’s new claims manager. Hemesath will hold the newly created position from the firm’s Cologne office, and leaves behind another insurer where he worked for eight years, latterly as senior claims examiner for D&O risk, to join the firm. In his [...]
