ARAG UK has signed a further distribution deal with midlands-based property management and insurance specialist, CP Walker. The move will see ARAG’s Landlords’ Legal and Home Emergency cover included as part of CP Walker’s Property Protector broker-only offering. CP Walker says it selected ARAG for its wide indemnity levels and its involvement with Cunningham Lindsey [...]
The World Cup, the world’s most watched sporting event, begins this month, and Lloyd’s has stated that it is insured to the tune of £6.2bn. The World Cup began in 1930, and has grown into the biggest sporting spectacle of the global stage, with huge support from all corners of the planet and tremendous financial [...]
Aviva has announced the appointment of Anthony Middle as its new strategic partnerships director in the UK. The role is a newly created one that emerged after structural reorganisation, and Middle fills it with his extensive experience. He joins the firm in December, leaving behind AXA where he is MD of commercial lines in the [...]
LV= has announced that it has signed an agreement with Insurance Services Office (ISO) Limited allowing LV= to take advantage of the ISO Claims Outcome Advisor (COA). By utilising this technology, LV= will be able to provide more accurate and consistent claims settlements, as well as enhancing its claims process efficiency. Two years ago the [...]
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd has agreed to acquire 80% of PT Mayapada Life, an Indonesian life assurer focused on the distribution of group and individual life and health plans. The purchase is being made from the Mayapada Group, which operates across various sectors including financial services, healthcare, media and energy, and will continue to hold [...]
NIG has relaunched the SME package products suite on its network broker system. The insurer has revamped some products, added a new policy and fine-tuned its quote system to generate more competitive pricing, with premium savings of around 15% to 20% achievable in some cases. Turning to NIG’s new “Professionals” offering, the policy is aimed [...]
Welsh broker Moorhouse is seeking to augment its organic growth with the acquisition of a broker with gross written premium of up to £5m. Such a strategic move would involve a broker that fit Moorhouse’s core areas (including SME) or had a model based on the internet or call centres. Moorhouse has stated that the [...]
Welsh broker Associated Householders Services Limited (aka AHS Insurance) has been acquired by Bridle Insurance. The Welsh broker was established over two decades ago, and its acquisition will bolster Bridle Insurance’s customer base by thousands. In addition, Bridle will now see its turnover increased by a seven figure sum. Chief Operations Officer Neil Fox explained [...]
Rural insurer Cornish Mutual has named Ian Pawley as the firm’s new deputy chairman. Pawley has sat on the firm’s board since late 2008, and earlier in his career served as managing partner of legal firm Stephens Scown. Two years ago he stepped down from Stephens Scown, and now occupies his time as a trustee [...]
Capgemini Financial Services has announced the appointment of Andrew McQuade as vice president and UK head of Insurance. He will be based in London and brings extensive experience in both the world of IT and insurance to his position. Formerly of Prudential, he joined IBM in 2000 where he had a pivotal role in the [...]
In a trading update published ahead of today’s Annual General Meeting, Prudential has reported group-wide sales of £1,355 million for the first five months of 2010, up 27% on a year earlier. The insurer saw Asian sales rise 33%, to £579 million, and achieved record retail sales in the US of £454 million, up 41% [...]
British workers took 180 million sick days last year, averaging 6.4 days each, according to the latest Confederation of British Industry/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey. The figure is the lowest since the survey began in 1987, with a small improvement in the public-sector absence rate helping to explain the fall. However, the public-sector rate [...]
Over 50s insurer, RIAS, has launched a new life assurance policy aimed at offsetting funeral costs, and underwritten by sister company, Fortis Life. Premiums for the Life Plan start at £5 a month and with the average cost of a funeral standing at £2,7331, RIAS suggests the policy could provide a welcome relief to family [...]
Aviva UK Health has been surveying GPs to discover that their ability to assess patients is being compromised by time constraints. According to the research, 57% of GPs questioned said they have less time to see their patients than they did five years ago, and 43% felt this affected their ability to diagnose. Nine in [...]
Accountancy firm, Ernst & Young (E&Y), has been fined in connection with its role as auditor of Equitable Life, which came close to collapse a decade ago. From the 1950s Equitable sold policies that guaranteed a minimum annuity rate to investors, but the strategy left the UK’s oldest mutual unable to honour its promises. Two [...]
AXA has announced that it is bolstering AXA corporate benefits with the appointment of Simon Butler as proposition development manager. Butler and the team he leads will be tasked with formulating and improving AXA’s corporate benefits proposition, in a manner which complements the firm’s strategic move to lean more towards the fee-based intermediary market. Before [...]
Software house Open GI has secured its first client for the eBroker for Open Trader quote and buy solution, which caters to the needs of SMEs. Essex-based RG Ford will benefit from a brand new trading website for lines including Property Owners and Tradesman, as well as the opportunity to win market share from the [...]
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings has revealed that the Deepwater Horizon and Aban Pearl drilling rig losses have given upstream energy insurers a record breaking monthly financial hit of $795m. The losses have eroded stability in the market and driven up rates, with insurers now looking to increase rates for new business. The Aban [...]
