The BGL Group has reported its annual results for the year from July 2009 to June 2010. The Group’s price comparison website, comparethemarket.com, enjoyed good growth during the 12 month period, and this, coupled with robust cost control and supplier management, saw the firm achieve 16% growth in profits, to £62m. Against a market average [...]
AXA has appointed Neil Hammond as casualty manager, mid-corporate risks. He will report directly to Martin Eyres, head of mid-corporate risks, and be responsible for driving the profitable growth of the insurer’s entire casualty mid-corporate offering. Mr Hammond joins from Arista, where he was UK head of casualty, having previously worked for Allianz for four [...]
Technology company HWM has been backed by the Irish courts in their defence against claims of copyright infringement and breach of confidence. Specialist insurer Hiscox has praised the judgement, which has been seen to support the right of IT employees in Ireland to claim their knowledge and experience as intellectual property. Hiscox’s International Technology Claims [...]
Zurich has agreed to acquire 99.98% of Compagnie Libanaise D’Assurances SAL, a privately-owned Lebanese insurer with branch operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Oman. Established in 1951 and headquartered in Beirut, the firm provides general insurance solutions to retail and commercial customers in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Lebanon, plus individual and [...]
New rules from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on complaints handling for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) have prompted the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) to ask for a judicial review of some of the decisions made by the regulator and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The package of new measures is due to come into force [...]
LV=, the mutual insurance, retirement and investment group, has announced the appointment of Philip Moore to the post of group finance director. Prior to joining LV= he was a group finance partner with Pensions Corporation, and has also worked for Friends Provident as group finance director and group chief executive. Moore, who acquires a seat [...]
Ironshore Inc. has announced the appointment of Peter Ignell to the post of vice president of of Ironshore Insurance Services, LLC. He brings more than a quarter of a century of experience to Ironshore, and during his career has accumulated experience in underwriting, engineering and management. Prior to joining Ironshore he worked for Chartis’ Global [...]
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings, has unveiled detailed flood-risk models and large-event scenarios for key Latin American cities including São Paulo, Santiago and Bogotá. The models, which have been developed by Willis Research Network (WRN), should help the firm’s clients optimise their related portfolios and manage their downsides for flood risk. [...]
The CEA (the European insurance and reinsurance federation) is calling for European Commission (EC) tax proposals to differentiate between insurers and the banks. The body believes that the proposed Financial Activities Tax (FAT), which would target the profits and remunerations of the financial sector, is not justified in the case of insurers. In addition, the [...]
Aon has reported that Anglia Water has become its first customer for Water Resilience Insurance cover. The new product, which is aimed solely at water utility companies, has been developed after feedback regarding the limitations and practicalities of current coverage. According to the insurer, it approaches water contamination from a practical standpoint, providing compensation in [...]
Munich Re says it has introduced the first insurance solution to provide an effective performance warranty for certain types of solar panel in the US. The new plan covers concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems manufactured by SolFocus and has been devised in collaboration with the manufacturer and broker Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. The insurer and reinsurer already [...]
Zurich UK Life has announced a range of new measures to enhance its protection proposition, providing business customers with a wider range of choice when it comes to cover options. Amongst the new measures is Relevant Life Policy Trust, which provides death-in-service benefits if there are too few employees to justify a group scheme, or [...]
AXA UK has announced a major restructuring of its general insurance business, with the intention of enhancing market focus and alignment with customer needs. The change sees the creation of a pair of self-contained business units (Commercial Lines and Personal Lines) led by their own CEO and staffed with their own management team. The CEOs [...]
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has published a list of signatories to the Aldermanbury Declaration, which was launched six months ago. The Declaration was developed by a task force of leading insurance professionals and offers a common framework to promote high standards in the industry. Task force Chairman and former CII President Barry Smith has [...]
Finland’s largest non-life insurer has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter as its new claims management system. Pohjola Insurance is hoping to speed up its claims handling processes, while at the same time improving customer satisfaction, and will eventually consolidate its multiple systems on ClaimCenter. An implementation project began in August with the auto line of business and [...]
The London Business Interruption Association (LBIA) has elected Aon’s Diane Jenkins as president for 2010/11. Ms Jenkins has been a member of the LBIA committee since 2005, was deputy president for 2009/10 and has also previously acted as education secretary. She is currently technical director for Aon’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group Europe, providing technical support [...]
Aon is reminding companies with industrial operations in Europe that the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) “leaves no place to hide”. The broker and risk management firm has been prompted to speak out by an “unfolding disaster” in Hungary, in which toxic sludge has escaped from a failed reservoir belonging to an industrial company. According to [...]
Willis Group has set up a Willis-owned and managed captive insurance facility, in Malta. Captives are subsidiaries that finance risks held by their parent companies and according to the broker, the move will allow its clients to realise the benefits of captive ownership i.e. lower capital commitment and reduced operating costs. Lime Street Insurance PCC [...]
Marsh Ltd has announced the appointment of Jane Barker, chief executive officer of Equitas, to a newly created post of non-executive director. Barker, who takes up the position with immediate effect, previously worked for Marsh for a 14 year period, and most recently served with the firm as international chief financial officer. She has been [...]
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited has announced the appointment of John Cavoores as co-chief executive officer of its insurance operations, Aspen Insurance. He joined the firm four years ago and brought almost three decades of experience to Aspen. Cavoores has had a seat on the Board of Directors for the last four years, and will begin [...]
