Legal expenses insurer, Arag, has revealed that it is considering launching divorce insurance in the UK, following a government announcement that almost all Legal Aid for divorce disputes settled by the courts is to end. Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, has already highlighted the need for insurance to cover divorce-related legal costs, and speaking on BBC [...]
American International Group (AIG) has settled up on a Federal Reserve credit facility of around $21 billion, and exchanged various forms of government support for shares. The US Treasury Department now owns approximately 92% of the group’s common shares and is expected to sell its stake in the insurance giant over time. AIG president and [...]
Allianz Retail has announced that it has bolstered its fraud team with the appointment of James Tucker as a senior fraud analyst. Tucker will be tasked with working on a number of measures to enable Allianz remains free of front-end fraud. He joins the firm from the Economic and Specialist Crime Command in the Metropolitan [...]
The Coalition Government’s move to scrap the default retirement age has met with the approval of LV=. John Perks, LV= retirement solutions director, has welcomed the implementation of the Coalition’s promise and stated it would come as a relief to those in their 50s concerned about funding their retirement if they were to be forced [...]
Insurance broker Lockton has announced that it has been granted the regulatory green light from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), enabling it to open a new branch office in Beijing. Alex Jiang will lead the new Chinese office, and he will be supported by a number of associates in January. Jiang joined Lockton in [...]
The Coalition Government’s plans to simplify litigation have been warmly welcomed by the Lloyd’s market. Following to the rise of ‘no win no fee’ firms, a substantial proportion of claims are due to legal costs, but the Coalition is now proposing reform of both legal aid and civil litigation. The increased costs over the last [...]
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is preparing for the second Europe-wide stress test for the insurance sector, at the beginning of the second quarter of 2011. The test, which will be conducted in cooperation with the European Systemic Risk Board and respective national supervisory authorities, aims to identify and quantify the impact [...]
Seven insurance companies and two IT software and service providers have provisionally agreed to limit the data they exchange, following competition law concerns raised by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Ageas, Aviva, AXA Insurance UK, Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, RBS Insurance, RSA and Zurich, plus IT firms Experian and SSP, have all offered formal [...]
“A reduction in the price of motor insurance can only be achieved if the risks and costs borne by insurers are reduced”, the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has told the Transport Select Committee. David Powell, the LMA’s underwriting manager, appeared as a witness before the Committee yesterday. He made four recommendations for government action, stressing: [...]
Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. has announced that it has signed a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire Glacier Re. Glacier Re, a Swiss-based reinsurance company, entered runoff last year following the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Glacier Insurance to Torus Insurance. The sale is contingent upon the regulatory green light from FINMA, and if this [...]
Boredom is provoking up to one-third of UK drivers to take unnecessary risks at the wheel, a new study claims. According to researchers at Newcastle University, drivers who don’t find Britain’s roads taxing enough are more prone to speed or overtake, suggesting that making road systems more complicated by building in bends and other obstacles, [...]
Law firm, Thompsons, is calling on the Government to put rehabilitation at the heart of its civil justice review. Research by the firm shows that all personal injury respondents who had received rehabilitation while off sick believed it helped them return to work earlier than they would otherwise have done. The majority also said that [...]
American International Group (AIG) has agreed the sale its 97.57% stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance Company (Taiwan’s largest life insurer by total book value) to Ruen Chen Investment Holding, which is owned by Taiwan-based conglomerate, Ruentex Group. Commenting on the $2.16 billion transaction, AIG’s president and chief executive officer, Robert Benmosche, says: “Ruen Chen [...]
Legal & General has selected Duck Creek’s “best of breed” underwriting and billing solution for its general insurance business. The move should allow L&G to improve efficiency through more sophisticated pricing, respond more quickly to business demands and offer a broader product range across its various distribution channels. According to Duck Creek, a key factor [...]
New powers to tackle uninsured driving will come into force within months, Road Safety Minister, Mike Penning, has announced. The Department for Transport has today made the Commencement Order to make it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle which does not have insurance, with the new rules due to come into [...]
“UK pet owners are facing a steep increase in pet insurance premiums, driven by rising vet bills pushing up claims inflation.” So finds Datamonitor, which warns that the increase in claims inflation could lead to double-digit rises in premium rates. The business information firm’s analyst, Stephen Ko, explains that advances in technology and more elaborate [...]
AXA UK’s Commercial Lines business is to get a Valentine’s present, in the form of incoming chief executive officer Amanda Blanc. Blanc, who takes up the position on 14 February, will assume overall responsibility for the business, including distribution arm, Bluefin Insurance Group. She will report directly to AXA UK Group Chief Executive Officer Paul [...]
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is calling on the Government to implement an eight-point plan to reduce the spiralling cost of motor insurance. The Association’s recommendations, which have been submitted to the Transport Minister ahead of today’s Transport Select Committee meeting, include: The introduction of Continuous Insurance Enforcement; signposting to a relevant broker, particularly [...]
Northdoor has identified three factors that it says will shape insurance start-ups in the year ahead, naming the demand to meet regulatory compliance, increased pressure on profitability and the internationalisation of insurance business. The IT consultancy and solutions provider is predicting a number of new entrants to the market in 2011, with the firm’s director [...]
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is preparing for another rise in its caseload, having estimated a 7% increase for the year to March 2011. In the current financial year, Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) disputes have risen 40%, while the number of cases involving motor and general insurance is broadly similar to previous years, and the [...]
