Towergate Insurance has warned small businesses that cutting back on health and safety could cost them in terms of both money and reputation. New health and safety rules have been announced by the Government, focusing upon high hazard sites and targeting rogue employers and consultants. Under the terms of the new regulations responsible employers who [...]
Beazley Group has announced the appointment of Daniel Springman to the miscellaneous medical healthcare team, bolstering the firm’s medical professional liability insurance offering. Springman joins Beazley from Markel Corporation, and his appointment enhances the firm’s US healthcare professional liability underwriting capabilities. He spent four years with Markel Corporation as a products and professional liability underwriting [...]
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings plc has announced the appointment of David Margrett as the new chief executive officer of Willis International. Margrett has been a senior executive with the firm for the last seven years and will collaborate closely with Willis International chairman Sarah Turvill to help drive growth in the coming years. [...]
Markel UK has launched Markel Direct in the first phase of its multi-distribution operating strategy. The specialist insurer says the new online service is aimed at low-premium clients who may be unattractive to some brokers. Managing director, Steve Carroll, gives the example of small business customers who buy business insurance in much the same way [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called for greater co-ordination between new financial regulatory authorities, with an emphasis upon enhancing transparency and accountability. Otto Thoresen, the ABI’s Director General, warned against the duplication of activity by the new Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority. Thoresen added that unless the two authorities share information [...]
One in 10 motorists (3.3 million) have been involved in a crash with an uninsured driver, according to new research commissioned by Direct Line and road safety charity Brake. Of the accidents involving an uninsured driver, 25% of them saw someone injured and 4% of these led to one or more deaths. Immorality is often [...]
Car insurer LV= has launched a new app for motorists, named LV= My Car. Users who opt for the multi-utility application have a quintet of clickable options, such as a car profile function, traffic maps, local info maps and for LV= customers only, an accident toolkit and call LV= tool. Users will be able to [...]
Legal & General has launched new household insurance cover, Landlords’ Insurance, to cater to the specific needs of landlords. Landlords with one or more properties can choose from a range of cover options for a single premium. Simplicity is a key part of the new policy, which has a single policy summary and renewal date, [...]
Aon Benfield has agreed a strategic partnership with the Shanghai Typhoon Institute (STI) of China Meteorological Administration, in a move aimed at boosting typhoon research in China and delivering relevant research to the insurance industry. Two initial projects are planned with the state-funded institution: Seasonal typhoon forecasting and real-time typhoon tracking and mapping through ImpactOnDemand, [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched a short market study into extended warranties for domestic electrical goods such as televisions, washing machines and computers. The study will focus on whether competition in the sector is sufficiently effective in a market worth well over £750 million. The watchdog has already reviewed after-markets for domestic [...]
New research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicates that over a half of Britons may not be prepared to pay for financial advice. Furthermore, a third of people questioned think such advice would be worth less than £300, although full advice currently costs £670, on average. While the ABI says it is behind [...]
Prudential is contacting 39,000 pension customers whose funds have been incorrectly valued, The Daily Telegraph reports. According to the newspaper, the Pru will be paying out £4 million over mis-pricing errors affecting Scottish Amicable unit-linked pension plans between June 2004 and December 2008. Problems occurred over the allocation of tax on income earned on unit-linked [...]
New research commissioned by Standard Life has revealed that many people paying into pension schemes are planning on topping up their retirement funds through additional means. Just under half (43%) plan on using investments to increase their financial comfort in retirement, and almost one in four (24%) believe that an inheritance will come to them [...]
XL Insurance has announced that it has expanded its Surety division with the appointment of Martha Gaines. Gaines becomes vice president of Surety and will report directly to David Hewett, head of North American Surety. She joins XL Insurance from a private law firm which specialises in surety and construction law, and complex construction and [...]
Attempted fraud rates across the UK insurance sector fell by 5% in 2010, compared with a year earlier, with nine in every 10,000 policy applications and claims detected as fraudulent. According to a new data from Experian, first-parties were responsible for the overwhelming majority of cases, 80% of which were due to non-disclosure of previous [...]
Aon Benfield has launched the first storm-surge model for Germany in a move that should help re/insurers quantify risk in an underdeveloped line of cover. According to the intermediary, storm surge has generally not been included in German buildings policies, due to difficulties in accurately assessing the peril. However, the new model analyses such variables [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is calling for a total ban on referral fees, which involve details of potential personal injury claimants being sold on to solicitors and claims management firms. Last month, the ABI welcomed Justice Secretary Ken Clarke’s confirmation that no-win-no-fee rules will be reformed, saying the proposals would put the brake [...]
Miller has announced that it has enhanced its reinsurance capabilities team with the appointment of Mark Lambert. Lambert, who formerly worked for AonBenfield ReSolutions, brings over a decade of experience in the reinsurance business to Miller. He is particularly knowledgeable in the field of property catastrophe and risk XL business, in addition to casualty, personal [...]
Insurers have lost a legal battle to overturn the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009. Enacted by the Scottish Parliament, the legislation provides that asbestos-related pleural plaques and certain other asbestos-related conditions, constitute personal injury actionable under Scots law. Insurers have long argued that the plaques, which are areas of fibrosis present on the inner [...]
New statistics from Nationwide reveal that families have more insurance protection for their property and possessions than they do for their persons. Less than half (47%) of parents have life insurance, and mothers are less likely to be covered than fathers. Over three-quarters (76%) lack critical illness cover of any variety, with only 22% of [...]
