South West rural insurance firm Cornish Mutual has invested almost half a million pounds in new IT infrastructure to enhance the service it provides for its members. The firm has spent the considerable upon a new policy administration system, a telephony upgrade and enhanced IT infrastructure. The services team and local insurance Inspectors of Cornish [...]
Higos Insurance Services has continued its expansion drive with the acquisition of Bridport-based RM Gillingham & Son Ltd, its third acquisition of the year. The acquisition comes after those of Vaughan Insurance Brokers in Crewkerne and Plymstock Insurance Centre. All of Gillingham’s staff are to be retained. The firm was founded over a century ago [...]
Following a temporary suspension, HomeServe has recommenced limited sales and marketing activities. In October, the home emergency insurer responded to accusations of mis-selling by suspending outbound sales calls, reviewing protocols and retaining staff. The group is now in the process of reviewing its direct mail marketing material and re-contacting customers in relation to complaints from [...]
Zurich Financial Services Group has reported its financial results for the first nine months and third quarter of 2011. In the first nine months of the year Zurich made a business operating profit of US$3.3bn, with a net income of $3.2bn. This is a slightly lower business operating profit than that made in 9M 2010, [...]
Insurers are being alerted to the amount of work needed to comply with Solvency II reporting requirements. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), for many insurers, reporting has tended to take a back seat to capital evaluation and risk management under the Solvency II directive, due to the uncertainty around reporting requirements. However, EIOPA’s recently launched proposals [...]
AEGON recorded a sharp drop in new life sales in the third quarter of 2011, compared to a year earlier. At €405 million, sales were down 18% due to product repricing, as the Dutch insurer continued to focus on margins. Accident & health sales increase 5% year-on-year, to €153 million, with growth mainly driven by [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has set out proposed new rules aimed at protecting policyholders with unit-linked and index-linked life insurance products, while taking account of new European requirements for insurers. Solvency II will bring new high-level principles around how insurers’ assets, including unit-linked and index-linked funds, must be managed. However, where individuals bear the [...]
Analysis by Direct Line home insurance has uncovered the worst subsidence hotspots in the UK. London and the south-east are particularly prone to the problem due to the nature of the soil there, which has more clay than is usual in other parts of the country. Subsidence claims run into thousands of pounds, and the [...]
Miller has announced that it is bolstering its Corporate Risks team and its client service capabilities with the appointment of Mark Hicks. Hicks, who formerly worked for Marsh, becomes the head of Client Management and will be tasked with ensuring that the firm continues to provide its corporate clients with a high level of service. [...]
After the costly cold weather that struck the country last winter, Aviva is advising homeowners to give their properties a once over to help stave off burst pipes. Last winter Aviva recorded sixfold the average number of claims related to winter weather, with 60% of claims for burst pipes. As well as being greatly inconvenient, [...]
Ageas UK has reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2011, including pre-tax profits of £78.3m. This is more than quadruple the £16.6m the firm made in the corresponding period last year, and follows a similarly improved biannual result. Total income rose by 88.6% to £1,358.2m, with gross written premiums up 88.5% to [...]
Aon Risk Solutions has released its Airline Insurance Market Indicators report for 2011/12, as the sector enters its renewal season. The broker notes that premium volumes are so far holding steady despite significant increases in forecast risk exposures, but with the underlying cost of insurance continuing to slide. Airline forecasts suggest that fleet values will [...]
In its latest update on insurance-linked securities (ILS), Willis notes that in the third quarter of 2011, none of the four catastrophe bond issuances (totalling $676 million of new risk capital) had exposure to US hurricane risk. However, the broker’s ILS quarterly report describes the market as still “heavily weighted” towards US wind risk, with [...]
Aon has appointed Mark Manwaring as client director responsible for leading its national legal indemnity practice. Reporting to commercial director, Tim Scoble, Mr Manwaring takes up the role with immediate effect, based at the group’s UK headquarters in London. He joins with over 10 years of specialist experience dealing with a wide range of legal [...]
Howden Broking Group has completed the acquisition of Singapore’s Accette Insurance Group, South East Asia’s largest independent insurance broker. The firm has taken over the insurance operations of Accette in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Regulatory approval is required for the pending Indonesian acquisition to go ahead. The addition of Accette’s offices [...]
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings plc has been named the Broker of the Year at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards. The awards, given in Singapore, were overseen by 29 judges, and Willis won its award based upon criteria including market knowledge, service innovation, leadership and professionalism. Willis has a significant presence in Asia, where [...]
Munich Re has released its financial results for the first nine months of 2011, including net profits of €80m, hugely down on the €1,955m of the corresponding period last year. However, the firm’s 9M result does take into account a €3.6bn claims burden relating to the major natural catastrophes that occurred earlier in the year. [...]
LV= has launched Pension Income Plus Annuity (PIPA), an investment-linked lifetime annuity that allows clients to have a relatively high level of initial income, alongside a minimum income guarantee. Customers can select an assumed investment return (AIR) of between 0-4% at the outset, which determines their starting income and, along with investment returns, how their [...]
XL Insurance has announced the establishment of a new department, within the Professional Lines unit, dedicated to handling unique, complex insurance risks. Named CSI-Complex Situational Insurance, the new department will be led by James Loder, who previously served as chief underwriting officer of XLIB Professional Lines. Loder brings extensive experience to his new position, and [...]
