E-Insurance Directory has been in operation since 2001, and has made its way to the top of the U.K.’s insurance provider directory services list. A business partner of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, refero have become one of the biggest names in employment and salary verification data management.

www.yourpolicymanager.co.uk is set up for personal, commercial, and business insurance users, and is intended to not only help companies retain their customer base, but to also expand on it and subsequently add value to their business.

Industry heavy hitter, Stewart & Partners insurance brokers, have already signed on with the service, and have requested a white-label version of the software for their customers. The tool can be used for free online, and is completely secured and confidential. Your Policy Manager intend to build an online auction and marketplace to enable providers to bid for specific user policies, though this service is intended more for commercial and business clients, were as personal clients are to contact the providers they choose on their own.

Users will receive notices about their current policies, including reminders about due instalments or lapsing policy cover. Business users will also be able to request reports on insurance expenditure.

yourpolicymanager.co.uk is still in its beta launch, however there are already over 3700 accounts set up by subscribers of E-Insurance Directory. The policy manger is currently taking in as much user-feedback as they can before the official launch.

The research shows that 82% of Britons are altering their home life to take account of the economic situation.

Many are cutting back on going out, with 39% spending more time at home.

Over a quarter (26%) of the 4,400 Britons surveyed responded that they have changed holiday plans because of financial uncertainty.

The research also reveals a demographic divide, with 90% of single parent households affected, compared to an 82% average.

Worryingly, 50% of these households are cutting back on food spending, and 28% are planning on selling possessions to remain in the black.

The report has considered the implications and impact facing the global power industry given the recent market conditions.

Perhaps most importantly, the update reveals that power companies seeking to make a claim could suffer serious damage as a result of under-insurance.

The damage could be particularly heavy given the recent rapid rises in demand and costs of labour, equipment and commodities.

Graham Knight, Utilities Practice Group leader, has stated his belief that many clients are unintentionally underestimating the value of their property, by as much as 30%.

This undervaluing creates difficulties for underwriters, who base their premiums on the values declared, and may not be sufficient to cover the eventual cost of a claim.

The update reaches the conclusion that the traditional method of increasing power production is no longer viable given the high and still rising costs of commodities, finite natural resources and the increasingly important environmental impact.

Knight has expressed the view that the future will involve utilising superior, cleaner, technology coupled with renewable sources of power production.

RBSI is the biggest motor insurer in the UK, owning Direct Line and Churchill.

According to analysts, it is worth up to £8 billion, but is unlikely to sell for more than £6 billion due to difficult market conditions.

Italy-based Generali pulled out of the bidding race in May, prompting fears that interest in RBSI was declining.

AIG have also had to withdraw from bidding due to its heavy losses in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Berkshire Hathaway have had a £6 billion bid rejected, leaving just Zurich, Allianz, Travelers and Allstate as potential bidders.

Quotes will be available for risks that fall outside mainstream categories, with examples including subsidence, flood, converted barns, people who work from home (such as dentists) and previous convictions.

Heath Lambert’s business development division director, Victor Wild, has stated that the new policy has been created in response to the rising claims for subsidence and floods to meet demands that are currently not being met in the market.

An expert team of underwriters will handle the unusual claims on a case by case basis, he added.

The fraud was worth a total of over a quarter of a billion pounds, or £5m per week.

The last three years has seen a surge in the number of detected fraudulent claims, which have soared by 70% during that time.

Successfully prosecuted claims include a Rolls Royce owner who removed various items from his own vehicle, and then claimed £10,000 under the pretence that they had been stolen.

He was found out by police and received a criminal conviction.

Other cases include a man who pushed his own car off a cliff to use the insurance money to pay off Hire Purchase costs, and a woman who deliberately ran into her own house with her Land Rover following an argument with her partner and claimed it was an accident.

Director of General Insurance and Health at the ABI, Nick Starling, has destroyed the case for insurance fraud being a victimless crime by pointing out that as a result of the activity insurance premiums for millions of honest motorists rise by an extra £40 per year, on average.

Because this, insurers are redoubling their efforts to detect false claims, and those who are caught committing the offence could face a criminal record in addition to much more expensive insurance and credit.

Willis announced its intention to combine both firms back on 8 June, a deal which is now predicted to be completed in Q4 of this year.

However, the transaction remains subject to approval from other parties, including regulators and Hilb Rogal & Hobbs’ shareholders.

Joe Plumeri, Willis’ chairman and chief executive officer, has welcomed the Federal Trade Commission’s decision to allow the waiting period to be shortened, adding that he believes growth and client value will both be improved by the deal.

Willis North America will see its revenues and Employee Benefits business double under the deal, and its leadership bolstered in lucrative growth areas of the US.

Novak’s appointment is made to expand the range of services available to clients in the real estate sector.

She joined Aon on 2 June, and brings with her more than two decades of experience in the real estate industry.

Recently she held the post of senior director of risk management with AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a residential real estate investment trust.

The managing director of the Washington Office, James Beardsley, explained that her experience as a risk manager equips Novak to comprehend the needs of clients and to design superior risk management programmes for their programmes.

Beardsley also praised her experience in negotiating with lenders, partners and ground lessors.

Brown joins from broker Abbott & Bramwell, and earlier in his career served Aon as a marine account director, bringing over 30 years of experience to Marsh.

Sutcliffe leaves behind Aon’s marine broking unit to join Marsh, and brings more than two decades of industry experience to her new position.

Brown and Sutcliffe will report directly to NMBC leader Tim Jeacocke.

In their new roles they will be tasked with developing the firm’s marine cargo business throughout the country.

The NMBC has close ties to Marsh’s London-based Marine Specialty team and supervises marine cargo and freight liability placement, servicing and development.

In addition to this, the NMBC is responsible for the development of marine cargo products created to meet new demands.

Schlich brings more than two decades of industry experience to his new role, which will make him responsible for the supervision of 14,000 financial services professionals involved in the firm’s largest practice.

Global Banking & Capital Markets Practice constitutes a tenth of Ernst & Young’s revenue, and serves a quarter of its largest clients.

Schlich will retain his duties advising commercial and investment, particularly on the credit crunch.

Carmine Di Sibio, vice chair and managing director of Ernst & Young Americas Financial Services, has said that the worldwide financial situation is undergoing a dramatic and turbulent period which requires top class leadership to be successfully navigated.

Di Sibio went on to say that Schlich’s impressive background and knowledge of the current liquidity crisis and credit crunch make him a prime candidate for such a role of leadership.