Six months on from the summer riots, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued an update on the progress insurers have made in settling claims. So far, eight in ten claims for damage under household policies have been settled and over seven in ten businesses have seen their claims for property damage settled, or [...]
Energy companies need to learn from the major loss events of the past if they are to reduce the risk of property damage losses. According to a new report from Marsh, oil and petrochemical companies have heightened the risk profile of the sector by extending their global footprints, building more capital-intensive assets and deploying more [...]
Group income protection (GIP) claims for mental health are at their highest in the “Finance and Insurance” sector, according to Legal & General. The insurer has recently published an analysis of its GIP claims since 2000 with the figures showing that overall, 31% of claims were for mental health issues such as stress and depression, [...]
JLT Specialty (JLTS) has confirmed that it will be opening new UK regional offices in Nottingham in the Spring. The firm provides specialist insurance broking, risk management and claims consulting services to medium enterprises through to large and international companies. Commenting on the expansion, JLTS managing director regional partnership division, Warren Downey, says: “Our strategic [...]
A new coverholder has launched at Lloyd’s, dedicated to providing the first new capacity to the global nuclear insurance market in thirty years. Northcourt says it is responding to a shortage of capacity in the nuclear market, and the fact that the territory-based structure of existing programmes has made life difficult for today’s global industry. [...]
The risk management practices of many organisations are “worryingly incomplete” and being outpaced by an era of catastrophic “Black Swan” events, claims a new paper from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Black Swan events are events that are nigh impossible to predict yet appear to be happening more frequently, and PwC is urging firms to be more agile [...]
The value of reported fraud in the UK rocketed to £2.095 billion in 2011, according to BDO’s latest FraudTrack report. The figure is up 50% on 2010 and the highest ever recorded by the accountancy firm. The analysis, which is based on reported fraud cases over £50,000, also shows a dramatic rise in the average [...]
New research from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has found that nearly one in five technology firms surveyed in the Thames Valley area have suffered a data security breach in the past 12 months. While just over half of respondents had a crisis strategy in place in case of a serious security breach, a quarter [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is promising a speedy response from its members to policyholders who have suffered damage caused by the high winds hitting Scotland and other parts of the UK. The trade body confirms that storm damage, such as that caused by high winds, will be covered by home and business property [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a consultation on professional indemnity insurance (PII) in the UK valuation sector, where it says problems about risk and pricing are creating market dysfunction. According to the body, the quantity and cost of handling alleged negligence claims is having a significant impact on the cost of [...]
The Government has announced changes for small businesses regarding the automatic enrolment timetable and is allowing more time for implementation. Under the revised timeline, SMEs will have to begin automatically enrolling their staff in May 2015, instead of April 2014. In addition, while automatic enrolment will still be rolled out in autumn 2012 the rate [...]
Research by AXA UK suggests that the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a lower level of business insurance than similar firms across continental Europe. According to the study, only 39% of Britain’s SMEs currently have business interruption cover in place, while 47% of respondents hadn’t even drawn up a business continuity plan. At [...]
Managers and company directors have been urged by Higos Insurance Services to ensure that they have appropriate professional insurance so that their personal responsibilities and liabilities are covered. The responsibilities of senior staff members were recently highlighted by the arrest of the Gleision Colliery Pit Manager, on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Higos Insurance Services [...]
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 [...]
Howden Insurance Brokers has been appointed preferred supplier of insurance services to the English Community Care Association (ECCA). The Association is the largest representative body for community care in England and according to chief executive, Martin Green, Howden has been appointed because it knows the care home business inside out. Commenting on the win, the [...]
AXA Commercial Lines has taken the lead in Brokerbility’s bi-annual satisfaction survey, for the third time in a row. Brokerbility’s 34 member firms made their judgment on claims, underwriting, accounts and overall satisfaction, where the rating increased to over 80%. According to the insurer’s managing director, Matthew Reed: “This is clear evidence that the changes [...]
Friends Life has today launched Protect+, an individual protection package aimed at the IFA market. The group says it has forged together the best of what was once provided by Friends Provident and its UK life acquisition from AXA, with the new offering spanning income protection, critical illness, life and business protection. In addition, IFAs [...]
Coface has noted a deterioration in the average strength of companies in Europe and the US and has placed on “negative watch”, or removed “positive watch” from, eight developed countries. According to the trade credit insurer, the crisis in confidence responsible for recent volatility in the financial markets has begun its spread to the real [...]
Willis has joined forces with Lloyd’s insurer, Kiln, to launch a policy aimed at reducing the risks faced by hoteliers, given that bad news travels fast in the world of new media. According to the broker, illnesses such as Norovirus, which is responsible for about 90% of serious stomach upsets, and Legionnaire’s disease, a lung [...]
