BBC weatherman caught driving without insurance
by David Masters
Story link: BBC weatherman caught driving without insurance
BBC weatherman Des Coleman has been banned from driving for three months after he was caught by police driving without insurance.
The former Eastenders actor, who presents the weather on East Midlands Today, was convicted in court this week after committing the offence in November last year.
Coleman, 44, faced a minimum six-months ban, but had the [...]
Wrynn appointed as NYSID superintendent
by David Masters
Story link: Wrynn appointed as NYSID superintendent
James J. Wrynn has been appointed as the next superintendent of the New York State Insurance Department (NYSID).
He replaces Eric Dinallo, who resigned last month after serving for more than two years in the post, and will take up the position on 20 August.
Wrynn currently services as executive director of the New York State Insurance [...]
Lightening strike blamed for broker blunder
by David Masters
Story link: Lightening strike blamed for broker blunder
Customers of insurance broking firm Jeffery Flanders (Consulting) have been told to contact their insurance companies directly after a lightening strike destroyed financial records, and apparently the telephone line, at the West Sussex-based firm.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) issued the advice after a Jeffery Flanders customer found they did not have the cover they believed [...]
ABI makes a stand on pre-pack administrations
by Gill Montia
Story link: ABI makes a stand on pre-pack administrations
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is calling on the Insolvency Service to improve the transparency of pre-pack administrations.
Pre-pack administrations allow insolvent companies to continue trading while some of their assets are sold to meet secured debts, such as bank loans.
Unsecured creditors can therefore be left out in the cold and the ABI wants more [...]
Heavy punishment feared for alleged Rio insurance scam
by David Masters
Story link: Heavy punishment feared for alleged Rio insurance scam
Two British law students could be jailed for up to five years for an alleged insurance scam.
Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner, both 23, were arrested this week in Rio de Janeiro accused of attempting to defraud their insurance firm by claiming they had been robbed.
The two backpackers reported they’d had £1,300 of belongings taken from [...]
AIG bonuses halted by US Treasury
by David Masters
Story link: AIG bonuses halted by US Treasury
AIG executives missed out on $2.4 million mid-year bonus payments last week after intervention by the US Treasury Department.
According to reports, the Treasury, which rescued AIG last year with a $180 billion bailout package, refused permission for the bonuses to be paid.
George Madison, the Treasury’s general counsel nominee, said AIG is negotiating with executives on [...]
Honeymoon over for wedding-day insurance cheats
by David Masters
Story link: Honeymoon over for wedding-day insurance cheats
A bridegroom has been jailed for twelve months for attempted insurance fraud on his wedding day.
Andrew Singh, 26, was sentenced with his parents at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for making exaggerated insurance claims after wedding coaches booked to transport guests on his wedding day were involved in two collisions.
Graham Singh, 53, and Niramella Singh, [...]
ABI: Insurance fraud up 30% since 2007
by David Masters
Story link: ABI: Insurance fraud up 30% since 2007
Insurance fraud has increased 30% since 2007, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is expected to confirm in a report this week.
According to the Observer newspaper, the ABI will report that undetected fraudulent claims now cost an estimated £1.9 billion per year, compared to £1.6 billion two years ago.
Despite rising fraud costs, the ABI claims [...]
Chubb exposed by $2bn on D&O
by David Masters
Story link: Chubb exposed by $2bn on D&O
Chubb could be forced to pay out up to $2 billion on directors and officers (D&O) insurance policies due to a surge in litigation in the wake of the financial crisis, an insurance expert cautioned this week.
Jay Gelb, analyst at Barclays Capital, warned investors that “given a potential for a wave of D&O litigation, Chubb [...]
Willis sued for endorsing fraudster
by David Masters
Story link: Willis sued for endorsing fraudster
Clients of financial fraudster Allen Stanford are suing London-based insurance broker Willis over claims that the broker helped Stanford with an alleged $7 billion fraud.
The class action suit complaint was filed in Dallas last week by Mexican investors who claim Willis violated Texas securities laws by vouching for Stanford in letters he used to attract [...]
Keoghs expands Counter-Fraud unit
by Gill Montia
Story link: Keoghs expands Counter-Fraud unit
Keoghs has established two new teams within its Counter-Fraud Services unit.
The law firm says it is meeting the challenges posed by growing levels of fraud and its increasing sophistication, as reflected by the 40% rise in new instructions received in the past 12 months.
The new teams are specialist in nature and will work alongside the [...]
Helphire wins legal case on replacement vehicles
by Gill Montia
Story link: Helphire wins legal case on replacement vehicles
Helphire has won a legal case relating to the provision of replacement vehicles to non-fault parties involved in motor accidents.
The accident assistance firm describes the ruling in the cases of Copley-v-Lawn and Maden-v-Haller, as a “landmark” in which its appeal against earlier judgments was upheld in full.
The appeal considered the common situation where, following a [...]
FortisEffect threatens Amlin with lawsuit
by David Masters
Story link: FortisEffect threatens Amlin with lawsuit
Fortis shareholders have threatened legal action against the Dutch state’s sale of Fortis Corporate Insurance to UK-based Amlin.
FortisEffect, the Fortis shareholders’ foundation, claims the sale is illegal.
FortisEffect lawyer Adriaan de Gier has written to the Dutch state and to Amlin claiming the deal will hurt Fortis shareholders.
Amlin said it is aware of the lawsuits and [...]
Parliamentary Ombudsman issues new report on Equitable Life saga
by Gill Montia
Story link: Parliamentary Ombudsman issues new report on Equitable Life saga
Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, is keeping up the pressure on behalf of Equitable Life policyholders with a new report criticising the Government’s compensation proposals.
The UK’s oldest mutual insurance company came close to collapse in 2000 when it could not deliver the returns it had promised.
At the time, over one million savers lost up to 50% [...]
Equitable Life policyholders take High Court action
by Gill Montia
Story link: Equitable Life policyholders take High Court action
Equitable Life policyholders are demanding a judicial review of the compensation offer made by the Government in January.
In 2001, millions of investors in the UK’s oldest mutual insurance company lost up to 50% of the value of their pension funds when Equitable Life came close to collapse.
From the 1950s the company had sold policies that [...]
SFO launches inquiry into AIG Financial Products
by Gill Montia
Story link: SFO launches inquiry into AIG Financial Products
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is undertaking an inquiry into the UK operations of American International Group (AIG) subsidiary, AIG Financial Products.
The law enforcer says it is co-operating with authorities in the US that are currently working on separate investigations involving the business.
The Financial Services Authority is also active in the UK side [...]
‘Unfair dismissal’ claims increasing
by David Masters
Story link: ‘Unfair dismissal’ claims increasing
Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are facing increasing numbers of unfair dismissal claims after neglecting to follow the correct statutory procedures when making employees redundant.
Small business insurer Hiscox said the last quarter saw a threefold increase in insurance claims from employers being sued by employees for ‘unfair dismissal’.
Businesses making redundancies must adhere to recognised [...]
Insurance fraud more acceptable during recession
by David Masters
Story link: Insurance fraud more acceptable during recession
Economic gloom is changing the UK’s attitude to insurance fraud, with a 27% increase in the number of people who see submitting a fraudulent claim as acceptable.
A survey by insurance group RSA found that 4.7 million Brits have no problem with submitting a false claim – an increase of one million compared to March 2008.
One [...]
Fortis shareholders take legal action against Dutch state
by Gill Montia
Story link: Fortis shareholders take legal action against Dutch state
Shareholders in Fortis, the Dutch insurer and one-time financial giant, are threatening legal action against the Dutch state.
Last autumn, a collapse in confidence in the business necessitated an €11.2 billion bail-out of the group by the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Members of the FortisEffect shareholder action group, which comprises around 1,200 investors, have [...]
Credit crunch pushes up client theft
by David Masters
Story link: Credit crunch pushes up client theft
The number of employees stealing confidential information from former workplaces has risen dramatically, a City law firm has revealed.
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) said the last two years have seen a sevenfold leap in the number of claims brought by businesses against former employees for using confidential information.
Claims launched in the Chancery Division of the High [...]
