New guidance from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) should mean people receive life insurance payments more quickly after bereavement. The lengthy legal process associated with winding up a deceased person’s estate has left families typically waiting around four months to receive life insurance payouts. However, working with the Law Commission, the ABI has developed [...]
Aviva and HSBC have strengthened their relationship with the extension of their general insurance deal, and the insurer’s appointment as a preferred strategic partner in the UK and Europe. In the UK, an exclusive general insurance distribution deal for home, travel and creditor business is now extended to 2016, while the strategic partnership appointment will [...]
Willis Re has established a Life Solutions group, which aims to provide the market with advice on risk mitigation and financial leverage. The broker has appointed Rick Hodgdon, Mike Kaster and Brian Holland to lead the team in New York, all of whom are described as “highly respected” reinsurance and risk management experts. The new [...]
New research commissioned by Scottish Widows has found that 28 million Britons lack life insurance, leaving their family potentially open to financial vulnerability should the worst happen. Many people are continuing to go without financial safety nets such as critical illness cover and life insurance, according to the third Scottish Widows Consumer Protection Report. There [...]
Hannover Re has reached agreement with Bermuda-based Scottish Re on the acquisition of a reinsurance portfolio covering the mortality risk under term life and endowment policies that were reinsured by Scottish Re in the underwriting years 2000 to 2003. The business, which is expected to generate an annual premium volume of around $80 million, is [...]
Insurers are less confident that the industry will achieve Solvency II compliance by 1st January 2013, according to new research undertaken by the Economist Intelligence Unit for Deliotte. The survey found that just under half of respondents (46%) were confident or very confident about the prospects for industry compliance, compared to 63% in 2010. However, [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has today announced that the long-standing Concordat and Moratorium on Genetics, agreed with the Department of Health, has been extended to 2017. The moratorium means the results of a predictive genetic test will not affect a consumer’s ability to take out any type of insurance, other than life insurance [...]
Equitable Life says it has earmarked a sum equivalent to 12.5% of policy values (as at 31 December 2010) which will be used to enhance payments for with-profits policyholders who leave. The move is aimed at giving policyholders quitting the society a fair share of the capital held, while leave enough for those who remain. [...]
In its 2011/12 business plan, published yesterday, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) says it will be following up on proposals to strengthen the effectiveness of its with-profits regime. In particular, the regulator will consult further in 2011 on policyholder communications, having identified “significant weaknesses” in the quality of consumer communications. The FSA states: “We do [...]
The risks faced by the UK’s insurance industry have been highlighted in the first Prudential Risk Outlook (PRO) to be published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The regulator says that UK life insurers continue to face a number of medium to long-term pressures on profitability, explaining: “In particular, while new business flows are reportedly [...]
The decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to ban the use of gender in insurance policies from December 2012 has been described as “disappointing” by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). According to the ABI, over the next 20 months insurers will have to make large-scale changes including amending all affected policy documentation; [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its first Retail Conduct Risk Outlook (RCRO), which examines how a range of current, emerging and potential risks could impact customers. As a key component in the regulator’s consumer protection strategy, the RCRO report seeks to identify current and upcoming risks by analysing the environment in which the [...]
The number of people who see property as the best long-term investment fell by almost a third in the final three months of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, while savings accounts, stocks and shares and national savings all saw an increase in favourability among savers and investors. The findings come from the Association of [...]
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published a new Best Practice Guide for the Retirement Process, which sets out the principles pension providers need to follow, plus the key requirements they must meet, to help customers purchase the right annuity for their circumstances. According to the ABI, the guide makes it clear that providers [...]
American International Group (AIG) has agreed the sale its 97.57% stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance Company (Taiwan’s largest life insurer by total book value) to Ruen Chen Investment Holding, which is owned by Taiwan-based conglomerate, Ruentex Group. Commenting on the $2.16 billion transaction, AIG’s president and chief executive officer, Robert Benmosche, says: “Ruen Chen [...]
Fortis Life has changed its name to Ageas Protect in the UK, from today. The move follows the adoption of the Ageas name by Fortis’ general insurance business, following the disposal of the group’s banking assets, in 2009. The new name and Ageas logo will now be used to promote the company’s protection proposition, with [...]
Activity grew strongly in the UK financial services sector for the second quarter in a row, a new survey reveals today. However, in the three months to December 2010 profitability did not increase as fast as expected, growing at the slowest pace for 18 months, and numbers employed in the sector fell at the fastest [...]
LV= is launching a new TV advertisement for its 50 Plus life insurance plan. The ad, which has been designed by creative agency “redtag”, will air on terrestrial, satellite and cable channels from today. Featuring grandparents reminiscing at their favourite beauty spot, the promotion aims to highlight the importance of family, life events and planning [...]
