Hauliers to benefit from new policy offering
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Hauliers to benefit from new policy offering
Hauliers stand to benefit from the collaboration of Bradford-based National Breakdown and Halifax firm Donald Insurance which have teamed up to provide a nationwide commercial solution to HGV and fleet owners.
Their combined fleet and HGV insurance is a single policy under which goods in transit, property, liability and breakdown coverage is all provided.
It is the [...]
Bupa enhances critical illness offering
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Bupa enhances critical illness offering
Bupa has stated it will now grant group critical illness claimants (and their families) access to independent and confidential advice, guidance and medical information.
The enhanced feature comes at no increase in premium cost.
The Best Doctors® service includes a database 50,000 medical professionals strong, and will provide independent and expert medical assessments of conditions.
The service augments, [...]
FM Global announces 2009 profits
by Richard Kilner
Story link: FM Global announces 2009 profits
Worldwide business property insurer FM Global has announced its 2009 financial results, including a robust underwriting performance and above average investment portfolio return.
Gross premium in force rose by 5.6% to $4.7bn, with net income recorded at $840m.
A combination of good underwriting and investment performance saw policyholder surplus increase to $6.3bn, a rise of 35%.
FM Global [...]
Aviva enters Indonesian market
by Gill Montia
Story link: Aviva enters Indonesian market
Aviva has broken into a new market with the acquisition of a 60% stake in PT Asuransi Winterthur Life Indonesia (WLI).
According to the insurer, Indonesia is one of the fastest growing life insurance markets in Asia, and the acquisition is consistent with the its long-term strategy to build a presence in key South East Asian [...]
Wesleyan announces strong 2009 results
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Wesleyan announces strong 2009 results
Wesleyan Assurance Society, the financial services specialist for professionals, has announced that it enjoyed a good year in 2009 and released its financial performance figures for that year.
The firm saw new business sales rise by 11%, with ISA and unit trust sales up 59% and income protection product sales rising by 36%.
Wesleyan also increased the [...]
Miller bolsters facultative capability
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Miller bolsters facultative capability
Specialist independent insurance and reinsurance broker Miller has announced the appointment of global facultative reinsurance specialist Neil Higgins.
Higgins brings with him decades of experience in the insurance sector, and extensive expertise in international property reinsurance.
He joins Miller from Newman, Martin and Buchan LLP, leaving behind his erstwhile role as a director of the Property and [...]
Leaseguard unveils new website
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Leaseguard unveils new website
Specialist insurance provider to the Buy-to-Let industry Leaseguard has unveiled its new and improve website (www.leaseguard.co.uk).
The site has been updated with a new look and fresh content representing the Leaseguard Specialist Approach to Insurance and providing browsers with current information regarding the firm’s products and services.
It has been redesigned for ease of navigation and is [...]
Cornish Mutual announce £2.5m pre-tax profits
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Cornish Mutual announce £2.5m pre-tax profits
Cornish Mutual, the only general insurance firm based in the South West, has described 2009 as a challenging but profitable year.
The firm, which is holding its AGM in a week’s time, saw written premiums rise by 2.4% to £15.2m with a technical surplus of £303,918, despite the ongoing difficulties in the economy and prolonged severe [...]
Fronting rife among young drivers
by David Masters
Story link: Fronting rife among young drivers
One in ten families are guilty of fronting on their car insurance, according to research by moneysupermarket.com.
Fronting – in which parents insure their child’s car in their own name to save money – is illegal and can result in claims being rejected by insurers.
Nonetheless, one in three (30%) parents polled said they would consider fronting [...]
Royal London faces up to data protection breach
by Gill Montia
Story link: Royal London faces up to data protection breach
Royal London Mutual Insurance Society has been rapped over the knuckles by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after breaching the Data Protection Act.
The reprimand comes after eight of the firm’s laptops, two of which contained details of 2,135 people who had sought pension scheme illustrations, were stolen from the company’s Edinburgh offices.
The data were [...]
Which? challenges Admiral on racial discrimination
by Gill Montia
Story link: Which? challenges Admiral on racial discrimination
Which? has raised concerns over Admiral Group’s treatment of motorists born outside the UK.
According to research by the consumer group, the insurer’s quotes vary by an average of 18%, dependent on how applicants answer the question “Have you lived in the UK since birth?”
In making its argument, Which? says it has been advised by a [...]
Novae Re opens new Zurich offices
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Novae Re opens new Zurich offices
Novae Group has announced that Novae Re has opened new offices in Zurich.
The new offices come as Novae seeks to enhance its presence in the important European reinsurance marketplace.
Presently, Novae writes business from its London office, and it announced last year the formation of the Novae Re business in Zurich.
The firm has indicated that it [...]
Zurich launches protection microsite
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Zurich launches protection microsite
Zurich UK Life has announced the launch of new microsite Zurich4protection.com, following the firm’s recent protection campaign to support advisers and help them grow their business.
The new microsite is dedicated to such protection and aims to offer a single port of call for advisers seeking a complete and professional service to offer to customers.
The microsite [...]
Cowen SC raise doubts over price comparison sites
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Cowen SC raise doubts over price comparison sites
Business continuity experts at Cowens Survival Capability have raised doubts regarding the usage of the internet as a means of searching for insurance by SMEs in the Midlands.
Cowen SC works to cut risk, by auditing a business and then prescribing the necessary insurance coverage.
However, Cowen SC has found that a large number of SMEs are [...]
Insurecom select ULR to provide legal services
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Insurecom select ULR to provide legal services
Insurance software specialist Insurecom has selected ULR to provide commercial legal protection solutions and products exclusively to the members of the recently launched InsureServe marketing group.
ULR’s commercial legal services division CommercialPlus offers a comprehensive array of legal protection insurance, services and complete claims handling services.
CommercialPlus has been chosen by Insurecom to be the sole provider [...]
Simple launches caravan insurance via jml
by Gill Montia
Story link: Simple launches caravan insurance via jml
Simple has announced that its new caravan insurance offering is now being promoted on the jml-insurance.co.uk web site.
The product is aimed at the owners of the UK’s 498,000 touring caravans; 112,000 motorhomes and 335,000 caravan holiday homes (figures from the National Caravan Council).
Cover is available under two policies: Simple Static Caravan Insurance and Simple Touring [...]
Compulsory dog insurance proposals binned
by Gill Montia
Story link: Compulsory dog insurance proposals binned
The Government has abandoned the idea of mandatory third-party insurance for dogs, the BBC has reported.
Concerns that dogs are being bred solely for the purpose of intimidating others have led ministers to review the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and a week ago, Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced that plans were under consideration for legislation demanding [...]
QuestGates poaches Capita’s counter fraud team
by Richard Kilner
Story link: QuestGates poaches Capita’s counter fraud team
Specialist loss adjuster QuestGates has announced the appointment of John Freeman as counter fraud director.
He leaves behind Capita, where he served as director of Fraud for Teceris Claims Services, to join QuestGates.
A quartet of Freeman’s Capita team will be following him in joining QuestGates.
Kay Hodgson ACFS, Dave Baxter ACFS and Verity Astins will all work [...]
Thornside selected for Shop Direct pet insurance
by Gill Montia
Story link: Thornside selected for Shop Direct pet insurance
Thornside has been selected by Shop Direct Group to provide online pet insurance through the group’s Littlewoods.com and Very.co.uk brands.
The firm, which is part of the Capita Group, already provides pet insurance for Shop Direct’s customers over the phone, and managing director, David Seel, says he is delighted to be supporting the development of [...]
2009 saw low natural catastrophe losses
by Richard Kilner
Story link: 2009 saw low natural catastrophe losses
Swiss Re’s latest sigma study has revealed that, globally, natural disasters cost insurers $22bn in 2009, with man-made catastrophes costing a further $4bn.
Financial costs were greatest in North America, which saw $12.7bn worth of pay-outs, with Asia bearing the brunt of the death toll (9,400 from a worldwide total of 15,000).
In financial terms, the losses [...]
