Throwback 80s and 90s insurance singing boy bands, awards, Formula 1 and a former professional footballer, what has the insurance industry been up to of late? You heard it here first…
Insurance Times scores Biba award hat-trick
The Insurance Times editorial team secured a hat-trick of wins at the Biba Journalism and Media Awards in June, including Best Publication 2023.
To add to this, acting editor Yiannis Kotoulas won Most Promising Newcomer and technology editor Clare Ruel scooped a win for Best Thought Leadership. Reporter Isobel Rafferty was also shortlisted for the Best Investigative Journalism award.
June also saw Tim Potter, managing director of Newsquest Specialist Media, retire after working at the publication since March 2017.
Biba visits F1 Exhibition
In other Biba news, former chief executive Steve White travelled to Madrid with his successor Graeme Trudgill in June for a business meeting organised by Bipar, the European Federation of Insurance Intermediaries.
While there, White was awarded the association’s Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognised his decades of dedication to the sector.
And to round off a successful trip, he and avid F1 fan Trudgill visited the Formula 1 Exhibition in Madrid, which provides an insight into the motorsport with a range of displays.
Both White and Trudgill took a photo next to the remains of the 2020 Haas car that became engulfed in flames when it penetrated a barrier at the Bahrain Grand Prix that year. Thankfully, driver Romain Grosjean walked away with no life changing injuries.
Boys no more
What’s Boyz II Men got to do with insurance? Early June saw Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men join forces with Nsync’s Joey Fatone, 98 Degrees’ Nick Lachey and New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre to form a band called Boys No More.
The group recorded a song and music video, developed in partnership with CSSA Insurance Group, called Make it right.
The lyrics were inspired by boyband songs of the 80s, 90s and 00s, such as No matter what goes wrong in life and Baby we’ll make it right.
A dance and karaoke challenge has also been launched on TikTok and Instagram. It follows CSSA’s advert, which starred Rick Astley, last year.
Lineker insures with King’s Ticker
Former professional footballer Gary Lineker has insured with telematics insurtech Ticker. Lineker, who is an ambassador and investor for Ticker, decided to switch to pay-per-mile insurance after admitting he had been driving less and less over the past few years.
Richard King, chief executive and founder of Ticker, said: “With prices rising everywhere you look, a usage-based offering is an essential addition to our expanding suite of products.”
The Speculator
Aviva announced a leadership reshuffle of its commercial lines team. In a statement released on 7 July 2023, the insurer said the move was to drive growth and “increase focus” on its visibility, responsiveness and delivery for both brokers and customers.
New underwriting director roles were also created in its global corporate and specialty (GCS) division, which were filled by Matthew Gordon and CNA Hardy’s Ramesh Singh.
Beccy Brown was also appointed as chief operating officer to drive GCS’ strategic transformation.
Meanwhile, in the distribution division, Aviva said Michelle Taylor will take up the new role of strategic accounts director in January 2024.
Ryan Birbeck will become broker devlopment director. Meanwhile, Micahel Yabantu has been made managing director of mid-market in the SME division.
But what growth in commercial lines does the rest of the year hold for Aviva?
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