All articles by Ben Dyson – Page 45
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NewsCarole Nash to buy Ageas Retail’s motorbike business
Specialist motorbike broker Carole Nash has agreed to buy Ageas Retail’s motorcycle insurance books of business for an undisclosed sum. The books comprise around 20,000 policies, accounting for roughly 1% of the insured vehicles in the UK motorcycle market. This adds to the 25% share of insured ...
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NewsAsh Bathia’s Lloyd’s insurer hires casualty underwriting head
Ash Bathia’s Lloyd’s syndicate, Probitas 1492, has hired Neila Buurman as chief underwriting officer for its casualty division. Buurman was previously director of international casualty at QBE, Bathia’s former employer. She joined QBE in 2000 as an international liability underwriter. Bathia was chief underwriting officer of ...
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NewsBroker Network extends partnership with RSA
Broker Network has signed a new three-year deal with insurer RSA, extending the two firms’ current partnership. Under the new deal, RSA will offer exclusive personal lines products to Broker Network members, in addition to new commercial lines products. The first launch under the new deal ...
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AgendaAnalysis: Consolidators are back – will it be different this time?
The new wave of consolidators is bringing fear of a renewed squeeze on insurers for commissions. But there are signs that the model has changed amid a soft market
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NewsWillis GB profit and revenues fall in first quarter
Willis Towers Watson’s UK broking division Willis GB made an operating profit of $20m (£13.8m) in the first quarter of 2016, down 4.8% on the $21m it made in last year’s first quarter. The division, which comprises Willis’s UK retail broking and London market speciality business, ...
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NewsARO signs property owners’ deal with Broker Direct
ARO Underwriting has signed a property owners’ distribution deal with fellow underwriting agency Broker Direct. The deal will allow ARO to distribute its residential and commercial property owners’ products through Broker Direct’s 750 broker members. The brokers now have access to ARO’s recently launched quote-and-buy system. ...
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NewsHester: RSA needed to change to survive
Recent changes at RSA may have been difficult for staff, but they are necessary to avoid a more painful outcome, according to group chief executive Stephen Hester. Speaking to Insurance Times following the release of RSA’s first quarter results this morning, Hester also said that he ...
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NewsGallagher unit gets foothold in UK motor with Gibraltar buy
Arthur J Gallagher-owned consultancy Artex Risk Solutions has bought Gibraltar-based insurance management firm Quest Holdings (Gibraltar). Artex said the acquisition expands its foothold in the European insurance market and gives it particular expertise in the UK motor market. Gibraltar-based insurers play a key role in the UK ...
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NewsABI welcomes minister’s pledge to push ahead with claims reforms
The ABI has welcomed justice minister Lord Faulks’s pledge to push ahead with the government’s proposed whiplash reforms. But Faulks’s comments have sparked anger from claimant lawyer lobby group Access to Justice (A2J). At the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) annual conference yesterday, Faulks said ...
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NewsEnterprise Bill gains Royal Assent
The Enterprise Bill has gained Royal Assent, and will pass into law in a year’s time. The Bill, now known as the Enterprise Act 2016, will have several implications for the insurance industry. One key change is that the Enterprise Act amends the Insurance Act 2015, ...
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NewsCSC completes Xchanging acquisition
Technology group CSC has completed its acquisition of insurance outsourcing firm Xchanging. The companies said the deal will “create a new leader in technology and business process services for the global insurance industry”. CSC also said the acquisition will put it “at the heart of the ...
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NewsBeazley first quarter GWP up 7% as rates fall 1%
Lloyd’s insurer Beazley wrote gross premiums of $538m (£401.6m) in the first quarter of 2016, up 7% on the $546m it wrote in the same quarter last year. The increase came despite a 1% cut in rates in the quarter. The Lloyd’s insurer also reported a ...
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NewsRSA UK and Ireland premiums rise 2% in first quarter
RSA’s UK and Ireland business brought in net written premium of £635m in the first quarter of 2016, up 2% on the £622m generated in the same period last year. The insurer said in a trading update this morning that first quarter 2016 UK personal lines ...
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NewsMan convicted for role in £100k ice cream van fraud
A 39-year old man has been convicted for his part in an insurance fraud where an ice cream van was used to stage fake accidents across the country. Barry Mark Sandmann, 39, of Brompton Lane, Strood, Kent, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on 29 April ...
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NewsJLT EMEA chief executive Martin Hiller to retire
JLT chief executive of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Martin Hiller is retiring from the company. Hiller joined JLT in 1988. He is best known at the company for his almost 10-year stint as chief executive of the JLT Specialty broking division. JLT credited ...
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NewsValue of Electra’s Davies stake jumps 65%
Private equity house Electra’s stake in claims firm Davies jumped 65% in the six months to 31 March 2016, Electra’s accounts show. The value of the 57% stake, which Electra bought when it backed Davies’s management buyout in 2011, is now worth £38m, up from the ...
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NewsDirect Line Group GWP up 4.2% in first quarter
Direct Line Group reported gross written premium (GWP) from continuing operations of £777.8m in the first quarter of 2016, up 4.2% on the £746.5m it reported in the same quarter last year. This was despite a 1.8% drop in in-force policy numbers to 15.9 ...
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NewsAXA planning UK life and savings exit
AXA is planning to sell its remaining UK life and savings businesses, including its SunLife direct protection business and AXA Wealth, the company announced this morning. The insurer revealed the plan after reaching an agreement to sell Elevate, an online investment platform, to Standard Life. ...
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NewsCompass ‘doesn’t really work inside Gallagher’
Arthur J Gallagher group chief financial officer Douglas Howell has played down the importance of its UK broker network Compass, telling analysts that the network “doesn’t really work inside Gallagher” and that Compass’s planned exit from the group “is not a big deal”. Insurance Times revealed ...
