News in brief

PowerPlace bags Appleton

Online commercial insurance marketplace PowerPlace has appointed Robert Appleton as finance director. Appleton will have full accounting responsibility for the business. He previously held a variety of roles in the finance team at Towergate, most recently as regional finance director.

He will be based at the PowerPlace headquarters in Warwick, and will manage a team of six.

Ink outgrows office space

Giles-owned Ink Underwriting Agencies has relocated to new offices in its bid for expansion. The company said the move, to Vantage House in Rayleigh, Essex, will allow it to accommodate the growing business and team, having grown too big for its old offices in Rayleigh. Ink managing director Mike Smith said: “While we are, of course, sad to leave the old offices behind, it became clear that we had outgrown them – in my case literally.”

IGI becomes AmTrust

IGI Insurance has announced that it will change its name to AmTrust Europe Ltd. IGI Insurance received a major investment from multinational property and casualty insurer AmTrust International Insurance Ltd in a deal that gave the insurer 100% financial ownership of IGI back in 2007. IGI’s parent company, AmTrust International, is continuing to develop its presence and underwriting capacity in the UK and Europe.

Medical insurance association slams IPT

Any rise in insurance premium tax (IPT) will severely hit an NHS already under pressure, the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries has claimed. It added that while the government may think raising IPT from its existing rate of 5% will help towards raising the extra £6bn for HM Treasury, the actual implications regarding medical insurance would be somewhat different.