A 30th anniversary, a new podcast and a policy that covers pints during Euro 2024. What has the insurance industry been up to of late? You heard it here first…

Carpenters Group turns 30 

Law firm and Fraud Charter sponsor Carpenters Group turned 30-years-old in June 2024. Founded in 1994 by John Carpenter, the company started out as a motor claims department. The business is now run by chairman Carpenter and his wife, director Donna Scully.

In a LinkedIn post, Scully said: ”We’re both proud of Carpenters Group and our people. To have had the chance to do so much through the business, like social mobility, equality and helping our communities. Thank you to everybody who helped us get here. Here’s to a positive, successful and constructive future for us.”

Donna and John Scully

Credit: Donna Scully 

Super Dad delivers pow-erful climate message

On 13 June 2024, ahead of Father’s Day on 16 June, UK-based climate activist group Mothers Rise Up delivered a giant card and poem to Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal, asking whether he would be a ”climate hero or villain this Father’s Day?”. The poem, by Liv Torc, is called Mum-slaining the apocalypse.

The group, which wants Lloyd’s to stop insuring fossil fuel projects, was accompanied by a Super Dad character.

Mothers Rise Up-24_Superdad

Credit: Anna Gordon 

Success stories

Former ManyPets UK chief executive Oke Eleazu launched his own podcast in June 2024 after starting his own business. Called Elevate Colour, the firm seeks to improve the representation of people of colour in UK leadership roles.

Eleazu’s first episode will be aired in a few weeks’ time. The show will see Eleazu speaking to successful people of colour, to showcase great leaders and their career journeys.

The podcast will be available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Oke Eleazu_Bought By Many _full

Credit: Oke Eleazu 

Ecclesiastical hits right note 

Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, which covers churches and their staff, hit the right note with policyholders through its very own choir.

The group last performed on 14 June 2024 at the St Mary de Crypt church as part of the Glow Festival – a music and arts event in Gloucester sponsored by the insurer. 

During the concert, the choir performed songs from TV shows, popular music and theatre.

Ecclesiastical choir

Credit: Charlotte Sanville 

Brew-tiful insurance 

Beer company Heineken and advertising firm Publicis have partnered to create a new insurance product covering football fans for accidental beer spills during UEFA Euro 2024. 

The scheme, HeineCare, offers cover at five UK pubs, including The Faltering Fallback in north London – it provides a replacement pint should a spillage occur. Claims can be made via a QR code on Heineken beer mats. 

Beer football pitch

Credit: Getty

 

The Speculator 

gossip

June 2024 saw Lloyd’s postpone the implementation of Blueprint Two’s first phase, which was originally scheduled for an October 2024 delivery. This will now be rolled out in 2025.

Blueprint Two is Lloyd’s digital transformation strategy. Phase one, which included the move to a new platform developed by Velonetic, had already been delayed from a July launch date.

At the time of writing, an exact date for phase one’s launch has not been mentioned by Lloyd’s chief executive John Neal, but he specified that the market will “only cutover to phase one digital services once it is safe to do so”.

This latest delay came a week after the International Underwriting Association revealed it was forming a new company market committee to monitor Blueprint Two’s progress.

With Blueprint Two postponed again, what will the next steps look like?