Weblog

Those who subscribe to insurancetimes.co.uk were among the first to know when the UK general insurance industry fell foul of job cuts in the banking sector last week.

The news came when Lloyds Banking Group announced 200 job cuts would be made in its general insurance arm as it merges the support functions of Lloyds TSB and HBOS General Insurance division.

The majority of the jobs are expected to be cut in West Yorkshire, while others will be shed in Newport, south Wales. The story, headlined “Lloyds to cut 200 insurance jobs” was most popular with visitors to the site.

The news also received a significant amount of attention around the wider web, including on the Guardian website, which pointed out that the bank’s total number of lay-offs had now reached 7,500 this year.

The Wall Street Journal website reported that the cuts had come as Lloyds – which is now 43% owned by taxpayers – wrestled with the integration of HBOS into its operations, and held negotiations with the European Commission and UK government on the shape of its business.

Web traffic was also heavy as subscribers learnt that Aviva customer services director Paul Pancham had stepped down to pursue other interests.

The departure of Pancham, part of Aviva’s senior management team, came amid speculation of wider restructuring at Aviva.

This is certainly a story worth keeping an eye on as developments emerge.

Cheering news for the industry came in the form of profitable first-half results for both motor insurer Admiral and Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox. Their results attracted a mass of online coverage and, not surprisingly, struck a chord among visitors to insurancetimes.co.uk.

On another positive note, insurancetimes.co.uk’s “Five things you didn’t know about…” series has also proved popular, so if you want to take part do drop me an email.

Online Top 5

Lloyds to cut 200 insurance jobs

Banking group set to combine back office functions

Senior director exits Aviva

Customer services director steps down

Fortis in £20m GWP Toyota deal

Deal creates 70 new jobs in Stoke and Eastleigh

Hiscox storms ahead in H1

GWP and profits soar by 40% and 30% respectively

Record results for Admiral

UK car insurance market leads profits rise