Articles by Emmanuel Kenning
Bexhill report shines spotlight on broker ownership
Premium finance lender Bexhill UK has crunched the numbers on the broking sector, with CEO Ravi Takhar warning that truly independent owner-managed regional brokers are slowly becoming ‘a thing of the past’, Insurance Age can reveal.
SiriusPoint restructures and Gibbs exits
SiriusPoint has confirmed international CEO Rob Gibbs is leaving the business as it restructures into four areas.
FOS and FCA reveal next steps for system reform
The Financial Ombudsman Service and Financial Conduct Authority have outlined the next steps on their joint work to modernise the redress system.
MarshBerry reveals the historical fate of smaller brokers
Nearly one-third of brokers that had 10-15 staff five years ago have been sold, MarshBerry has revealed as it offered a rare lens on how the ‘ordinary’ regional broker has fared over a period of intense consolidation and market change.
Markerstudy adds Ward from Admiral as group CFO
Glen Ward has joined Markerstudy as group chief financial officer from Admiral where he spent the past five years as CFO of UK insurance.
Q&A: Pen’s Nick Wright
Nick Wright, chief business development officer at Pen Underwriting, tackles its recent M&A quietness, capacity in the market and the benefits to brokers from niche products. He updates on the goal of hitting £1.75bn GWP by 2030, streamlining its agency…
McCafferty leaves chair role at BDH
Brendan McCafferty has left Top 100 Broker BDH, Insurance Age can reveal, with the business confirming it was an ‘amicable’ departure and there are no plans to replace the now former chair.
Aviva responds to Direct Line’s £10.6m fine
Aviva has confirmed it was fully aware of the ‘historical’ accounting errors that have led to the Prudent Regulation Authority hitting Direct Line Group with a £10.6m fine and stated there will be no impact on the integration or the financial benefits it…
PRA fines Direct Line underwriter £10.6m
The Prudential Regulation Authority has fined UK Insurance Limited, a subsidiary and principal underwriter of Direct Line Group and now part of Aviva, £10.625m for a miscalculation of its Solvency II balance sheet during 2023 and 2024.
Aon leader Kus named new chair of Liiba
Tracy-Lee Kus, CEO of Aon’s global broking centre, has been appointed chair of the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association succeeding Howden’s Andy Bragoli.
Sabre ‘all in’ on broker support as CEO Carter eyes growth after profit boost in 2025
Sabre is ready to grow with brokers as the provider promised the sector it “can rely on us to provide competitive prices through our part of the market through this year’” CEO Geoff Carter told Insurance Age.
JMG recruits Cunis from Gallagher to lead on private clients
Andrew Cunis has left Gallagher to join JMG Group in May as CEO of private clients, Insurance Age can reveal.
Sabre trims GWP, but boosts profit in 2025
Motor specialist insurer Sabre grew post-tax profits by 5.3% in 2025 and kept its ‘underwriting discipline’ as gross written premium shrank 14.2%.
PremFina grows broker network by a third
PremFina has reported it grew its broker network by a third last year citing three “major” partnerships in the final quarter alone as it reached £1.1bn in contracted volumes.
Aviva to keep Direct Line for Business
Aviva, which partially exited direct SME commercial business in 2024, is keeping Direct Line for Business and does not view it as a challenger to brokers, Jason Storah, CEO for UK and Ireland general insurance told Insurance Age.
Open GI parent trims losses in year of Ares deal
Open GI’s parent company, OM Bidco, cut operating and post-tax losses in the year Ares Management bought the business, a filing at Companies House has revealed.
H&H promotes Kally Shane to lead insurance business
Kally Shane has been promoted to head of H&H Insurance Brokers having progressed through the business in increasingly senior roles after joining as a trainee 16 years ago.
John Lewis Money becomes regulated insurance broker
John Lewis Money has become a regulated insurance broker and will go live with a panel including Axa, Prestige Underwriting and Covéa for home insurance in April with car to follow in the summer.
Storah promises brokers more to come as Aviva reaches sub 94% ‘North Star’ COR
Aviva grew gross written premium and policy numbers in a “challenging” SME market, Jason Storah, CEO for UK and Ireland general insurance at Aviva, confirmed to Insurance Age, as he promised further broker focus after its 2025 results.
Aviva posts UK commercial growth as Direct Line boosts GWP to over £9bn
Aviva grew UK commercial premiums by 7% to £3.85bn last year as it improved the combined operating ratio in the line to 93.9% from 95.4%.
Polaris MD Banga on growth with MGAs, AI and initiatives to expand digital trading
“There had been this perception that imarket is only for insurers. It’s great to see four MGAs now actively trading on it,” Polaris managing director Vivek Banga has told Insurance Age.
FCA way off target on insurance new firm authorisation service
New data and goals from the Financial Conduct Authority have revealed the regulator is far behind the target for authorising new insurance firms, with the level of service squarely in the red zone at 81.8%.
imarket premiums tick up in 2025 as Polaris confirms MGA joiners and AI pilot
Digital trading platform imarket handled £454m of premium in 2025 with policies traded rising to just over 547,000, Insurance Age can reveal.
Hiscox recruits Jadav from Axa XL as UK CUO
Anish Jadav has been appointed UK chief underwriting officer at Hiscox, succeeding Ben Horton.