Articles by Emmanuel Kenning
Ageas’ chief bearish on commercial hardening
Barry Smith, chief executive of Ageas UK, has described himself as “very pleased” with the step change from loss to profit at the insurer but admitted he was not confident of seeing any commercial market hardening in 2012.
Momentum signs up first Scottish AR
Momentum has signed up Dancas Insurance Brokers as its first Scottish member.
Aviva’s McMillan bullish on insurer summit outcomes
David McMillan, chief executive officer UKGI at Aviva, has told Insurance Age he was as optimistic as he had ever been on reducing the cost of motor premiums following the outcome of last week’s insurance summit with the Prime Minister, David Cameron.
Moreland teams up with British Franchise Association to drive growth
Scottish broker Moreland Insurance has entered into a strategic partnership with business organisation the British Franchise Association (BFA) in a move designed to widen its UK reach.
Chubb rides in with seven new staff
Chubb Insurance has recruited seven new senior London-based employees to enhance its personal lines offering.
Miller adds Marsh and AJ Gallagher experts to team
Miller has appointed James Cunningham and Ewan Wauchope to bolster its political risk, trade credit and political violence capabilities.
Further credit rating woe for Allianz, Aviva and Axa
Moody's has downgraded the outlook from stable to negative for Allianz SE, Aviva plc and Axa SA and all subsidiaries of the three insurers.
Zurich UK sees profits rise
Zurich UK has reported a 28% increase in business operating profit to $256m (£163.3m) for the year ended 31 December 2011.
Broker Network signs up equestrian specialist
Shearwater Insurance has become a member of Towergate-owned Broker Network.
Marsh reports increase in revenue and profit
Marsh & McLennan Companies, parent company of broking giant Marsh, has reported a 9.3% increase in total revenue to $11.53bn (£7.35bn) for 2011 from $10.55bn in 2010.
Allianz Legal appoints new sales chief
Allianz Legal Protection (ALP) has appointed Phil Ruse to the newly-created role of head of sales and distribution.
Biba confirms £1,500 prize for young broker competition
Nominations have now opened for the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) Young Broker of the Year Award 2012.
RBSI explains rebrand to Direct Line
RBS Insurance has confirmed recent press reports of its rebrand as Direct Line Group in preparation of its split from the banking arm of RBS.
CII appoints Bluefin CEO
Stuart Reid, chief executive officer at Bluefin, has been appointed as chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s (CII) insurance broking faculty.
QBE enters cyber space
QBE has become the latest insurer to unveil a cyber-risks related product with its new Cyber Response policy designed for UK businesses with a turnover of up to £100m.
Axa: Household claim fraud averages £607
Research by Axa has revealed that the number of people exaggerating a home insurance claim has jumped by 17% since last year, with an estimated 200,000 consumers adding an average of £607 to their claim.
XL reports $475m loss
XL has reported a net loss of $475m (£301.3m) for 2011 along with a combined operating ratio of 107.5% for property and casualty (P&C) business.
Broker's Ark
If you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor, I think the topic most likely to explode in insurance land this year is flooding.
Mapfre hits out at credit rating agencies
Mapfre's general manager, Esteban Tejera, has criticised ratings agencies for failing to take the company's financial figures into account when downgrading them.
Motor PI portal limit extended to £25,000
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has welcomed the government announcement to extend the claims limit for settling personal injury motor claims from £10,000 to £25,000.
Profits slump at Catlin
Catlin Group has seen pre-tax profits for 2011 tumble to $71m (£44.8m) from $406m the year before, as its combined operating ratio punched through the 100 barrier to reach 102.6% (2010: 89.8%).
Network announces membership target as it expands into commercial
Personal lines specialist,1 Answer Network, has predicted that it will have 100 members by 2013.
Acturis vows to revolutionise personal lines
Acturis is poised to make an attack upon the personal lines market with two key hires.
Thistle appoints new CEO
James Twining has been appointed chief executive officer of JLT-owned managing general agent (MGA) Thistle Insurance.