Articles by Rosie Simms
Ripe gears up for growth more than doubling Greater Manchester office footprint
Digital managing general agent Ripe has upgraded from a 60 seat office to a larger workspace that can accommodate 150 staff, reinforcing its commitment to Greater Manchester.
Aviva refreshes PI cover offering brokers flexibility
Aviva has refreshed its digitally traded professional indemnity product as it launches the proposition on Fast Trade and Acturis.
Axa strikes renewables partnership and expands construction offering
Axa Insurance UK has entered a delegated authority partnership with Lime Underwriting to provide “innovative decommissioning bonds” for the UK’s renewable energy sector, as the insurer also made updates to its construction offering.
People Moves: 7 – 10 April 2026
Stay in the loop with the latest insurance personnel moves.
Windstorm Goretti losses grow to £417m
Perils has raised its estimate of the insurance market loss from windstorm Goretti to €479m (£417m) from €467m.
Ripe joins MGAA to underline position in the sector
Ripe has joined the Managing General Agents’ Association, in what it claimed underlines the digital MGA’s position in the MGA sector.
PremFina unveils £100m facility upsize as it continues to scale
PremFina has secured a £100m upsize and extension of its funding partnership with Waterfall Asset Management.
Andy Burnham to open Biba conference
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is set to give the opening keynote address at The British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s 2026 conference.
Markel takes another senior leader from Intact
Markel Insurance has hired from Intact again, appointing Lee Dainty to the newly created chief operations officer role for its UK business, effective today (7 April).
Chubb extends middle-market range with four launches
Chubb has launched four specific package products, extending its MasterPackage offering, to meet the needs of middle-market clients.
Insurtech adds former Aviva COO to board
Insurance administration software provider Genasys has appointed industry veterans Hugh Hessing and Gavin Routledge as non-executive directors.
Bridgehaven partners with Arrow on new MGA capacity deal
Bridgehaven has signed a MGA capacity agreement with Arrow Risk Management GMBH, marking the first step in its expansion into European delegated underwriting.
Acrisure grows UK presence striking four deals
Acrisure UK Broking has purchased three insurance brokers and a London-based managing general agent to push its strategic expansion across the UK retail broking market.
Flock CEO Klinger unfazed by 2025 loss as it invests for ‘long-term value creation’
Flock has reported an operating loss of £9.6m in 2025, up from £8.9m the year prior, in its last results before Admiral Group acquired the digital fleet managing general agent.
Pen adds Hiscox to capacity roster with non-standard household deal
Pen Underwriting has entered a multi-year strategic partnership with Zurich and Hiscox for its non-standard household insurance business in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
Howden diversifies with new arm on back of acquisition
Howden has agreed to acquire the insurance and financial services consulting team of Hymans Robertson, marking the formal launch of Howden Insurance Actuarial and Longevity.
Brokers digitally self-servicing hits 90%, Aviva finds
Brokers’ appetite for digital self-service is rising, with 90% now happy to manage business digitally, up 10% year on year, according to Aviva’s latest broker barometer.
Blog: Is an AR boom incoming?
As the number of independent brokers reduces year on year, is the appointed representative model the way forward to bolster competition in the market following years of consolidation? Rosie Simms ponders the question.
People Moves: 23 – 27 March 2026
Follow the latest personnel moves in insurance.
Rotherham-based broker gains Lloyd’s accreditation
Readhunt, based in Rotherham, has achieved Lloyd’s of London broker status.
Ghost broking victims almost double in 2025
The number of victims of motor insurance ghost broking scams leapt by 93% in 2025, according to analysis by Synectics Solutions, as it called for greater cross-organisation intelligence sharing.
Aviva unveils ChatGPT insurance app
Aviva is set to launch an app on ChatGPT where customers can get an initial home insurance quote in just a couple of minutes.
Walker to lead Axa’s combined commercial and retail business following restructure
Axa UK & Ireland has created a general insurance business, Axa Insurance UK, with Jon Walker leading the unified UK commercial and retail business units as CEO.
Top 100 broker Principal grows motorcycle book buying Europa
Principal Insurance has bought Bristol-based broker Europa Group, racing into the top five intermediaries in the motorcycle market.