Broker
People Moves: 24-28 January 2022
Stay up-to-date with the latest personnel changes in insurance.
Lords starts hearing evidence in insurance market regulation inquiry
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee kicked off its investigation which focuses on the commercial insurance and reinsurance market on 14 January.
Bought By Many plans for further pet growth
CEO Steven Mendel admits he is seeing "lots of noise and distraction" but not enough innovation as he highlights the shortcomings of the pet space and the insurance industry as a whole.
Clear Group buys Ashford-based broker
Clear makes first acquisition of the year as it snaps up Kent Insurance Brokers.
Acrisure highlights £1bn GWP aim as it moves to "disrupt" UK broking
President of UK Retail, Mark McIlquham, tells Insurance Age about the US-headquartered broker's UK expansion plans and reveals it is targeting £1bn in GWP within five years.
Brokers face staff shortfall amid Great Resignation
Analysis: Brokers warn the industry is facing a skills shortage as they struggle to fill gaps despite reports of more people looking for new jobs after the pandemic lockdowns.
Blanc exits Hastings board as Mark Cliff steps in
The former Brightside boss has joined Hastings as non-executive director following Peter Blanc's resignation prompted by the Aston Lark-Howden deal.
Howden reports 48% revenue rise for 2021
The broker, which recently bought Aston Lark, also reveals organic growth of 19% for the year.
Broker turned Tory MP Christian Wakeford defects to Labour
Wakeford says the best interests of his constituents are better served by the Labour Party as he slams Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Conservatives for being "incapable of offering the leadership and government this country deserves".
First Underwriting eyes £130m GWP
The MGA is also looking to expand into fresh product lines following its £1bn capacity deal with Accredited.
Former Stackhouse Poland director joins Partners&
James Agnew, who co-owned Stackhouse Poland between 2001 and 2019, is now partner, private client, at Partners&.
CBPE completes Direct Commercial deal
After receiving backing from CBPE, the MGA will sit alongside Carraig Insurance under Direct Commercial Group.
Opinion: New year, right cover
Allianz's Helen Bryant considers how businesses have developed during Covid-19 and outlines key ways their insurance needs may have changed.
UK car insurance premiums rose 5% in Q4 2021
Despite car insurance dropping by 6% in 2021, the final quarter of the year saw the first increases in premium since 2020.
Aviva to boost underwriting team in move to invest in regional brokers
Chief distribution officer Gareth Hemming says the provider is initially planning to increase the size of its underwriting team in the regions by 10%.
H&H Insurance buys Tynedale broker
Tynedale Insurance Services was founded in 2015 and is based in Hexham.
People moves: 17-21 January 2022
Keep up to date with the latest people moves in the insurance sector.
XS Direct goes into run-off in Ireland
The broker confirmed that, as a result, staff at its Dublin headquarters had been informed that they would be made redundant.
Gallagher appoints regional lead
Elliot Miller joins as regional managing director for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East of England.
Experts warn of reinsurance market crunch
Smaller players without scale may struggle with reinsurance costs going forward as issue is highlighted by the collapse of motor trade specialist Tradewise.
XS Direct's UK MGA stops writing new business
The Irish broker, which acts as an MGA in the UK, stopped accepting new business from 7 January after it was unable to renew its agency agreements with insurers. Its renewals business will also cease from 1 March.
Hubb targets £15m to £20m GWP for 2023
The commercial usage-based broker was set up in 2020 and authorised in April last year.
Dickson & Co eager to double business and keep expanding
Dickson director Gavin Mitchell told Insurance Age that the broker would acquire more businesses in 2022 as well as recruit more people for its growing commercial team.
CPP Group UK buys travel specialist Alpha Underwriting
The deal includes Alpha’s general insurance broker network and broker portal, and CPP says it is set to add more products to the portal within the next quarter.