Broker
Towergate: SME provision deal 'just the beginning'
Towergate Insurance has claimed its deal with Comparethemarket.com to provide insurance to small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers is "just the beginning" of its online SME strategy.
Start-up brokers: New Year, new start-up?
What's on your New Year's resolutions for 2011? Get fit, give up the fags, start a new broking business? Malcolm Lee sets out what you need to consider to be a successful start-up broker.
Cullum trade-off for IPO
Peter Cullum will lose his majority shareholding in Towergate Partnership as part of a new equity deal, Insurance Age understands.
Legal expenses: Referral fee free?
Martin Friel looks to the future and imagines a legal expenses market where referral fees no longer exist. What would this mean for brokers and how would the sector adapt to accommodate this change?
Brokers' expansion plans face lengthy delays
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is taking more than twice as long to approve regulated firms' expansion plans, known as a variation of permission.
Reportage - Online schemes: Choosing channels
How does e-trading apply to schemes? Edward Murray explores whether the returns are worth the time and money brokers invest in putting schemes online or if they sell better off the back of face-to-face relationships.
News review: December
A brief round-up of December's news.
Product review: Specialist social welfare covers for all
This product has been reviewed by brokers and rated from one to five based on the policy's key benefits.
Westinsure network moves east while competitors eye members
Rival networks have begun to circle Westinsure in the wake of a series of upheavals since its takeover by Ink Underwriting.
Lord Levene calls for cover of digital dangers to climb higher on businesses' priority lists in 2011
Many companies are still unintentionally exposed to digital risks and mistakenly believe they have coverage from their existing insurance, according to a new report from Lloyd's.
Reportage - Setting up a scheme: A scheming mind
Louise Meeson uncovers what a successful scheme looks like and offers practical advice on how brokers can identify and run one - should they find an existing niche or create one, how do they sell it to the insurer and is it possible to win schemes from…
Agenda: Hopes for the New Year
Ten years have passed since the dawn of the new millennium. The predictions of economic meltdown because of the millennium bug were false but we have seen crises that have had enormous impact on the global economy: 9/11, the crash of the dot-com bubble…
Biba to issue brand guidance after old name is hijacked online
The British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba) has warned members of the threat of online brand hijacking after taking legal action to protect its own name.
Solicitor watchdog's PI plans will create an 'uneven playing field'
A new proposal from the Solicitors' Regulation Authority (SRA) to shake up the rules around professional indemnity (PI) requirements could create an "uneven playing field" within the insurance broking community, experts have warned.
Product launch: Extended brand protection
Aon Risk Solutions has launched a restaurant contamination insurance policy that it claims offers a new level of brand protection for mid-sized chains.
New credit rating service Litmus Analysis enters the financial market
A new credit ratings analysis service, which aims to clarify how ratings are calculated, has been launched.
Polly C - the hottest insurance gossip
The Swinton Christmas shindig at the Waldorf saw the industry's great and good flock to quaff champagne and discuss the highs and lows of 2010.
Interview: In perfect focus
With sharp intelligence, good humour and unique perspective, industry consultant Clare Ryder shares her thoughts with Martin Friel about where the market has been and where it needs to go next.
Power hour: Feeling the benefit?
It is hoped that a change in the Government's position regarding benefits may open up opportunities for PMI. This month's discussion covers the expansion of cash plans, the role of trade bodies and the normally taboo subject of claims data sharing. Liz…
Schemes news: First of its kind PL and EL scheme for ABRS members
Ravenhall Group's rural division has launched a public and employers' combined liability scheme for the Association of British Riding Schools' (ABRS) members.
Product launch: Biba and Broker Direct unite
The British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has appointed Broker Direct as a scheme provider to offer access to its private motor and light commercial vehicle products to all members.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
All the team at Insurance Age wish you a happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.
Only 5% of companies have adequate product recall cover, warns Cunningham Lindsey
Loss adjuster Cunningham Lindsey has announced a ten-fold increase in the number of product recall claims it has handled in the past year and warned that most companies do not have adequate cover in place.
Santa’s insurance cost falls to £25m, according to Aon
While Santa has been dusting off his sleigh, making sure the reindeer are in tip-top shape and asking his elves to put in overtime to finish off all the presents to make sure every child across the globe gets a present, Aon has been calculating the cost…