Insurer
Hastings reports improved profit
Hastings Insurance Group has reported a 63% jump in profit, from £19m in 2010 to £31m in 2011.
Editor’s letter - April 2012
“It’s fair to say that old Hector didn’t have the easiest of rides”
Products: Oxford Insurance Brokers offers IFAs two-year PI deal
Oxford Insurance Brokers Limited (OIB) is offering IFAs a new two year professional indemnity deal as it looks to take advantage of opportunities arising from the Retail Distribution Review and a reduction in capacity in the market.
Products: Ink offers new excess protector product
Ink Insurance has teamed up with Adding1 to develop a new excess protector insurance product.
Review: Lay of the land
CX Land Liability: This product has been reviewed by brokers and rated from one to five stars, based on the policy’s key benefits. * = Poor ** = Average *** = Good **** = Very good ***** = Excellent
Products: Rural pursues growth and signs new deals
Rural Insurance has signed three new deals as it continues on its growth drive for 2012.
Products: Groupama adds 200 trades to its online commercial trade product
Groupama has launched a miscellaneous trades facility for its online commercial trade product, Optima Business Plus.
Products: Builders to benefit from latent defects product
The National Register of Warranted Builders, a subsidiary of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), has launched a new latent defects product through the Build Assure brand.
Products roundup: Products aimed at gamut of professions
The fixation the market has on liability products and all things professional continues this month with several such products hitting the market and a new landowners’ liability product assessed by a stalwart of our broker product review panel, Bluefin’s…
Aviva plan to go regional will “speed up decision-making”
Corporate business underwriting to be conducted regionally in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham
Brokers increase their PI footprint
Professional indemnity market shows no sign of slow down and attracts slew of new entrants
Power hour: Where there’s a claim...
Successfully handling claims means picking the right ones to defend and getting to grips with risk managment, reports Emmanuel Kenning
Reportage: The route to scheme riches
Enhanced commission and profit shares from insurers can mean schemes could be a treasure trove for brokers with a good idea, writes Rachel Gordon
Profile: Banking on growth
Towergate chief executive Mark Hodges tells Martin Friel about his plans to transform the entrepreneurial and acquisitive company into a thriving corporate (“with a little ‘c’”) entity
Products: Auto-rated combined offering will boost “cross-selling potential”, says Acturis
Acturis has introduced a new “mix and match” auto-rated professional combined product combining professional indemnity (PI), directors’ and officers’ (D&O) and office and liability cover to the open market.
FSA warns brokers over mis-selling of add-ons
Regulator claims customers may have been sold add-ons and extras they neither want nor need
Sants departure gets mixed reaction
Hector Sants has announced his intention to leave the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the second time, and this time it looks like it is actually going to happen.
Market moves: Ready for regime change
It was all about big names and big moves last month. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) lost two big players as it approaches the end of its reign as regulator.
Feeling lucky?
The continuing soft commercial market could be a major threat to the industry, unless lady luck intervenes again, says Tony Cornell
Uncovering fraud
Everyone in the insurance industry is in the frontline in the fight against fraud, explains Simon Arundel
Axa Commercial Lines claims first with Underwriting Academy
Axa Commercial Lines has launched an Underwriting Academy in partnership with the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).
Hodges outlines plans for Towergate
Mark Hodges has stated that he plans to develop a more corporate structure for Towergate.
MMA CEO appointed deputy chairman of Covéa
Garry Fearn has been appointed executive deputy chairman of Covéa Insurance.
Fitch affirms RSA's rating at A
Fitch Ratings has affirmed RSA’s Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating at A, and its long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at A-.