News
Sterling retains BBB+ rating
Fitch has affirmed the insurer financial strength ratings as BBB+ for Sterling Insurance and Sterling Life giving both a stable outlook.
Homeserve fined £750,000 over abandoned calls
Homeserve has been fined £750,000 by Ofcom for making an excessive number of silent and abandoned calls to UK consumers.
Igal Mayer out at Aviva as former Axa boss moves upwards
Igal Mayer is the highest profile casualty of a senior level Aviva management reshuffle that sees major top level changes at the insurer.
Higos embarks on expansion plan with new Exeter branch
Higos Insurance Services is to open a new high street operation in Exeter in mid-June.
Randall & Quilter report near £0.5m loss
Randall & Quilter has reported a loss of £488,000 for the year ended 2011, compared with a profit of £6.4m for 2010.
RSA revamps Northern Ireland operation with £5m investment
RSA has announced a £5m investment in its Northern Ireland operations and said it intends to become the number one insurer across the whole of Ireland.
RSA to focus on small non-UK acquisitions
Simon Lee, group CEO at RSA, has confirmed the provider would be targeting smaller acquisitions outside the UK and was not seeking to make a major billion pound purchase.
Insurance application fraud jumps by 23%
Research by Experian has revealed that the detected rate of insurance application fraud in the UK increased by 23% last year to 11 in every 10,000 applications.
Bill for Quinn Insurance collapse could rise to €1bn
The collapse of Quinn Insurance could cost Irish policyholders almost €1bn (£0.8bn), the Irish Independent has reported.
Lorega grows regional broker development team
Lorega has appointed two former Towergate employees to its regional broker business development team.
Brokerbility member makes latest acquisition
Alan & Thomas Insurance Group has acquired Emery Little Insurance Brokers, a specialist aviation, SME and personal lines insurance broker based in Salisbury and Eastbourne.
Swiftcover hits back at Which? claims
Swiftcover has responded to claims that it charges its customers “hidden” fees to make standard policy changes.
Canopius rolls new purchase into K Drewe
Canopius Group has purchased golf insurance specialist Golfplan International Insurance.
L&G launches new income protection product
Legal & General has launched Lifestyle Cover, a new short-term income protection product.
Almost 20% of CMCs closed by MoJ last year
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) closed down around one in five claims management companies in the past year, according to figures obtained by the Law Society Gazette.
Water companies must stop flood of unnecessary policies says Which?
Consumer group Which? has revealed that ten of the UK’s twelve biggest water companies are promoting supply pipe insurance which is potentially unnecessary.
Axa and Autoglass in new four-year deal
Axa and its subsidiary Swiftcover.com have appointed Autoglass as their preferred supplier.
General insurers face credit downgrade over personal injury claims
Ratings agency Moody’s has warned the increase in periodical payment orders (PPO) will be credit negative for general insurers with exposures to personal injury claims.
Simply Business and Willis aim to change broker market for SME
Willis Networks has revealed its exclusive partnership arrangement with Simply Business to provide members with a new comparative electronic portal for SME business.
Groupama in Brightside motorbike deal
Groupama Insurances has agreed to become the sole underwriter of motorcycle policies sold through eBike, part of the Brightside Group.
Approach to risk has been challenged by 2011 catastrophes says Marsh
Marsh claims that the severity of casualty losses in 2011 has challenged established thinking on the nature of risk and that businesses need to re-examine their risk management strategies.
Willis unveils new electronic portal with Simply Business
Willis has teamed up with Simply Business to launch Willis eQuote, a new e-trading comparison platform exclusively for Willis Network members.
Which? accuses insurers of taking consumers for a ride
Consumer watchdog Which? has accused several insurers of charging customers exorbitant hidden fees for basic policy changes and renewals.
Aon buys broker from ABN Amro
Aon has bought the corporate broking business of ABN Amro.