2019 in review: November's top stories

Branch closures at Marsh Commercial caught the attention of readers in November 2019. Insurance Age named the 14 offices set to be closed, including four that will be shuttered by the end of the year. The Top 100 Independent Brokers for 2019 were also revealed.

1. Marsh Commercial branch closures underway
   Insurance Age revealed that Marsh Commercial, formerly Jelf, will be closing four of its branches before the end of the year. The Northampton and Newmarket offices will begin shutting down from mid-December. New Malden is also set to close and one of the Leeds branches will be shuttered.
    
2. Aviva to cut personal lines products down to 40 from 400
   Colm Holmes, CEO of general insurance, told Insurance Age that Aviva will be targeting a 20% cost reduction in its personal lines business. The provider is looking to cut the number of personal lines products from 400 to 40 by 2022. This will be across all of its channels – strategic partners, brokers, affinity and direct.
    
3. UK-wide redundancies underway at RSA
   RSA confirmed that its ongoing UK-wide change programme will lead to a number of redundancies across the business. Insurance Age understands that some people who work in broker-facing roles in the provider’s Global Risk Solutions and Commercial Risk Solutions divisions are at risk of redundancy as part of their merger.
    
4. Top 100 independent brokers for 2019 revealed
   Insurance Age revealed the Top 100 Independent Brokers for 2019. The report also includes expert analysis from Jeff Purdy of Applied Systems and Olly Laughton-Scott of IMAS. This year, we polled brokers on the gender of their staff for the first time.
    
5. Marsh Commercial to cut 14 branches
   Marsh Commercial, formerly Jelf, marked 14 branches for closure – a move that could result in redundancies in the “low three figures”. Insurance Age revealed that the offices being shuttered are Bath, Cheltenham, Newcastle under Lyme, New Malden, Newmarket, Northampton, Swansea, Welshpool, Grimsby, Leeds – Horsforth, Malton, Stockton, Forfar, and Stirling.