Ageas
Incisive Media cleans up at the Biba Awards 2011
Journalists from Insurance Age and sister title Post Magazine topped three categories and received four highly commended awards at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s 2011 journalist of the year awards.
Update: Axa stands alone in its voluntary ban on referral fees
Insurers have said they are not prepared to follow Axa’s lead in the banning of referral fees for personal injury.
Kwik-Fit announces senior appointment
Kwik-Fit Financial Services has appointed Kieran Gilmurray as its new director of finance.
Westinsure eyes SME market
Westinsure is set to launch a range of products to tackle the SME market.
Insurers issue ash-cloud travel insurance advice
Aviva and Ageas have stated their positions on their travel insurance policies following the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland which has closed parts of the UK airspace.
Ageas sees no sign of commercial hardening
Barry Smith, chief executive of Ageas UK, told Insurance Age he had seen no signs of commercial market hardening and indicated that he was not anticipating it happening soon.
Ageas returns to profit despite 104.6% COR
Ageas Insurance has revealed profit before tax of £3.9m for the first quarter of 2011, a £9.2m improvement over the equivalent quarter in 2010.
Market moves: a clean swoop is the trend for teams
It used to be that individuals would leave one company to join another and miraculously several colleagues would appear by their side a few months later.
Ageas unveils four retail appointments
Ageas UK has announced a series of appointments as it looks to support the growth of its retail operations.
Ageas announces Castle Cover acquisition
Ageas UK has acquired intermediary Castle Cover for £52.8m. According to the insurer, the purchase will increase its customer numbers to around eight million.
The Aldermanbury Declaration - one year on: the debate
If you missed yesterday's live webinar debating the Aldermanbury Declaration - one year on - it is now available for viewing on-demand.
Ageas loses £16.6m in general insurance
Ageas UK has announced a loss in its general insurance book despite growth in both personal and commercial lines.
Industry moves to reassure brokers over ECJ ruling
The broker-facing insurance community has moved to allay concerns brokers might have following the announcement by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that after 21 December 2012 gender cannot be used as a factor in calculating insurance premiums.
Ageas adds to commercial broker account team
Ageas Insurance has appointed three new commercial broker account executives to cover the North East, East and West Midlands, and South West regions.
Insurance Age blog: Sports people as biscuits, insurers as presenters
If you have never listened to Fighting Talk (Radio 5, Saturday 11am) then you are missing a trick. One of the staple jokes is ‘sports people as biscuits’ where Seb Coe becomes a Viennese Whirl, or Gareth Southgate is likened to a digestive, a good honest…
NIG defends “Guarantee to Beat” pricing strategy
NIG is promising brokers it will beat premiums by up to 5% on business held or quoted with 15 major insurance companies in the UK market.
Enforcement welcome but lacks bite says motor industry
The insurance industry has delivered a mixed response to recent government forays into uninsured driving and the cost of insurance in the sector.
E-commerce: OFT sends out data sharing warning to insurance industry
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) must clamp down on anti-competitive data sharing in the insurance industry, according to consumer watchdogs Which and Consumer Focus.
OFT clamps down on insurers accessing pricing information
Seven insurance companies and two IT software and service providers have provisionally agreed to limit the data that they exchange after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) raised competition law concerns.
Ageas responds to retail growth with senior restructure
Ageas UK has announced key appointments to support the growth of its retail operations reporting into retail managing director Andy Watson.
Insurers will look to 'supporting brokers' in the future
Insurers will increasingly turn to “supporting” brokers as they attempt to tackle declining investment income according to Ageas MD, Mark Cliff.
Bluefin's Elite in run-off to allow greater Platinum focus
Bluefin has announced it is putting its Elite underwriting facility for small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) business into run-off in favour of expanding its existing Platinum product range.
Regional review: Way out west
An area that sometimes falls off the radar, Louise Meeson surveys brokers and insurers in Wales and the South West to discover many have been shielded from the worst of the economic crisis.