Home insurance
Ageas Retail revenue ticks up as profit rebounds
Ageas’ wholly owned broking subsidiary Ageas Retail grew post-tax profit by 20% in 2023 to £6.5m, switching back to growth after declining in 2022.
Loss adjusters in spotlight as FOS buildings insurance complaints hit 10-year high
The number of buildings insurance complaints filed to the Financial Ombudsman Service hit a record quarterly high of 2001 between April and June.
Motor FOS complaints stable in Q1 as ombudsman’s workload surges
Car and motorcycle insurance complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service rose fractionally to 3,940 in the first quarter of the financial year as the overall workload soared by 70%.
Ageas delivers 49% growth in UK premiums
Ageas boosted UK gross written premiums by 49% in the first half of 2024 to €992m (£835m) citing customer growth and rate increases primarily in motor with “solid underwriting profitability”.
Home quote prices turn downwards – Consumer Intelligence
The average quoted premiums for buildings and contents insurance fell by 1.1% in the three months to the end of July, according to research by Consumer Intelligence.
FCA warns it might repeat GAP intervention in other product sectors
The Financial Conduct Authority has said that it might need to repeat the intervention it has taken in the guaranteed asset protection [GAP] market in other sectors.
Allianz PL MD George hails LV Broker rebrand a success
Intermediaries are asking Allianz for more personal lines capacity and have welcomed the rebrand from LV, according to Nicola George, the new managing director of the insurer's broker PL arm.
FCA fines and bans broker who failed to pass premiums on to insurers
The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a financial penalty of £5,021 and banned an insurance broker from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by any authorised person, exempt person, or exempt professional firm.
Markerstudy to buy Northern Ireland broker Hughes Insurance
Markerstudy Group has confirmed plans to buy Hughes Insurance, just a month after completing its deal with Atlanta.
Cyber outage insured losses estimated at up to $1.5bn
CyberCube has estimated preliminary global insured losses for the standalone cyber insurance market from the CrowdStrike IT outage last week at between $400m (£310m) and $1.5bn (£1.16bn).
Acturis continues personal lines push with Covéa
Acturis has partnered with Covéa to make the insurer’s Home IHP product available on its platform, adding to the previously rolled out motor offering.
Flood Re sees record claims of £241.6m
Flood Re’s gross claims jumped to £241.6m in the past financial year from £45.9m in 2023.
AbbeyAutoline buys Martin Carey Insurance book
AbbeyAutoline has bought the customer book of business of Lisnaskea-based Martin Carey Insurance.
Application and ghost broking motor fraud up 64% at Aviva
Aviva spotted fraud on more than 51,000 motor policy applications last year, up 64% on its 2022 detection figures, the insurer has revealed.
Home insurance prices surge a record 41.6% in a year
The average quoted price of home insurance rose by 41.6% in the 12 months to April, surging again to another new record rate for an annual rise.
Brokers eyeing up expansion in non-standard
More than three quarters (79%) of brokers had an increase in non-standard insurance enquiries over the past year with an identical amount expecting continued growth in the year ahead, according to a survey by Prestige Underwriting.
Aviva warns on increase in summer floods
More floods are happening outside of traditional ‘flood season’, with more than a third (35%) of home insurance flood claims occurring between June and August, according to new analysis from Aviva.
Flood Re CEO Andy Bord steps down after seven years
Andy Bord, CEO of Flood Re, will be stepping down at its annual general meeting this July after seven years in the role.
EY predicts three years of slowing premium income growth for insurers
EY has forecast UK non-life insurance premium income growth will slow to 7% in 2024, from 8.7% in 2023, dropping again to 5.1% in 2025 and 3.8% in 2026.
ABI records 3% home premiums rise in Q1
Average home insurance premiums for buildings and contents cover rose by 3% to £375 in the first quarter of this year, pushing the year-on-year rise up to 19%, according to the Association of British Insurers.
Direct Line confirms Milliner to lead on claims in raft of management changes
Direct Line Group has confirmed the appointment of Martin Milliner as managing director of claims, as revealed earlier this week by Insurance Age.
Rebrand of LV Broker to Allianz goes live
Allianz has completed the rebrand of personal lines insurer LV Broker and revealed the appointment of Carolyn Rich to the newly created post of director of brand.
AA’s insurance arm Ebitda jumps by 42%
The AA’s insurance arm’s adjusted Ebitda rose by 42% to £64m as its broker books fell slightly in the year ended 31 January 2024.
Broking profits fall at Saga
Underlying profit before tax in Saga’s insurance broking arm fell to £39.8m for the year ended 31 January 2024, compared with £71.5m in the previous period.