Product
Staysure moves onto aggregators
Staysure Group is set to launch Avanti Go across multiple price comparison websites, marking the first time the group has made one of its travel insurance brands available via an aggregator.
Folgate ups real estate risk appetite to £70m
Folgate Underwriting has increased its total sum insured per location to £70m for real estate and property risks.
GWP and profit up at Arag ahead of full Das integration
Arag plc has posted a 17.7% increase in gross written premium under management in 2024, driven by its commercial, family, assistance and ATE business, the legal expenses insurer has reported.
Markel targets insurtechs with new launch
Markel Insurance has launched InsurtechRisk+ building on its existing offering for fintechs.
MGA aims to ‘mitigate underinsurance’ with Lloyd’s-backed product
Aurora, the specialist algorithmic managing general agent, has launched a new property owners’ insurance product.
Hiscox launches affirmative AI cover for tech businesses
Hiscox UK has updated its insurance for technology businesses to include affirmative cover for AI-related claims.
Peach grows appetite in hairdressing scheme expansion with Starpeak
Peach has extended its backing for Starpeak’s hairdressing insurance offering to include property cover.
New MGA to target recruitment companies
Acies MGU has created a new managing general agent, Acies Specialist Schemes, launching with an offering for recruitment companies.
Aspect grows product range again with liability offer
Managing general agent Aspect has broadened its product range with liability cover now being offered alongside property risk underwriting.
MGA Optio launches PVT product with Lloyd’s backing
Specialty managing general agent Optio Group has re-entered the political violence and terrorism market, securing Lloyd’s of London backing.
Interview: Keith Hector, Covéa
Keith Hector, commercial lines director at Covéa, looks to make e-trade limits more flexible, highlights “buoyant” schemes business, and teases new products as he targets £200m GWP in 2025.
MGA signs three year capacity deal with AmTrust
Legal expenses and specialist add-on insurance provider Alps has signed a new three-year capacity deal with AmTrust International in another tie-up with the backer.
Cotty eyes Bristol becoming Thomas Carroll’s largest region
Gareth Cotty, group chief commercial officer at Thomas Carroll, details the agility in being independent, opportunities for the Bristol office to become its largest region, and notes further buys and office expansions are not off the table.
MyFirst CEO on social media opportunities and Gymshark founder taking a share
James Noble, CEO and founder of MyFirst, is aiming to create a brand every young person in the UK will know in three to five years by focusing on social media, and Gymshark founder Lewis Morgan has taken a 15% share of the business.
Analysis: Is the era of offshore capacity over, or is it poised for a comeback?
High profile casualties such as Gibraltar-based Enterprise Insurance Company (2016), and Danish providers Alpha (2018) and Gefion (2021) meant offshore capacity came under scrutiny at the end of the last decade. Today there appears to be less noise about…
Aviva’s Yabantu: Consistency of strategy needed in mid-market
Michael Yabantu, head of mid-market at Aviva, highlights the need for consistency in mid-market underwriting strategy, and shares how the insurer is improving response times and refreshing products.
QBE’s Fitzgerald on doubling in the regions, and what comes next
In the past three years, QBE has doubled its gross written premium in the regions and is not taking its “foot off the growth”, UK regions director Andy Fitzgerald tells Insurance Age, promising consistency for brokers.
Hemming: Hiscox hungry for more schemes business in any area bar motor
Gareth Hemming, Hiscox chief distribution officer, has set his sights on high net worth, and told Insurance Age a quartet of “significant schemes” are on the way in the next three to four months.
Accelerant boss Radke on 30% MGA growth and enabling brokers to ‘monetise every opportunity’
Risk exchange platform and capacity provider Accelerant is aiming to support managing general agent members with 30% growth over the next 12 months, CEO Jeff Radke told Insurance Age.
Brokers stress the importance of claims support when choosing an MGA
Brokers have emphasised the importance of A-rated claims support when choosing a managing general agent (89%), according to research by MGA Corin Underwriting.
Downey on getting Pen to £1.75bn by 2030
Having hit its goal of £1bn gross written premium a year early in 2024, Pen Underwriting has set its sights on £1.75bn by 2030. CEO Tom Downey tells Insurance Age about the strategy of organic growth, product development and acquisitions now in place to…
Biba 2025: Mike Keating on unrated due diligence
Mike Keating, CEO of the Managing General Agents’ Association, analyses how due diligence on unrated capacity should work both ways – from broker to MGA and MGA to broker respectively.
Biba 2025 Countdown: Alps and Consilium Risk Solutions
It is the first morning of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s Conference and Matt Pini, managing partner of Consilium Risk Solutions, and Julian Tomlinson chairman of Alps, are the final pair to offer up their thoughts.
Newbie News: CastleBridge Risk Solutions
CastleBridge Risk Solutions founders, Tim Grant and James Dunsby, tell Insurance Age how the business will focus on service, the importance of relationships, and all about its partnership with Cornerstone Finance Group and Imperial Chartered.