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Insurance News
On behalf of the team at IDEX Consulting, we were deeply saddened by the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, last week. For 70 years, she reigned with unparalleled dedication, and her loss will be felt by many. RIP Ma’am, and thank you for your service.
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association is hoping for proportionate regulation, the introduction of an enhanced growth and competitiveness objective for regulators and changes to IPT, CEO Steve White set out his wish list for new Prime Minister Liz Truss. White put “a more proportionate regulatory regime” in first place pointing out that Truss said at one of the leadership hustings that she was contemplating re-merging the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.
Lloyd's has posted a loss of £1.8bn for the first half of 2022 compared to a profit of £1.4bn in the same period last year. According to the marketplace, the £3.2bn swing to deficit was driven by a net investment loss of £3.1bn.
The Financial Conduct Authority has responded to a Treasury Select Committee report on the Future of Financial Services Regulation disagreeing with the recommendation that it should ‘have regard’ to financial inclusion. The report, published in June, outlined that competitiveness should not become a primary objective for financial regulators, warned against any inappropriate weakening of the UK’s strong regulatory standards, and reaffirmed commitment to regulatory independence.
Buildings insurance and Car/Motorcycle insurance have featured in the Financial Ombudsman Service’s top five most complained about products for the first quarter of the financial year. Car/Motorcycle insurance ranked third overall with 2,542 new cases in the three months of April to June. However, this was down on the previous quarter when there were 2,623 complaints. Buildings insurance registered 1,642 complaints as it came fifth in the top five for the first quarter of 2022/23. The total was up from 1,421 in the prior period of January to March.
Tech company Earnix is holding its annual summit on September 13 and 14 in London. With the theme “Reimagine Insurance,” Earnix Eˣcelerate 2022 will feature speakers from the likes of RSA, Generali, Munich Re, Ergo, BavariaDirekt, Post Office Insurance, and Deloitte. The agenda revolves around leveraging intelligent insurance operations to address a dynamic landscape.
In consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic scuppering young people’s chances to serve internships, Zurich UK is overhauling its graduate hiring process. According to the Insurer, the lack of internships and work placements during the pandemic left graduates with less real-world experience than previous generations. Starting September 12, Zurich UK will adapt its new hiring process, wherein it will scrap competency-based interviews in favour of strength-based assessments. This ensures that candidates from diverse backgrounds are not at a disadvantage, the Insurer explained. Zurich UK will also help identify candidates who may not match criteria for one role but may be better suited for another area of the company. The applications for the new graduate scheme close on October 30.
INSHUR, a specialty embedded insurance company for taxi, private hire, food and parcel delivery drivers has chosen Premium Credit as its insurance premium finance partner in the UK to deliver a more well-rounded solution that benefits its drivers.
A new motion calling for an independent review of the Chartered Insurance Institute is to be tabled at the organisation’s annual general meeting next month. It follows similar calls for a review proposed last year which led to the CII launching its Shaping the future Together consultation designed to refresh its 2016 manifesto.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Sedgwick has acquired full ownership of Sedgwick Leif Hansen A/S, a loss adjusting and third-party administration (TPA) firm based in Denmark. Prior to the acquisition, Sedgwick was a minority shareholder in the company. Sedgwick said that the acquisition reflects its commitment to investing in the Nordic region and positions the company well for continued strategic growth. With the Denmark operation under Sedgwick’s full ownership, it will be able to further harness technical and environmental expertise of the Sedgwick group’s EFI Global business in Europe and better support its clients throughout the Nordics.
Hot on the heels of an acquisition last month, Aston Lark Ireland has announced it has agreed terms to acquire Revoclife Limited, trading as Gateway Insurance and Investments. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval. Gateway Insurance and Investments was established over 40 years ago in Athlone, County Westmeath, and specialises in the SME sector, with an extensive product offering for both commercial and personal customers, including General Insurance and Financial Lines.
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Movers & Shakers
Gallagher has appointed Phil Daly as Claims Director for its UK Retail division. Daly brings over 30 years of operations and claims experience and has recently worked with Hastings Direct and spent 20 years at Zurich.
Markel International has named Dan Martin as Managing Director of Distribution Strategies and Business Development. Martin takes on the role from Pat Murphy-O’Connor who will transition to a consultancy capacity ahead of his retirement at the end of 2022.
Aon has recruited William Bruce as Global Managing Director, Climate Risk Consulting in Aon Global Risk Consulting. Bruce joined the firm on 15 August reporting to Richard Waterer, Global Risk Consulting Leader for Aon Commercial Risk Solutions.
QBE has added Gill Rhodes as Regional Underwriting Manager. She joins from Chubb and brings 20 years of Financial Lines underwriting experience to the role.
Speciality Insurer and reinsurer, SiriusPoint, has named ex-RSA boss Scott Egan as CEO, effective 21 September. Egan served on the board of RSA Group for six years, initially as Chief Financial Officer and latterly as CEO of its UK and International business.
Addy Loudiadis has retired as Rothesay Chief Executive after 15 years at the helm of the British Pensions Insurer. Co-Founder and former Managing Director Tom Pearce took over the top post on September 8. His predecessor, meanwhile, will remain on the board as Founder Director.
Tom Sambrook has been appointed as Head of Underwriting at Brace Underwriting Limited. The London-based hire joins from Hiscox where Sambrook most recently served as Interim Line Underwriter within the alternative risk book.
In a testament to his resilience and fighting spirit, Matthew Wilson, Group CEO of Brit Ltd, is set to resume his role after battling blood cancer. Wilson took a leave of absence in September last year to undergo treatment for a rare form of the disease. Now, he will take the hotseat once more with Interim Group CEO Martin Thompson remaining on the board of Brit Syndicates Limited, Brit’s Lloyd’s Managing Agent.
British Insurtech INSTANDA has appointed Liz Prior as Chief Financial Officer. Prior has over 13 years of experience in insurance, most recently as Managing Director at Hiscox Guernsey.
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has announced that the Company has promoted Dan Draper to the role of Group Chief Underwriting Officer. Mr Draper, who is based in London and had previously served as Group Head of Underwriting, will report to President and CEO Albert Benchimol and join the Company’s executive committee.
Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, announced the appointment of Jesse van Cleef to the newly created role of Head of MBTC Europe, Financial Risk Solutions (FRS). Van Cleef joins LSM from Atradius, where he has held several roles since he started there in 2006, the most recent being Regional Director of Special Products. He has more than 20 years of experience gained in financial services and insurance companies.
WTW has announced the key appointment of Kiran Nayee as Client Relationship Director for Large and Complex Casualty Risks. Kiran Nayee was formerly Head of Strategic Placement and Casualty Practice Leader for EMEA at Marsh prior to that was Head of Major Risk Casualty Placement and Global Product Recall at JLT Specialty. Kiran will be responsible for complex casualty placements for clients within the Direct and Facultative Global Line of Business.
Following the appointment of Guy Smith into the newly-created Head of Marine & Specialty position, NMU has announced the promotion of Dean Gribben as Cargo & Freight Underwriting Manager. Having been with NMU since 2001, not only does Dean bring a wealth of Cargo & Freight experience and a deep understanding of the Marine market to the role, but his appointment from within the business also ensures consistency of NMU's underwriting appetite and approach for their Broker partners and policyholders alike.
Insurance Brokers across the UK now have access to offer clients free cybersecurity tools and Cyber insurance capacity to manage risks. Coalition, the world’s first Active Insurance provider and a leading Cyber Insurer, commenced trading in the UK effective 1 September 2022. Backed by a multi-year capacity agreement with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Coalition will distribute its products via Brokers across the UK. Targeting the UK’s SME sector, Coalition’s risk appetite encompasses firms up to £1bn turnover.
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All information provided in this Market Digest has been gathered from multiple General Insurance Media sources and individual company press releases.
