Marsh is predicting an increase in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the months ahead, fuelling demand for management liability insurance. The broker is basing its forecast on the early signs of economic recovery and the introduction of new rules for UK firms listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). In April, new “lighter-touch” rules for UK firms listing on the LSE will enable companies to choose either a standard or premium listing,... 

Hauliers stand to benefit from the collaboration of Bradford-based National Breakdown and Halifax firm Donald Insurance which have teamed up to provide a nationwide commercial solution to HGV and fleet owners. Their combined fleet and HGV insurance is a single policy under which goods in transit, property, liability and breakdown coverage is all provided. It is the first combined policy of its kind in the United Kingdom, and should provide some... 

Bupa has stated it will now grant group critical illness claimants (and their families) access to independent and confidential advice, guidance and medical information. The enhanced feature comes at no increase in premium cost. The Best Doctors® service includes a database 50,000 medical professionals strong, and will provide independent and expert medical assessments of conditions. The service augments, rather than replaces, the treating doctor,... 

Worldwide business property insurer FM Global has announced its 2009 financial results, including a robust underwriting performance and above average investment portfolio return. Gross premium in force rose by 5.6% to $4.7bn, with net income recorded at $840m. A combination of good underwriting and investment performance saw policyholder surplus increase to $6.3bn, a rise of 35%. FM Global exceeded predictions to achieve a profitable combined ratio... 

Aviva has broken into a new market with the acquisition of a 60% stake in PT Asuransi Winterthur Life Indonesia (WLI). According to the insurer, Indonesia is one of the fastest growing life insurance markets in Asia, and the acquisition is consistent with the its long-term strategy to build a presence in key South East Asian markets. WLI has gross assets of £15 million and manages pension fund assets totalling £42 million. It is a top three health... 

Wesleyan Assurance Society, the financial services specialist for professionals, has announced that it enjoyed a good year in 2009 and released its financial performance figures for that year. The firm saw new business sales rise by 11%, with ISA and unit trust sales up 59% and income protection product sales rising by 36%. Wesleyan also increased the quantity of its funds under management by 11.7% and recorded 20.1% gross investment return on... 

Specialist independent insurance and reinsurance broker Miller has announced the appointment of global facultative reinsurance specialist Neil Higgins. Higgins brings with him decades of experience in the insurance sector, and extensive expertise in international property reinsurance. He joins Miller from Newman, Martin and Buchan LLP, leaving behind his erstwhile role as a director of the Property and Casualty Divisions. Head of Facultative Reinsurance... 

Royal London Mutual Insurance Society has been rapped over the knuckles by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after breaching the Data Protection Act. The reprimand comes after eight of the firm’s laptops, two of which contained details of 2,135 people who had sought pension scheme illustrations, were stolen from the company’s Edinburgh offices. The data were password protected but unencrypted. An internal report established... 

Novae Group has announced that Novae Re has opened new offices in Zurich. The new offices come as Novae seeks to enhance its presence in the important European reinsurance marketplace. Presently, Novae writes business from its London office, and it announced last year the formation of the Novae Re business in Zurich. The firm has indicated that it hopes the new offices in Zurich will help it to access reinsurance business on behalf of Syndicate... 

Zurich UK Life has announced the launch of new microsite Zurich4protection.com, following the firm’s recent protection campaign to support advisers and help them grow their business. The new microsite is dedicated to such protection and aims to offer a single port of call for advisers seeking a complete and professional service to offer to customers. The microsite will provide advisers with a range of templates for effective protection campaigns,... 

Business continuity experts at Cowens Survival Capability have raised doubts regarding the usage of the internet as a means of searching for insurance by SMEs in the Midlands. Cowen SC works to cut risk, by auditing a business and then prescribing the necessary insurance coverage. However, Cowen SC has found that a large number of SMEs are utilising price comparison websites and focusing on cost, instead of emphasising the importance of appropriate... 

Specialist loss adjuster QuestGates has announced the appointment of John Freeman as counter fraud director. He leaves behind Capita, where he served as director of Fraud for Teceris Claims Services, to join QuestGates. A quartet of Freeman’s Capita team will be following him in joining QuestGates. Kay Hodgson ACFS, Dave Baxter ACFS and Verity Astins will all work as investigators, with Andrew Whittaker assuming the leadership of specialist... 

Zurich Financial Services Group has announced that its new global head of Corporate Communications is to be Pierre Goad. He joins Zurich from HSBC, where he presently works as head of Corporate Development for the investment banking and asset management divisions. Earlier in his time at HSBC he held a number of other communications positions in both London and Hong Kong. Goad, who assumes his new post 1 May, will take on responsibility  Read More →

The British public are becoming increasingly displeased with the NHS spending taxpayers’ money on conditions occurring due to lifestyle choices, new research from AXA reveals. Of those surveyed, 78% thought that binge drinkers requiring hospital treatment should be charged to help pay for it. With the economy in the doldrums and the state heavily indebted, NHS cuts were also raised, with 34% saying that drink-related conditions should see... 

Plum Underwriting, the non-standard household specialist, has announced its intent to increase its rate of expansion over the course of the next two years. The firm has set itself the target of doubling new business and expanding its agency base in 2010. These targets follow the success of Plum’s Flex offering, a non-standard household product. Plum also wants to capitalise on rising demand by furthering its open market partnerships with...