Lloyd’s of London chief: Why the City needs Monday to ‘come back’ March 8, 2023 Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal has said he wants to “get Monday back” in calling for brokers and underwriters to return to the office four days a week. The insurance chief said that while “Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are busy” he now wants Lloyd’s staff to work in the firm’s City building on [...]
Beazley forced to lower chief exec’s pay following mistake in insurer’s results March 8, 2023 Beazley was today forced to publish a correction to its balance sheet after the Financial Times spotted an embarrassing error in its annual report. In its annual results statement, insurer Beazley overstated the value of its ‘net assets per share’ in reporting them at 420.8c instead of their real value 386.7c. Beazley’s error is particularly [...]
Insurer Hiscox hikes dividend after posting best underwriting profits since 2015 March 8, 2023 London-listed insurer Hiscox today upped its dividend after posting its highest underwriting profits since 2015. Profit from its insurance business surged 25 per cent, from $215.6m in 2021 to $269.5m in 2022 shrugging of the potential impacts from several extreme weather events and the war in Ukraine. Hiscox, however, saw its overall profits drop, as [...]
Admiral cuts dividend as profits are pulled down nearly 40 per cent amid ‘challenging’ market conditions March 8, 2023 Insurance firm Admiral has slashed its dividend after announcing a 39 per cent fall in its full year profits. Shares in the Cardiff insurer plummeted on the news, before recovering slightly in today’s morning session, as Admiral said its 2022 dividend would be 40 per cent lower than in 2021 and 20 lower than in [...]
Royal London: Insurer’s profits up 58 per cent as asset troubles offset by pensions growth March 8, 2023 Royal London today said it successfully boosted its profits by 58 per cent in 2022 in the face of “difficult market conditions”. The insurer saw its operating profits jump to £210m as the adverse impacts on its asset management arm were offset by strong performances across the rest of its business. Royal London, the UK’s [...]
Legal & General raises dividend as higher interest rates help it profit from pensions buyout boom March 8, 2023 Legal & General (L&) has hiked its dividend after outstripping market expectations by boosting its profits by 12 per cent. Higher profits in L&G’s pensions and life insurance segments offset lower incomes from its asset management business, LGIM, after it suffered from the impacts of market volatility. L&G upped its dividend by five per cent, [...]
UK’s post-Brexit Solvency II reforms will increase risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points March 6, 2023 The Bank of England today warned the UK’s planned Solvency II reforms could increase the risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points. In a letter published today, the BoE’s governor Andrew Bailey said the UK government’s plan to overhaul the EU’s rules will increase the risk of life insurers collapsing by 20 per [...]
Lloyd’s of London member Beazley’s profits plummet 48 per cent as interest rate hikes dent portfolio March 2, 2023 Shares in specialist insurer Beazley today fell almost nine per cent after the firm told investors its profits had plummeted in 2022 due to a sharp drop in income from its investment portfolio. The insurer said its overall pre-tax profits fell 48 per cent in the year ending in December 2022 to $191m, as rising [...]
Losing momentum on Solvency II reforms would be a missed opportunity to transform Britain March 2, 2023 This is a once in a generation opportunity. That phrase might have become a bit of a cliché, especially in recent years, but the UK’s exit from the EU could ensure that Solvency II reforms really are one of those events. The proposed reforms represent a very significant opportunity to ensure more private sector capital [...]
Insurance sector deal-making hits decade high but 2023 outlook remains shaky February 26, 2023 Insurance sector M&A deals surged to a 10-year high in 2022, as the end of Covid-19 drove an uptick in deal-making activity. Insurance companies completed 449 M&A deals last year, marking the highest number of deals for a decade, new data from Clyde & Co shows. The surge in deals, from 418 in 2021 to [...]