Billionaire activist investor exits Generali’s board in wake of failed shareholder coup May 30, 2022 Italian billionaire Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has stepped down from the board of insurance giant Generali, following the collapse of his shareholder mutiny to oust the insurer’s management team. The exit comes after Caltagirone put forward a shareholder resolution to block Generali’s incumbent chief executive, Philippe Donnet, from taking on a third term leading the firm. [...]
Rapid rise of ‘advance fee’ loan scams: Cases rise by 90 per cent in just 12 months May 30, 2022 So-called ‘advance fee’ loan scams have soared by more than 90 per cent this year, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. The rising number of cases comes as Lloyds Bank warned that, on average, the amount stolen from victims is around £231. “Advance fee” loan scams take place when victims applying [...]
Exclusive: KPMG to hire 3,500 tech workers to staff newly launched digital products business May 27, 2022 KPMG today launched a new digital solutions business which is set to see the firm more than double the size of its 3,000 strong technology focused workforce by hiring 3,500 new data scientists and engineers. The UK arm of the Big Four firm said it plans to create 1,000 London tech jobs, in its efforts [...]
Insurance sector exodus could serve major hit to Russia’s energy exports May 25, 2022 Efforts on the part of insurers to cut their links to Russia could put a stranglehold on Russian energy exports, unless the Kremlin fills the void, analysts have said. The push amongst Western insurance companies to distance themselves from Russian clients, to ensure they are not in breach of Western sanctions, could severely impact the [...]
High Court rejects Greek bank’s claim against Lloyds insurer over ship detained in Venezuela May 18, 2022 A UK High Court has rejected a Greek bank’s $71m claim against Lloyd’s insurer Antares seeking a multi-million-dollar payout over a ship detained by Venezuelan authorities. The ruling is set to come as a relief to insurers in setting out that such situations are not covered by war risk policies. The case comes after Venezuelan [...]
Insurers suffer impacts of climate change as costs of natural catastrophes triple May 18, 2022 Insurers are now suffering 3.6 times more losses from natural catastrophes than they were three decades ago, according to new research, which suggests insurance companies are being hit by the impacts of climate change. Natural catastrophe events are costing insurers around the world 250 per cent more than they were 30 years ago, due to [...]
Aviva on track to meet financial targets after sales jump five per cent May 18, 2022 British insurance giant Aviva today said it is on track to meet its financial targets after its sales increased by 5 per cent to £2bn, on the back of strong trading in the UK and Canada. The London insurer said it had brought in an extra 100,000 UK customers over the previous year brining its [...]
Coalition of football clubs file lawsuit against insurers in wake of landmark Axa ruling May 17, 2022 A coalition of football clubs have filed a multi-party lawsuit against six major insurers seeking a larger payout for money lost during Covid-19, after the UK’s Supreme Court said businesses are allowed to reclaim losses suffered due to the impacts of the pandemic. A consortium of 20 separate claimants – including Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston [...]
Allianz told to pay $6bn after SEC charges three execs with fraud over Structured Alpha funds scandal May 17, 2022 The US financial watchdog has told German financial services behemoth Allianz to pay $6bn (£4.8bn) after charging three of its senior executives with fraud in relation to the $11bn collapse of the firm’s Structured Alpha funds. Allianz agreed to pay $1bn to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and a further $5bn to investors, [...]
Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and 17 other top clubs hire City firm to take on UK’s biggest insurers in mega football claim May 17, 2022 Some of England’s biggest football clubs – including Arsenal FC, Aston Villa FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC and West Ham FC, have instructed City law firm Clifford Chance to launch a multi-party action against some of the biggest insurance players in London. The group of 20 claimants, which also includes Liverpool FC and Leicester City FC, [...]