Zurich spends £1m on employee upskilling drive November 5, 2020 Insurance giant Zurich has spent £1million upskilling existing employees to combat an upcoming skills shortage. Zurich has identified 270 robotics, data science and cyber security jobs that, if employees are not reskilled, could go unfilled by 2024. The business is on a mission to retrain 3,000 UK employees – two-thirds of its workforce – over [...]
FCA gets green light to take insurance giants to Supreme Court over Corona policies October 5, 2020 A High Court in London approved the FCA’s request to let the Supreme Court decide on the matter in which the market regulator is seeking clarification on the wording of numerous insurance policies in relation to claims filed as a result of the pandemic.
Financial services trade talks with Switzerland may be a template for post-Brexit success September 8, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic might have left us with a mountain to climb, but our nation’s economic recovery can be accelerated by one of our greatest trading assets: the UK’s financial services sector. As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Insurance and Financial Services – and a former insurance broker – I know first-hand how [...]
Covid-19 could be the largest insured loss in history. How can the insurance industry adapt? September 1, 2020 Covid-19 has us all living through a live, catastrophic event. It is dramatic but makes the non-life insurance world a fascinating place to be. There will be significant insured losses from Covid-19 with obvious examples of the Olympics being postponed, Wimbledon and other sporting events being cancelled, and hundreds of thousands of travel insurance claims [...]
Hospitality class action group launches to bring business interruption insurance claims April 29, 2020 A group action for the hospitality sector launched today with the aim of bringing claims against insurers which have failed to pay coronavirus-related business interruption claims. The hospitality insurance group action (HIGA) is open to businesses such as pubs, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs which have been forced to close because of the lockdown and are [...]
Treat customers fairly during coronavirus crisis, watchdog tells insurers March 19, 2020 Changes in how the public go about their lives because of the coronavirus pandemic must not make it harder for them to make insurance claims, the financial regulator has warned insurers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged firms to treat customers fairly and be transparent during the outbreak, noting that many consumers will be [...]
Zurich Insurance’s strong performance aided by its UK business February 13, 2020 Zurich Insurance Group’s stellar performance was boosted by a strong showing by its UK business, Zurich UK. UK earnings were up 59 per cent to £413m from £260m in 2018. General insurance gross written premium increased 4 per cent to £2.5bn from £2.4bn in 2018. In its general insurance business, business operating profit grew 97 per [...]
Hastings shares tumble as insurer issues profit warning January 17, 2020 Hastings shares plummeted this morning after it warned that it expects a 42 per cent drop in annual profit because of high claims costs in the final quarter. The motor insurer said it plans to lower its annual dividend, citing a challenging market. Shares fell 6.3 per cent this morning to 173.5p. Hastings said claims [...]
Insurer LV shifts focus to pension provision with new boss December 20, 2019 Pension provider LV has today announced a new chief executive as it shifts its focus away from insurance to savings and retirement. Mark Hartigan will move to the company from Zurich Insurance group. Current CEO Richard Downey this year lead the sale of LV’s general insurance division to Allianz and will step down at the [...]
AA reveals new CFO Kevin Dangerfield December 17, 2019 AA today announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer. Kevin Dangerfield moves to AA from Wilmcote Holdings, an investment vehicle. Read more: AA shares leap as firm plans bond buyback Dangerfield will take up the role on 6 January 2020, subject to approval from the FCA. He will take over from interim CFO [...]