Lloyd’s of London chief operating officer to leave as exec churn continues November 21, 2018 The chief operating officer of insurance market Lloyd’s of London has resigned, continuing the stream of exits from its top team. Lloyd’s said today that operations chief and executive committee member Shirine Khoury-Haq had resigned, with plans to leave the insurance market in the first half of 2019. Khoury-Haq, who had been with Lloyd’s for [...]
City skyscraper Twentytwo set to lure in another insurer November 20, 2018 The City's tallest skyscraper is expected to land yet another major insurance tenant in the coming weeks, with news this afternoon that broker THB Group is in talks to rent 35,000 square feet of space. THB Group is set to become the third insurer to move into 22 Bishopsgate, known as Twentytwo, once construction is completed [...]
The number of people banned from the financial services sector rose 28 per cent last year November 12, 2018 The number of individuals banned from working in the financial services sector by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rose 28 per cent last year, research published today shows. There were 23 people banned from working in the industry by the FCA in 2017-18, up from 18 the previous year, according to City law firm [...]
Former Vitality boss picks up £3m from Zoopla backer Localglobe November 8, 2018 Transferwise, Citymapper and Zoopla backer Localglobe will today reveal its latest investment into Yulife, a lifestyle insurance and rewards startup founded by Sammy Rubin, the former chief executive of insurance giant Vitality Life. Fintech investor Anthemis and Ourcrowd also joined the round, with AIG coming on board to underwrite all policies. Launching today in the UK, [...]
UK data watchdog fines Arron Banks’ insurance firm and Leave.EU campaign £135,000 November 6, 2018 An insurance firm owned by Arron Banks, as well as the Leave.EU campaign he founded, face fines totalling £135,000 from the UK's data watchdog. Banks's Leave.EU Brexit campaign and his company Eldon Insurance (trading as Go Skippy) were each given notice of fines of £60,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for serious breaches of the Privacy [...]
Gross written premiums fall at Direct Line but the insurer says it is on track to hit targets November 6, 2018 The UK’s largest motor insurer Direct Line said today its gross written premiums fell 5.8 per cent in the last quarter, as weather related claims and intense competition took their toll. In the three months to 30 September the insurer recorded £854.5m in gross written premiums, compared to £907.2m in the same period last year. [...]
Insurance turnaround helps double profit at Berkshire Hathaway November 3, 2018 Warren Buffet’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported a sharp rise in profit this afternoon, as tax cuts and stronger insurance results boosted earnings. Operating profit in the third quarter of the year climbed to $6.88bn (£5.3bn), marking a steep rise from $3.44bn in the previous year and higher than the Wall Street estimates of $6.11bn. The [...]
FTSE 100 roundup: Today’s winners and losers November 2, 2018 The FTSE 100 lost ground today, with the index down 8.05 points at 7,106.61 shortly before the market close. Markets globally reacted positively to suggestions that the US and China may be coming towards a deal to end their recent trade war. However, looking at the week just gone, it appears that the FTSE 100 [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Budget contained tricks and treats for your personal finances October 31, 2018 The move of this year’s Autumn Budget to Monday this week rather than its traditional Wednesday slot was ostensibly to give MPs more time to debate the chancellor’s proposals before the House of Commons rises for recess on 6 November. But presumably Philip Hammond also hoped to avoid some Halloween-themed headlines, which he himself alluded to [...]
Financial Conduct Authority probes home and motor insurance prices October 31, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today launched a probe into pricing practices in the insurance market. The regulator is concerned about potential consumer harm, particularly the impact of industry pricing practices on vulnerable people, where some groups of people face far higher prices than other groups. It will also examine the fairness of pricing and [...]