Insurance customers may be ripped off by poor sales information May 11, 2015 Insurance firms received a slap on the wrist from the City watchdog yesterday for failing to provide proper information to customers on the costs of various payment options. The Financial Conduct Authority’s study found that insurance sellers do not always make it clear how much customers will pay if they pick various different payment options. For [...]
BHS hires 250 new staff in food retail push amid withheld credit insurance rumours April 27, 2015 BHS announced its intention to take on 250 staff yesterday, and denied rumours its suppliers were seeing their credit insurance withheld. The struggling department store is hiring the extra staff as it seeks to expand into food retail following a successful trial in its Romford, Staines and Warrington stores. BHS has signed a contract with [...]
MPs tell FCA to sharpen up after insurance fiasco March 26, 2015 The City watchdog has not learned its lessons from the bungled insurance announcement which rocked insurance firms’ shares last year, an influential group of MPs said in a hard-hitting report today. Sloppy communications between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and a newspaper led to a report that the watchdog was planning a probe into millions [...]
Pension Insurance Corporation sees benefits of bond issue as profits rise March 16, 2015 Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has posted pre-tax profit of £170m for the year to 31 December 2014, up from £114m in 2013. The specialist insurer also reported new pension business premiums of £2.6bn across 19 transactions, with clients, including French oil group Total and management consultancy firm Aon Hewitt. PIC raised £300m through a bond issuance [...]
Skandia posts sales ‘defence’ November 1, 2005 Skandia, the Swedish insurer at the centre of a £3.13bn takeover battle, attempted to bolster its defence yesterday by unveiling a 34 per cent leap in sales. Total premiums and deposits rose in the third quarter to Skr32.4bn (£2.29bn) as all its divisions, including Britain, helped boost revenue. Old Mutual, the British-listed company whose main [...]
Rosemont suffers in Katrina’s wake October 20, 2005 The fate of Goshawk’s subsidiary Rosemont Re was left hanging in the balance yesterday when its credit rating was cut. Ratings agency AM Best downgraded the insurer from A excellent to B fair, severely impairing the company’s ability to write new business. Rosemont Re has been severely hit by hurricane claims and shares in Goshawk [...]
Skandia hits back at Old Mutual overture October 20, 2005 The £3.13bn takeover battle for Skandia, the Swedish insurer, escalated yesterday as the company set out its key argument why it should remain independent. It listed 16 reasons why a hostile offer from Old Mutual of South Africa was “unacceptable”. Old Mutual said it remained committed to acquiring its target and that it was convinced [...]