Banks and a brave industry boss square up to claims firms November 14, 2012 BRAVERY is not a quality conventionally attributed to the bosses of business lobbying groups but step forward, John Cridland. The CBI director-general’s decision to lob a grenade into the row over payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling is in danger of splitting his body’s membership. Cridland’s argument that there should be a time limit on compensation [...]
Reshuffle hits deal on flood cover for 200,000 homes November 12, 2012 EFFORTS to guarantee household insurance for 200,000 homes at high risk of flooding have been hindered by the recent government reshuffle, City A.M. has learned. A leading insurer said the recent reshuffle – which saw environment secretary Caroline Spelman replaced by Owen Paterson – has affected the much-delayed discussions. Members of the Association of British [...]
Bank’s Paul Tucker stumbles upon a Barclays bonus truce October 31, 2012 IT has become the City’s most wearyingly familiar formula: bank floats pay proposals with investors; investors cry foul; bank showers its largesse on employees regardless; bank suffers revolt at annual meeting. Repeat, year after year. The 2013 bonus round should, at last, provide an antidote to the toxic relationship between Britain’s biggest lenders and the [...]
British insurers want regulators to concentrate less on banking October 11, 2012 BRITISH insurers yesterday called on regulators to appoint more senior figures with industry expertise, in an attempt to correct a perceived obsession with the banking sector. The pressure comes as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) prepares to split into two new bodies: the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. “It is absolutely vital the [new [...]
UK car insurers enjoy £300m legal victory October 10, 2012 BRITISH motor insurers yesterday celebrated a legal victory relating to a rise in personal injury awards, saying the decision will save them £300m. The Court of Appeal ruled that the forthcoming 10 per cent rise in personal injury payouts will only apply to claims made after 1 April 2013 – and not older claims that are [...]
Auto-enrolment begins to shake up UK pensions September 30, 2012 BUSINESS lobbies, unions, and pension funds have backed pensions minister Steve Webb’s auto-enrolment scheme, as it is rolled out this morning. From today, firms with more than 120,000 employees must enrol all staff in a pension scheme, and by 2018 all employees earning enough to pay national insurance will have to be put in a [...]
OFT launches car insurance probe September 28, 2012 The Office of Fair Trading referred the UK’s car insurance industry to the Competition Commission for further investigation amid concerns that the market is not working well for motorists, it announced today. The decision came after a market study said there was suspicion that some features of the market prevent, restrict or distort competition. The [...]
PPI fuels surge in complaints about banks September 27, 2012 BANKS defended their customer service reputation yesterday as figures showed that complaints have soared nearly two thirds in the last six months, fuelled by the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal. The Financial Services Authority received a whopping 3.6m complaints in the first half of the year, as grievances lodged about PPI more than doubled to [...]
UK’s insurance claims costing £200m per day September 27, 2012 BRITISH insurers paid out almost £200m a day in claims during 2011, according to industry figures released yesterday. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose members represent 90 per cent of the UK industry, revealed the sum in its annual review of the sector. The motor insurance industry made an underwriting loss for the seventeenth [...]
Insurers count the cost of an early end to summer weather September 24, 2012 BRITISH insurers yesterday warned the public to take precautions against flooding as torrential rain threatened to result in hefty payouts. The summer was marred by wet weather and 2012 is on track to leave insurers with the largest bill for flood damage since 2007. Sixty-five areas of England are currently on flood alert and the [...]