Insurer Hastings to pay dividend despite Bank of England warning April 15, 2020 Hastings said today it would go ahead with its planned dividend despite a warning from the Bank of England to the insurance industry to think carefully before paying out cash to shareholders. Car insurer Hastings said it did not offer any lines affected by coronavirus such as travel or business interruption insurance. Hastings also said [...]
Coronavirus: Car insurers set to make £1bn as claims drop 50 per cent April 7, 2020 The UK’s largest motor insurance firms are set to make £1bn from the coronavirus shutdown, as a huge decline in the number of journeys being made has seen claims drop 50 per cent for some firms. Under government regulations, car owners are required to keep their cars insured at all times, regardless of how much [...]
Manufacturing industry calls for tax deferment as part of coronavirus package March 19, 2020 The British manufacturing industry is calling for an immediate deferment of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance payments as part of a package of measures to tackle the impact of coronavirus. As the prospect looms of thousands of skilled employees being laid off, industry group Make UK has called on the government to delay taxes as [...]
2020 Budget live: City reacts to Rishi Sunak’s spending plans March 11, 2020 Welcome to City A.M.’s 2020 Budget Day live blog. Please refresh your browser for live updates. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to address fears over the economic impact of coronavirus, and announce waves of new infrastructure spending and changes on taxation in his 2020 Budget. It comes after Bank of England governor Mark Carney earlier [...]
Driverless car startup Five raises $41m investment from Direct Line and Airbnb backer March 4, 2020 London tech firm Five has today closed $41m in funding from a slew of new investors, including Trustbridge Partners, Direct Line and Sistema VC. The series B fundraising was supported by existing backers Lakestar, Amadeus Capital Partners, Kindred Capital and Notion Capital — which between them have backed the likes of Airbnb, Klarna, Graphcore and [...]
Profit at Hiscox blown away by hurricanes and typhoons March 2, 2020 Insurer Hiscox said today its 2019 profit was hit hard by large catastrophes such as Hurricane Dorian and Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis. The Ftse 250 company’s profit before tax fell 60 per cent to $53.1m (£41.3m) for the 2019 calendar year. Earnings per share fell from 31.2p to 13.5p and net asset value per share [...]
Rolls-Royce falls to £852m loss as engine trouble persists February 28, 2020 FTSE 100-listed Rolls-Royce today reported a loss of £852m after problems with its Trent 1000 engine overshadowed record engine deliveries at the firm. The figures Operating profit rose 25 per cent to £808m, ahead of £616m last year, driven largely by an improvement in the engine maker’s civil aerospace division. Revenue increased seven per cent [...]
Profits plunge 42 per cent at car insurer Hastings February 27, 2020 Car insurer Hastings said today its adjusted profit plummeted 42 per cent in 2019 which it blamed on tough market conditions. Chief executive Toby van der Meer said: “The market environment was challenging in 2019, particularly due to elevated claims inflation which has impacted our loss ratio for the year and our adjusted operating profit.” [...]
Storm Dennis and Storm Ciara could cost insurance industry £425m February 20, 2020 The cost to the insurance industry of Storm Dennis and Storm Ciara which battered the UK in recent weeks could hit £425m. Storm Ciara swept across the UK on 9 February bringing heavy rain and gusts of wind of up to 97 mph. It was followed by Storm Dennis on the weekend of 15 February [...]
London drivers pay £70m in Ulez charges February 20, 2020 London’s drivers have been hit by £70.4m in charges and fines in the eight months since the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) charge was introduced in the capital. The data, which was obtained through a FOI request from car insurance provider By Miles, has revealed that drivers have paid out £48.9m in charges and £21.5m in [...]