Insurance fraud hits £1bn a year September 12, 2012 INSURANCE fraudsters filed £19m of bogus insurance claims every week on average last year, an annual increase of seven per cent, a new report out today shows. The study by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows insurers uncovered 139,000 bogus claims worth a total of £983m last year, the equivalent of 15 false claims [...]
Cable plans public bank to offer business loans September 10, 2012 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable will today outline plans for a government-backed corporate lender, as part of his attempt to reignite the coalition’s support for British industry. Cable will say in a speech at Imperial College that the smaller “challenger banks” such as Co-operative and Aldermore could be employed to operate the new business bank, though [...]
Best of the Brokers September 3, 2012 ADMIRAL Credit Suisse has cut the insurance firm’s target price to 1250p from 1300p and downgraded its recommendation to “neutral” from “outperform”. The note cited weak car growth. MORRISON Nomura’s rating of the supermarket giant has been slashed to “neutral” from “buy” while the target price is down to 300p from 350p. A refocused Tesco [...]
UK growth slows for Admiral as competitors crowd car market August 30, 2012 CAR insurer Admiral posted a seven per cent rise in half-year profits to £171.8m yesterday, but analysts raised concerns that the headline growth disguised a stall in sales momentum, sending its shares lower. Admiral’s turnover rose six per cent to £1.17bn, but it admitted the pace of UK customer and price growth slowed due to [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Ryanair seeks rivals’ help in bid Ryanair is seeking regulatory approval for its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus by asking at least six airlines to operate alternative services on some of the Irish flag carrier’s routes. Ryanair has approached competitors, asking them to consider providing competition on routes to and from Dublin. Aviva [...]
Every little helps as Tesco tie-up pushes up earnings at Ageas UK August 6, 2012 AGEAS UK, the British arm of the Belgian insurer, yesterday announced a strong set of results boosted by earnings growth at its joint venture with Tesco. Pre-tax profits for the first half of 2012 hit £64.1m, an increase of 81 per cent on the same period last year while the total combined ratio – a [...]
Car insurance cost drops £50 July 16, 2012 THE COST of comprehensive car insurance has fallen by £47 in the last six months and now costs an average of £797 across the UK, according to analysis of 5m quotes from Confused.com by consultants Towers Watson. East London is the area with the highest premiums at £1,628. The average quote for third party, fire [...]
Takeover offers threaten to hit Direct Line plans for flotation July 15, 2012 DIRECT Line could see plans for a flotation dashed by two takeover bids, just weeks before its owner Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to file for the £3.2bn listing. American private equity firms Blackstone and Bain Capital are preparing a joint bid while a consortium of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Apax and BC Partners is [...]
Wet weather hits insurers with flood payouts set to top £200m July 12, 2012 INSURERS face a bill of “hundreds of millions of pounds” following this summer’s floods, an analyst said yesterday. Barrie Cornes of Panmure Gordon estimated that Aviva, which insures around 12 per cent of households in the UK, will be hit with a charge of £20-£40m for flood damage during the first six months of 2012. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 9, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Morgan Stanley sheds staff as transactions fall Morgan Stanley will this week complete a round of job cuts that will ultimately see the company shed 100 sales and trading staff, underscoring what is expected to prove a dismal second quarter for Wall Street banks. The cuts are across Europe, the Middle East and [...]