Aviva: we’ll be the last to quit UK March 8, 2012 AVIVA has pledged its future to London, with chief executive Andrew Moss telling City A.M. that his firm will not follow the Prudential and consider a move abroad: “We’re here to stay. Trust me, if Aviva were to redomicile then you’d been turning the lights out in the City – because everyone else would have left first.” Speaking [...]
Aviva profits jump thanks to UK income March 8, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva beat expectations to announce a six per cent rise in operating profits to £2.5bn, driven by impressive earnings in its life insurance division. Chief executive Andrew Moss said his strategy of focusing the group on core products in just 12 key markets was paying off but singled out the British businesses for [...]
Admiral hits record profit in tough year March 7, 2012 ADMIRAL shares climbed 11 per cent yesterday after the firm overcame last year’s profit warning to announce better-than-expected results. The car insurance giant increased profits to £299m in 2011, up 13 per cent on the year before, largely thanks to the addition of 600,000 new customers. Turnover increased 38 per cent to £2.19bn. But although [...]
Admiral profit rise fuelled by UK growth March 7, 2012 Motor insurer Admiral said its 2011 profit rose by a better-than-expected 13 percent, with continued strong growth in customer numbers in the UK outweighing a wider loss at its fledgling international operations. Admiral, which insures one in ten cars on Britain’s roads, made a pre-tax profit of £299m last year, it said on Wednesday, up [...]
Regulator probes KPMG audit March 5, 2012 The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board has begun probes into KPMG’s auditing of Lloyd’s of London car and motorcycles insurer Equity Red Star and actuaries who advised it. In 2010 the firm, a UK subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group that insures one in four motorcycles on UK roads, crashed to a £240m loss after failing [...]
Earnings double at LV despite tough trading February 27, 2012 INSURANCE firm LV= yesterday reported profits of £72.1m for 2011, more than double the amount earned in the previous year. The company’s general insurance arm, formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, grew premium revenues by 23 per cent to £1.46bn and overcame declining investment returns to post the substantially improved profit. LV= is now the fourth [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 26, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES WELLS FARGO EYES EUROPEAN BANK ASSETS TO POWER EXPANSION PLANS Wells Fargo plans to increase the size of its wealth management and insurance divisions through acquisitions as well as buying more assets from shrinking European banks, its chief executive says. John Stumpf, whose bank’s market capitalisation is bigger than that of any other [...]
Blood, sand and oil in Arabia February 23, 2012 Film BLACK GOLD Cert: 12A *** A battle has finished and dead bodies litter the sand, rotting in the unforgiving sun. The victor, Sultan Nesib (Antonio Banderas) demands the sons of the loser, Sultan Amar (Mark Strong), as hostages. Amar agrees, as insurance against future war. Finally, both agree that the wasteland on which they [...]
Lloyd’s losses from Thailand reach £1.4bn February 14, 2012 LLOYD’S of London has estimated its net claims from last year’s Thai floods will hit $2.22bn (£1.4bn), the third biggest loss in the market’s history. The initial estimate is based on a projected worldwide cost to the insurance industry of $15bn–20bn and could change, but Lloyd’s is financially strong enough to cope according to chief [...]
Donating organs could prove a costly decision February 14, 2012 NEVER make yourself worth more dead than alive. This was the sage advice my father gave me as a boy and I have stuck to it ever since. That is why my life insurance pays out less if I die than the net present value of my likely future earnings. I trust my wife, but [...]