Beazley boss upbeat on 2021 after COVID-19 losses November 24, 2020 By Muvija M and Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) – Next year could be one of Beazley’s strongest for more than a decade, the Lloyd’s of London insurer’s chief executive said on Tuesday, with the industry likely having already absorbed the bulk of its losses from the coronavirus pandemic. “We hope that the COVID-19 claims are [...]
Daily Mail publisher lifts dividend despite Covid-19 profit hit November 23, 2020 The publishing group behind the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday today said it will hike its full-year dividend, despite seeing its profit slashed in half due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figures Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) posted revenue of £1.2bn in the year to the end of September, down 14 per [...]
Aviva to sell stake in Italian life insurance venture for €400m November 23, 2020 Aviva has agreed to sell its entire 80% shareholding in Aviva Vita, an Italian life insurance joint venture, to partner UBI Blanca for €400m. The life insurance provider noted the transaction will increase Aviva’s net asset value by £0.1bn. It said the move would also strengthen Aviva’s Solvency II capital surplus by £0.2bn and increase [...]
Need a way out of recession? Look to the stars November 23, 2020 “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.” These words by President John F. Kennedy are as important today as they were [...]
Rishi Sunak set to raise taxes in spring to pay off Covid debt bill November 22, 2020 Rishi Sunak has signalled that he will raise taxes in the spring of next year to pay off the country’s Covid spending bill. The chancellor told the Sunday Times today that by spring the conutry must start “returning to sustainable public finances”, after spending more than £200bn on the Covid crisis. This year’s deficit is [...]
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund invests in Lloyd’s insurance vehicle Inigo November 19, 2020 A group of investors including Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund are reportedly in talks to back the new Lloyd’s of London vehicle Inigo. Earlier this week Enstar and Stone Point Capital announced it had sold certain underwriting assets, including its Lloyd’s Syndicate 1301 and its managing agency, to Inigo. The new company is led by former [...]
Covid-19 vaccine refusers may face different life insurance policies November 19, 2020 Those who refuse to have the coronavirus vaccine, should one become widely available, could be offered different life insurance terms to those who have had the vaccine. Reassured director of corporate sales Phil Jeynes told City A.M. that the existence of a coronavirus vaccine could mean customers who have had the vaccine are offered different [...]
Compare the Market handed £17.9m fine by competition regulator November 19, 2020 Price comparison website Compare the Market has been stung with a £17.9m fine from the regulator after breaching competition law. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that the website had prevented home insurers from listing lower prices on rival comparison sites between December 2015 and December 2017. Compare the Market had [...]
The four “M”s: why the 21st century belongs to Asia November 18, 2020 For a look into the future of the global economy, and where the power is shifting, consider technology developments in both China and India., In a mere decade, China’s e-commerce market has grown from less than 1% of global sales, into the world’s largest market in 2016, representing more than 40% of transactions by value. [...]
Pfizer-Biontech coronavirus vaccine now 95 per cent effective November 18, 2020 Pfizer and Biontech’s coronavirus vaccine has now proved 95 per cent effective and has met the safety criteria needed for emergency authorisation, the companies said today. The two firms last week published preliminary data showing the vaccine offered 90 per cent protection against Covid-19. But the jab has now met the same efficacy rate as [...]