Juncker’s State of the Union address: President wants “more united Union”, with single leader as he says Brexit is not “the future of Europe” September 13, 2017 Jean-Claude Juncker has set out his vision for “a more united Union” – including a single President of Europe – insisting Brexit will not set the tone for the bloc. In his annual State of the Union address, Juncker revealed plans for the presidencies of the European Commission and the European Council to be merged, [...]
Hurricane Irma slams into Florida as losses could soar to $200bn September 11, 2017 More than 6m people have been ordered to evacuate and over 2.4m homes and businesses were left without power as Hurricane Irma battered Florida’s west coast yesterday. The storm lashed the so-called sunshine state with sustained winds of 130mph, leaving at least three people dead. The hurricane struck Miami with huge force, causing widespread flooding [...]
Direct Line rings in the changes by poaching Prudential risk chief as new finance head September 8, 2017 Insurer Direct Line has nabbed a top executive from Prudential to be its new finance chief. Penny James will succeed John Reizenstein as Direct Line’s chief financial officer, formally starting the job in March next year. James is currently the Pru’s chief risk officer, having previously worked in a number of positions in the insurance [...]
Government discount rate U-turn set to hand insurers £2bn boost September 7, 2017 Ministers today handed Britain’s insurance sector a £2bn boost after deciding to row back on a controversial decision to change the way personal injury claims are calculated. Lord Chancellor David Lidington unveiled a number of changes to the Ogden discount rate, which determines how much is paid to claimants. Included in the government proposals is [...]
EY, Maersk, Microsoft, startup Guardtime and insurers are putting boats on the blockchain with marine insurance tech platform | City A.M. September 6, 2017 EY, shipping giant mersk and Microsoft are among the companies planning to get boats on the blockchain, or their insurance, at least. The professional services firm is building a blockchain-based platform that can streamline marine insurance for the shipping industry. It is working with Estonian enterprise blockchain startup Guardtime and Microsoft to build the technology [...]
Three new driverless cars hitting UK roads: A Range Rover Evoque, Ford Fusion and Mondeo unveiled by Oxbotica and Transport for London group Driven September 5, 2017 Three fresh prototypes for driverless cars have been unveiled by a top group with ambitious goals of getting the vehicles onto Britain’s roads by 2019. A self-driving Range Rover Evoque and two Ford – a Fusion and a Mondeo – will be part of a fleet of six vehicles that will form part of trials [...]
No EU city matches London’s unique appeal as a finance hub September 5, 2017 With talks underway on the deal to take Britain out of the EU, and the Brussels negotiator Michel Barnier threatening to “educate” the UK about the consequences of Brexit, the headlines have been bleak. Newspapers are filled with stories of major banking institutions making plans to decamp to Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin or elsewhere in an [...]
Investment in UK insurtech startups is rocketing, easing Brexit fears September 4, 2017 The amount of cash flowing into innovative UK startups hoping to disrupt the insurance sector is rocketing, new figures reveal, with London attracting more than any other location in Europe. Investment in insurance technology (insurtech) has grown an astonishing near 3,000 per cent in 2017, hitting £218m according to fresh insight from Accenture and CB [...]
Proptech startup Habito lands £18.5m to make mortgages digital in series B led by Atomico September 3, 2017 A fintech startup focused on making mortgage applications easier has bagged millions more in funding from top investors. Atomico, the venture fund set up by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, led the £18.5m series B round with existing investors Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Revolutionary (ad)Ventures also participating. It brings total funding for the startup – [...]
Proptech startup Habito lands £18.5m to make mortgages digital September 3, 2017 A fintech startup focused on making mortgage applications easier has bagged millions more in funding from top investors. Atomico, the venture fund set up by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, led the £18.5m series B round with existing investors Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Revolutionary (ad)Ventures also participating. It brings total funding for the startup – [...]