UK insurance sector shakeup puts spotlight on Association of British Insurers September 18, 2015 Britain's insurance market has undergone massive changes over the past year, and a series of megadeals recently taking place in the sector is just one sign of how companies are scrambling to protect themselves against new policies impacting the industry. Chancellor George Osborne famously shook up the market with his 2014 Budget, when he [...]
Britain’s wardrobe comes with an expensive £38.5bn price tag September 17, 2015 LONDON is a city of unashamed spenders when it comes to clothing, according to new research released yesterday that estimates Britons’ wardrobes to be worth a staggering £38.5bn. The report, released yesterday by Allianz Insurance ahead of London Fashion Week, surveyed more than 2,000 Brits about their shopping habits and found that women value the [...]
Fintech is booming – but where are the insurance tech startups? September 17, 2015 As a technology investor, I spend my days scouring Europe in search of the next big thing. London’s fintech scene has been a profitable hunting ground of late. With the UK fintech industry generating $20bn in revenue annually, it is not surprising that $5.4bn has been invested in British fintech companies since 2010. [...]
Rugby World Cup 2015: All Blacks haka leader Liam Messam shrugs off favourites tag – “nothing’s taken for granted” September 17, 2015 New Zealand flanker Liam Messam has shrugged off the All Blacks’ favourites tag for the Rugby World Cup and insisted the reigning champions will take nothing for granted. Read more: Pressure is all on England and not New Zealand, insists All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu The All Blacks kick off their campaign against [...]
Just Retirement boss Rodney Cook hails “resilient” performance in post-pension freedom market September 17, 2015 Insurer Just Retirement showed the effects of George Osborne's pension reforms yesterday, with total retirement sales down 9.9 per cent in the year to 30 June. Sales of retirement products dropped to £1.15bn from £1.27bn in what the company described as “a largely pre-Budget comparative period”. However, shares in the firm were up by 1.69 [...]
Insurance deal frenzy shows no signs of stopping as Phoenix considers offer for Cinven subsidiary September 17, 2015 Insurer Phoenix Group today confirmed it’s in talks about a possible takeover of Cinven-owned Guardian Financial Services. “Phoenix has been evaluating Guardian Financial Services as part of an on-going sale process for the Guardian Financial Services business,” it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. “Discussions remain on a non-exclusive basis. There [...]
The rise of the sleeping giant: Why the next wave of tech innovation will come from corporates September 16, 2015 A unique new inflight entertainment system that allows you to start watching movies on your iPad before the flight. A connected car that knows what you are going to do during the day. Selling car insurance by the mile instead of by the year. What these innovations have in common is that none of them [...]
Mix it up: There’s more to coffee cocktails than the Espresso Martini September 16, 2015 Today, as you sip your morning coffee, take a moment to ponder London’s great institutions built under the influence of caffeine. During one of this nation’s many peaks – from the mid-1600s to the early 1700s – our streets were awash with thousands of coffee shops. These replaced taverns as the place to meet and [...]
Motor insurer’s IPO could ignite the market September 16, 2015 Hastings’ float is putting the spark back into personal lines THE PERSONAL lines insurance market has been the less sexy relation to its commercial cousins in recent months. Zurich and RSA are dancing around the idea of a union, following the marriage of Aviva and Friends Life, not to mention XL Group’s successful play for [...]
City Moves for 16 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 15, 2015 BARCLAYS Ian Gilmartin has been appointed head of retail and wholesale for Barclays’s corporate bank. He has over 20 years’ experience and has spent the past five years as part of the leadership in Barclays’ retail and wholesale team. Gilmartin has also held roles at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Allied Irish Banks. DELOITTE The business [...]