Aviva profits jump following Direct Line acquisition Insurance FTSE 100 insurance giant Aviva reported its operating profit for the first half of this year to be up 24 per cent, driven by the group’s “strong progress” following its acquisition of Direct Line in 2025. The London-listed insurer, which offers home, car, and life insurance in the UK and serves approximately 25 million customers, [...]
Vistry shares slide after Allianz ‘cuts insurance cover’ Property Shares in Vistry fell on Monday morning after speculation over its insurance cover prompted fresh fears that the housebuilder is facing cash struggles. The FTSE 250 housebuilder saw its stock slide by nearly eight per cent to 261p in early trading, meaning the firm has shed more than half of its market value in the [...]
Hiscox finance chief: London’s AI adoption is too slow Opinion Hiscox group chief financial officer Paul Cooper takes us through his career in insurance in this week's Square Mile and Me.
L&G cheers push into private credit as profit jumps August 5, 2026 Legal & General cheered a rise in profit amid a greater push into private credit by its asset management arm. The FTSE 100 firm toasted the “continued fundraising success” across its private markets investments as it vowed to increase investment over the next two years. Total private markets assets under management (AUM) jumped by more [...]
FTSE 100 Beazley profit plunges as war roils insurance market August 5, 2026 FTSE 100 insurer Beazley said war and rising global risks were hitting the insurance market as it revealed that its profit more than halved in the first half of 2026. The insurer reported a pre-tax profit of $237.7m (£176.6m) for the first half of 2026, a 53 per cent fall from the $502.5m reported in [...]
Darts star Beau Greaves gets eyes insured by Specsavers for £1m July 31, 2026 Women’s darts sensation Beau Greaves has had her eyes insured for £1m by opticians Specsavers. The stunt came after Greaves, a 22-year-old from Doncaster who wears glasses, won a third Women’s World Matchplay at the weekend when she beat Fallon Sherrock 6-5 in the final at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Like Littler won the [...]
Lloyd’s of London allows staff to work from home as heatwave hits the capital July 28, 2026 Lloyd’s of London is allowing its staff to stay away from the historic City building as yet another heatwave threatens to hit London. The home of the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace has told staff they are able to use their judgement and work from home this week with temperatures in the Square [...]
Exclusive: Saudi ship struck by Houthis had insurance from Lloyd’s insurance giant July 25, 2026 Insurance giant Gallagher had insured one of two ships that were attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea, which caused a fire to break out on board and made the ship return to port. The Lloyd’s of London broker had organised cover for the affected vessel, which was one of a pair of tankers [...]
HSBC sells Singapore insurance arm to Allianz in £1.6bn deal July 24, 2026 FTSE 100 HSBC has agreed to sell its health and life insurance business to German insurance giant Allianz for $2.1bn (£1.6bn) as it refocuses its strategy on Singapore’s wealth management. The banking giant agreed to sell its Singapore business to Allianz in a transaction that is expected to be completed in the first half of [...]
Former Lloyd’s chief John Neal breached rules with undisclosed relationship July 22, 2026 Former Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal fell “significantly below” expected standards in his workplace relationship with a colleague, an independent legal review by Freshfields has found. Neal had run the historic London insurance marketplace for over six years when he stepped down last year. He was in line to become president of general [...]