Insurance & Reinsurance
European Commissioner eases broker regulation fears
Insurance broker fears they may be caught by draconian regulations were eased today, after a European Commissioner suggested they could be set for reprieve. […]
Articles by alastair walker
Global insurance trends
Groupama UK keeps distance from S&P downgrade
Following the decision today by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the security rating of Groupama Group, François-Xavier Boisseau, CEO at Groupama Insurances in the UK said: “Although as a Groupama subsidiary we are associated with […]
Global insurance trends
Majority of insurers planning Solvency II shift
Insurers are preparing for the introduction of Solvency II by changing their approach to calculating capital adequacy requirements, according to a report out today. Conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the latest edition of the […]
Insurance & Reinsurance
UK motor insurers’ underwriting results rebound 14%
A 10% rise in gross written premiums failed to put UK motor insurers in the black during 2011, according to Deloitte. The market experienced “greatly improved financial results in 2011 but need to do more […]
Insurance & Reinsurance
ABI calls for overhaul of riot compensation scheme
The Association of British Insurers has called for an overhaul in the law that provides for compensation to be paid to the victims of riots. In its review of the financial costs of last August’s […]
Big Data
Father of the Web warns insurers against data profligacy
Sir Tim Berners-Lee has urged insurers to avoid the temptation of using increasing amounts of publicly available data about consumers on the web to price their products.
The inventor of the World Wide Web made a plea to the industry at the British Insurance Brokers’s Association conference in Manchester yesterday, requesting that information we share about ourselves on line – particularly by young people through social networks – should not be gathered for the purposes of pricing risk. […]
Global insurance trends
Lloyd’s emerging market expansion given thumbs up
The Lloyd’s insurance market’s planned expansion into emerging markets is a net positive, even though writing insurance outside of established markets carries additional risks, according to Fitch Ratings.
Fitch said it expects the economic development of emerging market economies to boost demand for insurance and reinsurance. Lloyd’s already writes 25% of its business outside of Europe and North America, with the growth of insurance premiums outpacing that of developed markets. […]
Global insurance trends
#BIBA2012 Insurers enjoying clear path down corridors of power
When Andrew Marr told delegates at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association 2012 conference that insurers have historically been mistrusted around Westminster, I wondered if he might be about to quote former PM Harold Macmillan by adding; ‘but you’ve never had it so good’.
The BBC political commentator opened his speech to a packed Manchester Central Auditorium with the suggestion that general insurers might have been unfairly lumped in with the life insurance market in gaining this poor reputation amongst the political class. […]