Women sentenced after faking husband’s death for £400,000 insurance claim March 15, 2021 A woman from London faces two years imprisonment after she reported her husband dead in an attempt to defraud her insurer £397,153. Thuile Bhebhe, 51, reported that her husband had died in Zimbabwe in August 2016, submitting false documents to her insurer, Aviva, in order to substantiate her claim. But discrepancies in the paperwork submitted [...]
BoE rules out big capital reduction for insurers after Brexit February 10, 2021 The Bank of England has told insurers not to expect any big reductions in capital requirements after Brexit, adding that more capital could be “part of the answer” to meeting a £1.7bn bill for Covid-19 claims. Solvency II rules, inherited from Britain’s membership of the EU, are under review, amid calls from insurers and lawmakers [...]
Lancashire offset Covid losses with strong investment portfolio February 10, 2021 City-based insurer Lancashire left 2020 “relatively unscathed” as its investment portfolio offset nearly $150m in losses linked to the pandemic and natural catastrophes, the company announced this morning. The Group credits the positive fiscal year to its investment portfolio, which ranges from political risk to AV52 markets. Gross premiums written increased by 15.2 per cent [...]
Exclusive: ‘Pool Re’ style scheme could help insurers fund Covid-19 cover, says Beazley CEO February 5, 2021 The CEO of insurer Beazley is hopeful that insurers will be able to provide cover against infectious diseases like Covid-19 in the future, but said a government backstop may be needed to press ahead. It is not possible to get insurance on Covid-19-related cancellation cover on events this year, because the chances of an event [...]
Insurance, disrupted: What does the start of 2021 tell us about the industry? January 29, 2021 We waited patiently for the new year. January was meant to be a fresh dawn, with many businesses embarking on transformation programmes to emerge stronger from the pandemic. But, looking at the economic and political events from this month, we see more disruption ahead. Particularly for insurance companies. Before founding OLIVER, I spent 15-years at Commercial [...]
Lloyd’s of London insurer Canopius ‘plans stock market float’ January 19, 2021 Canopius Group, one of Lloyd’s of London’s largest insurers, is planning a stock market flotation in London that could value the company at as much as £2bn, according to reports. The London-headquarters company, which has offices in seven countries including Bermuda, China and Singapore, has approached investment banks about working on an initial public offering [...]
MP calls for City watchdog to probe ‘patchy’ British Gas insurance January 13, 2021 A Stockport MP has called for City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to investigate a British Gas backlog dispute as more than 100,000 could be left without home insurance. British Gas parent company Centrica has been accused of provoking a strike which has left its ‘HomeCare’ customers without cover. Writing to the FCA this [...]
Insurer Phoenix reports £1.7bn cash generation December 3, 2020 Insurer Phoenix Group has reported a full-year cash generation of £1.7bn, exceeding the top end of its target range and more than doubling from last year. The life insurer’s reported cash generation compares with £707m it reported in 2019 and a target range of £1.5-£1.6bn. Group CEO Andy Briggs said: “As we execute successfully against [...]
Exclusive: Crunch time for insurers on Covid-19 discount decisions November 30, 2020 It is crunch time for the insurance industry, which now must decide what Covid-19 refunds and discounts to give customers ahead of the deadline set by the city regulator. Insurers have until 3 December to decide where, if at all, it is appropriate to apply Covid-19 related refunds or discounts on insurance policies. The Financial [...]
Zurich spends £1m on employee upskilling drive November 5, 2020 Insurance giant Zurich has spent £1million upskilling existing employees to combat an upcoming skills shortage. Zurich has identified 270 robotics, data science and cyber security jobs that, if employees are not reskilled, could go unfilled by 2024. The business is on a mission to retrain 3,000 UK employees – two-thirds of its workforce – over [...]