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AXIS Capital Holdings has announced that Vincent C. Tizzio has assumed the role of president and CEO of the company.

Tizzio officially assumed the role Thursday, timed to coincide with the company’s annual general meeting at its headquarters in Bermuda.

Tizzio’s promotion to president and CEO was announced in December. He succeeds longtime AXIS president and CEO Albert Benchimol, who will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to the company through the end of the year.

“On behalf of the board of directors and our entire team at AXIS, we couldn’t be more excited to name Vince as the company’s president and CEO,” said Henry Smith, chair of the AXIS board of directors. “Vince is a stellar leader who brings the vision, expansive specialty underwriting knowledge, and passion needed to take our company to the next level. He is also an excellent people leader who perfectly embodies the company’s culture and values.

Tizzio joined AXIS in January 2022 as senior advisor for insurance market strategy and future insurance CEO, reporting to Benchimol. In June 2022, he was promoted to CEO of specialty insurance and reinsurance.

“I’m deeply honoured to be named president and CEO of AXIS and to have the opportunity to build on the foundation established by Albert and the team,” Tizzio said. “I express my gratitude to Albert, Henry, the board of directors, and our colleagues worldwide for placing their trust in me. It’s my strong belief that we are only just beginning to tap into our potential as a great underwriting company that stands apart for the specialty expertise and acumen of our people and the value that we provide to our customers. In the current dynamic market, there is a greater need than ever for the tailored specialty insurance products and services that we offer.”

“Serving as president and CEO of AXIS has been the highlight of my career,” Benchimol said. “Words cannot express the gratitude that I feel towards my colleagues at AXIS, as well as to our brokers and partners, for their partnership, commitment and friendship. I’m proud of all that we accomplished and excited for the future that stands before AXIS. In Vince we have a fantastic leader who has the vision and ability to take AXIS to even greater levels of success.”

“The board and I are grateful to Albert Benchimol for the leadership that he brought to AXIS for close to 13 years,” Smith said. “Under Albert’s direction, AXIS transformed and refocused as a specialty leader, cultivating a strong and vibrant workplace culture, while taking crucial steps forward in building a pathway to lasting, profitable growth.”

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New funding for the global insurtech sector rose to US$1.39 billion during the first quarter of 2023, according to a new report from Gallagher Re.

That’s up from US$1.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, the lowest quarterly total since Q1 2020.

Average deal size rose 25.3% in the first quarter of 2023, although deal count held steady, according to Gallagher Re’s latest Global InsurTech Report. Mega-round funding accounted for only 12.9% of the total, the lowest level since Q1 2020.

The quarterly investment increase was driven by P&C insurtech funding, which spiked by more than 53% to US$967.89 million, the report found. Life and health funding was also up, risking 9.65 to US$420.73 million.

Total early-stage funding was US$423.59 million, although early-stage L&H funding tumbled 44.3% from Q4 2022 to US$119.04 million. The average early-stage deal rose 28% to US$8.31 million.

The majority of investments by (re)insurers were for early-stage rounds, a trend that’s now lasted for six straight quarters, the report found.

Funding totals indicate that 2023 may see a return to more “normal” levels of insurtech funding seen prior to 2021, when 62% of investments were through mega-rounds, compared to 41% in 2022, Gallagher Re said.

“2023 may be the beginning of a new era for insurtech,” said Dr. Andrew Johnston, global head of insurtech at Gallagher Re. “2021 undoubtedly marked the funding peak, fueled by COVID-19 uncertainty and an organically occurring crescendo. The sector came back down to earth in 2022, leading to some serious restructures, cost-saving actions, and new business strategies. A lot of companies did not make it through.

“Founders are now thinking about long-term sustainability and growth, and realising their businesses will need to pull the plough themselves, reliant on their own capabilities and revenues,” Johnston said. “A significant upside seems to be the genuine willingness of many (re)insurers, brokers and agents to adopt technology. The pressure is therefore on insurtechs to make their businesses palatable and value-adding.”

The Q1 edition of the Global InsurTech Report is the first of four reports in 2023 that will focus on the life cycle stages of insurtech funding:

• Early-stage incubation rounds (angel, convertible note, pre-seed, seed, and seed VC)
• Early-stage acceleration rounds (series A)
• Mid-stage expansion rounds (series B and C)
• Late stage growth and view-to-exit rounds (series D, E+, growth equity, PE, exits and corporate majority)

The Q1 report includes several case studies of insurtechs whose most recent funding round fits the incubation criteria, Gallagher Re said.

“Despite the chequered financial performance of insurtechs, they have successfully continued to attract funding, partially driven by investors chasing yield, but also by tech-oriented investors applying tech-style funding philosophies – and valuations,” said Deepon Sen Gupta, global head of strategic advisory for Gallagher Re. “However, investors are increasingly focused on obtaining a return on their capital, and understanding payback periods. Rather than just being hypnotised by the size of the total addressable market, they are now keen to see a genuine need for an insurtech’s existence.”

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Swiss Re has enjoyed a turnaround, reporting a profitable first quarter after suffering a loss in the same three-month span in 2022.

The reinsurance giant attributed the increase in P&C Re net income to robust price improvements and higher investment results, while L&H Re’s result benefitted from a strong decline in COVID-19 claims and a higher investment income.

As for Corporate Solutions, the segment’s higher net income was due to continued disciplined underwriting, careful risk selection, and adequate pricing.

“The first-quarter results demonstrate the resilience of all our main businesses, supported by adequate pricing, higher investment returns, and cost discipline,” said group chief executive officer Christian Mumenthaler.

“In an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we continue to focus on achieving our ambitious profit target of more than US$3 billion for the group in 2023. The successful P&C Re renewals so far this year and a good start in L&H Re and Corporate Solutions underpin our confidence, supported by rising interest rates, cost discipline, and a very strong capital position.”

Additionally, Swiss Re has successfully transitioned to a new structure to create what the CEO called a “simpler and nimbler” organisation.

The British government’s draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill is now available for pre-legislative scrutiny, and terrorism reinsurer Pool Re has been quick to react.

To be known as Martyn’s Law (previously Protect Duty), the proposed legislation aims to improve public safety and national security by protecting public premises and events against the treat of terrorism. The goal is to require those responsible for certain premises and events to implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.

‘Crucial step’ against terrorism

Welcoming the development, Pool Re chief executive Tom Clementi said in an emailed release: “The government’s announcement that it has published its draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill is a crucial step in enhancing the protection of the UK’s publicly accessible locations from terrorist attacks.

“Pool Re will support the government and insurance industry with the implementation of Martyn’s Law, by providing information and education regarding what businesses and organisations need to do to prepare for its introduction.”

It was noted that the legislation may apply to more than 300,000 premises across the UK. Qualifying premises will be divided into two tiers, standard and enhanced, and will have their corresponding requirements under Martyn’s Law.

Figen Murray OBE – mother of Martyn Hett, who was among those killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017 – also called the progress an important step forward to a safer country.

“Martyn’s Law will end the ridiculous situation where venues have legal obligations for how many toilets they have but no obligation to keep their customers protected,” stated Murray. “Of course Martyn’s Law won’t stop all terror attacks, but it will make crowded places better protected and prepared, and make the terrorists’ job that bit harder.”

Meanwhile, Pool Re will be offering advice to brokers and insurers on the legislative requirements where appropriate. Resources will be available at poolre.co.uk/martyns-law/.

Ahead of formal introduction to Parliament, the draft bill will be scrutinised by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

What do you think about this terrorism story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Aon Plc has released its earnings report for the three months ended March 31, and the results show the insurance broking giant posting growth all-round.

As indicated above, all segments – commercial risk solutions, reinsurance solutions, health solutions, and wealth solutions – contributed improved revenues.

Lifting the lid on the higher figures, Aon said: “Total revenue increased US$201 million, or 5%, to US$3,871 million, compared to the prior year period, with organic revenue growth of 7%, driven by ongoing strong retention, net new business generation, and management of the renewal book portfolio, and a 1% favourable impact from fiduciary investment income, partially offset by a 3% unfavourable impact from foreign currency translation.”

In terms of the commercial risk segment, the company had this to say: “Growth in retail brokerage was highlighted by double-digit growth in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), Latin America, and the Pacific driven by continued strength in core P&C (property and casualty). The US grew modestly after growing double-digits in the prior year period and reflecting the impact of the external M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and IPO (initial public offering) markets on M&A services.”

Meanwhile, the rise in operating income was attributed to organic revenue growth and increased fiduciary investment income.

“In the first quarter, our team built momentum for 2023 by delivering strong operational performance, highlighted by 7% organic revenue growth and 70 basis points of adjusted operating margin improvement,” noted Aon chief executive Greg Case. “As we move past the pandemic, our clients are telling us there are two primary areas where they are urgently looking for competitive advantage: risk and people.

“As these results demonstrate, our Aon United strategy has established the firm as uniquely capable of helping clients go on offense and make better decisions that mitigate risk to their business and maximise the impact of their people.”

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The Bank of England is warning insurers to exercise caution as they look to take on more business from pension schemes seeking to offload risk.

Charlotte Gerken, executive director for insurance supervision at the bank, cautioned that insurers need to be mindful of the risks associated with bulk purchase annuities, especially as deals become larger and more complex.

Gerken also noted that rising interest rates have improved funding levels of pension schemes, making them cheaper to offload to an insurer, but warned insurers against stretching their capabilities in the short term.

According to Gerken, UK life insurers could take on more than £500bn ($623.70bn) of pension liabilities over the next decade. She said that “the decisions that insurers make now will have long-term consequences for the performance and development of the broader economy”.

Gerken also noted that the sector will need to hedge its pension risks with an interest rate, cross-currency, and inflation swaps, increasing the sector’s links to the wider financial system.

She urged insurers to understand the liquidity risks they face as they take on vast sums of assets and liabilities. The Bank of England had to buy UK government bonds last September after liability-driven investment funds used by pension schemes struggled to find enough liquidity to pay collateral on skyrocketing gilt yields.

“This is a big structural change in the control of long-term investments in the UK, and the decisions that insurers make now will have long-term consequences for the performance and development of the broader economy,” Gerken said in a speech. “Insurers, therefore, need to understand, as they take on these vast sums of assets and liabilities, how they may become greater sources or amplifiers of liquidity risk.”

In your quest for the right insurance job, you may already have your priorities set. You may be determined in landing a role that perfectly fits your talents and skills and offers a great benefits and compensation package. You may also be searching for one that paves the way for your professional growth, while allowing you to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Insurance Business can help make the process a lot less daunting. To guide you in your search, we will list the top websites where you can find the best insurance jobs in the UK. But because there isn’t a clear-cut number one option among these featured sites, we decided to arrange them alphabetically. In these channels, you can access high-quality listings that match every stage of an insurance career, from entry-level roles to executive positions. Read on and jump-start your search for your dream insurance job.

1. Adzuna

Adzuna primarily functions as a search engine for job advertisements, using AI to match the most qualified candidates to various roles. The website was launched in the UK in 2011, and has offices in London, Sydney, and Indianapolis. It operates in more than a dozen countries and attracts more than 10 million unique visitors each month.

One of Adzuna’s most popular features is the ValueMyCV tool, which gives users a free estimate of your potential salary –handy data to have, especially during contract negotiations. You can also use this tool to check your CV for typos and formatting errors and get recommendations for your future career path.

Additionally, Adzuna allows you to access industry-related data to give you a broader view of the insurance sector and the different opportunities available. The website’s job board currently has more than 117,000 postings for insurance jobs.   

2. CityJobs

CityJobs.com is operated by Totaljobs, which owns another website in our list. CityJobs is one of the UK’s largest recruitment platform catering to the financial services sector, including insurance. Its job board lists more than 700 postings for insurance jobs. You can sort through these roles by location, salary, date posted, and type of job and company, which are standard filters among the featured websites.  

The website provides an average annual salary for each industry, along with an FAQ section, which breaks down data for job postings.

3. Hays Recruitment

Hays specialises in talent acquisition and workforce advisory services, which touch on areas such as learning and development, career transition, and brand positioning. The company aims to help “candidates find their next roles” and employers “reshape their workforces and deal with talent shortages.”

There are over 1,100 insurance jobs posted on Hay’s job board. You can use the various filter options to narrow your search. The website also has a section on career advice, where you can find tips on various topics, including:

• CV and cover letter writing
• Interview preparation
• Job hunting
• Salary negotiation

You can also subscribe to job alerts, so you can be notified of any new listings as soon as they are posted.

4. Idex Consulting

Idex is a business growth consultancy and specialist recruitment firm for the insurance, financial services, and legal industries. The company’s job board is not as extensive as those from the other websites in the list, with just over 200 listings for insurance jobs. But this also means you can spend less time browsing through options, which you can trim down further by title, location, and contract type.

5. Indeed UK

UK’s version of Indeed has all the features of the global website. What attracts most users to the job search engine is its simplistic design and user-friendly interface. The website registers around 300 million unique users from different parts of the world each month.

Because Indeed essentially functions as a search engine aggregator, it also has among the highest number of postings for insurance jobs in our list. At last count, there are almost 13,200 insurance roles that you can choose from. You can choose among the different filters to sort through jobs.

Indeed likewise allows you to upload your CV to its database for potential employers to access. Another prominent feature is the section that lets employees rate their jobs, which can offer useful insights into a company’s culture and what it is like to work there. 

6. Insurance Jobs UK

InsuranceJobs.com is one of the few websites in the UK dedicated exclusively to insurance jobs. Just like in the US version, it allows you to search for job openings right from the homepage. You can filter down your choice by the following:

• Employment type
• Company
• Region
• Business line
• Contract type
• Salary

InsuranceJobs.com currently has around 450 postings. You can also access sections for career advice and uploading and updating your resume and keep abreast of the latest industry developments with its insurance news section.  

7. IPS

IPS is a global recruitment specialist for the insurance, financial services, and legal sectors. Apart from the UK, the firm operates across Europe, Asia, and the US. The company’s insurance job board allows you to filter postings by function, sector, minimum salary, and job type. You can also download its latest insurance industry salary guide by completing an online form.

8. Monster UK

Monster is recognised as a pioneer in the field of online recruitment and employment, being the first to launch a resume database that can be accessed through usernames and passwords. It is also the first to roll out a job-search agent, which has become an industry standard, and create a category for executive positions.

Monster provides an extensive list of insurance jobs in the UK. You can narrow these down by location and company. You can also subscribe to job alerts to receive an email notification every time a new posting is added. Another popular feature of the website is its salary tool, which gives you a ballpark estimation that you can use during salary negotiations. The website also has a separate section dedicated to career advice.

9. Reed

Established in 1995, Reed is the UK’s first online recruitment site and has since grown to become among the nation’s largest career marketplaces, featuring job listings from more than 30,000 recruiters from over 40 industries annually. 

You can upload your CV to the website’s jobseekers’ profile, which it then accesses to match you with the role that you are most qualified for. Reed’s general insurance job board features more than 3,100 postings. You can search for roles by location, sector, and company. The website also offers career advice and a mobile app where you can apply for insurance jobs.

10. Totaljobs

Totaljobs is one of the country’s most popular job boards, attracting about 20 million unique visitors and receiving more than five million applications from jobseekers each month. It operates several brands, consisting of a combination of general and specialist job boards. These websites provide employers access to more than 20 million searchable candidate profiles. The brands are:

• Totaljobs
• CareerStructure
• CityJobs
• eMedCareers
• Jobsite
• Just Engineers
• RetailChoice

Totaljobs’ job board has around 770 listings of insurance jobs. Using the One-Click Apply feature, you can upload your CV and cover letter to apply for jobs, as the name suggests, in a single click.

Totaljobs also has a section for career advice, which features insightful articles and expert interviews about job hunting. You can access a range of courses for career development through the website as well.

Among the biggest factors that make a career in insurance exciting and rewarding are the opportunities that open for you to make a positive impact on other people’s lives. Being an insurance professional, you primarily serve as an expert resource person that can guide clients in finding the right policies that give them the best financial protection. But this is just one of the many benefits of pursuing an insurance career. Here are some other advantages of taking insurance jobs:

• Relevance: The UK’s insurance industry is among the most influential and essential parts of the nation’s economy, employing more than 300,000 people and contributing about £12 billion in taxes. The sector also holds over £1.7 trillion of invested assets. London, which is home to the world’s largest insurance marketplace, is likewise considered the “heart of international insurance and reinsurance.”
• Diverse opportunities: Besides conventional roles such as insurance underwriter, adjuster, and insurance broker, insurance offers a variety of career opportunities in different fields, including actuary, marketing, legal, IT, data analytics, investigation, and customer service. One important thing to remember is that your role at the start of your career doesn’t have to define the rest of it.
• Strong earning potential: The insurance sector offers a good salary with a high potential for growth. We will discuss the highest-paying insurance jobs in the UK later.
• Social value: As an insurance professional, you are often presented with the opportunity to help individuals, families, and communities overcome challenges to change their lives for the better.
• Continuing education: With the constantly evolving nature of the industry, insurance professionals are encouraged to pursue educational opportunities to sharpen their knowledge and skills. This includes the globally recognised Chartered Insurance Institute’s Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII).
• Chance to work with the biggest names: By pursuing a career in insurance, you can have the opportunity to work with some of the country’s largest insurance companies. 

Another advantage of taking up a career in insurance is that it brings strong earning potential. Starting salaries on graduate schemes can be worth up to £21,000 annually, with an opportunity to double that once you have completed your professional qualifications. Those at the top of the insurance profession can even earn a six-figure salary.

The table below ranks the highest-paying insurance jobs in the UK, according to data gathered by this website. 

If you wish to find insurance companies in the UK that offer the best insurance jobs, we suggest that you check out our Best in Insurance Special Reports page to find dependable and trusted market leaders.

The insurers featured on this page are nominated by their peers and vetted by our team of experts as respected leaders in the industry. By choosing to be a part of these providers, you can be sure that you will be joining organisations recognised for having positive workplace cultures, being committed to diversity and inclusion, and giving opportunities for employees to thrive and blossom in their insurance careers.

Have you used any of the websites above in your search for insurance jobs? How was the experience? Share your story in the comments section below.

Munich Re has reported roughly $1.43 billion in net profit for the first quarter of 2023, despite “higher than expected” losses from natural catastrophes in its property-casualty operation.

The German reinsurance giant achieved a combined ratio for the quarter of about 86.5%, slightly worse than its 86% forecast for the full year.

Within life and health reinsurance, Munich Re posted a technical result of about $330 million for the quarter, putting it on track to meet its full-year target of $1.1 billion.

For ERGO, the result was about $220 million, well over a quarter of the company’s full-year forecast of $770 million.

Munich Re expects net profit of about $4.4 billion for the 2023 financial year.

It said it is reporting financial reports for the first time in accordance with the new IFRS 9 and IFRS 17 standards.

“In contrast to the standards applied through 2022, IAS 39 and IFRS 4, Munich Re expects higher results in life and health reinsurance owing to the earlier recognition of earnings in the profits,” the group said in a news release.

“In property-casualty (re)insurance, effects from the accretion of interest and from discounting currently result in a positive contribution to profits. These changes in methodology are reflected in the expectation of a net result of about €4 billion (US$4.4 billion).”

What are your thoughts on Munich Re’s first quarter performance? Sound off in the comments below.

It’s the turn of insurance broking giant WTW to outline how it fared in the first quarter of 2023.

Here are WTW’s consolidated results in the period:

According to WTW, its health, wealth & career segment contributed US$1.29 billion in revenue, while US$904 million came from the risk & broking segment. Both figures were higher compared to their 2022 counterparts.

Commenting on the numbers, chief executive Carl Hess said: “The first quarter was a solid start to the year for WTW. Our investments in talent and technology, along with the momentum in our business, helped us achieve excellent revenue increases on both a reported and an organic basis.

“Our top-line revenue growth, together with our expense discipline, the successful execution of our transformation efforts, and initiatives to simplify our company drove operating margin expansion over the prior year. We are proving ourselves to be resilient in a complex risk and economic environment.”

Based on current and anticipated market conditions, WTW is expecting to deliver mid-single digit organic revenue growth for the full year.  

A newly branded insurance group, which includes what used to be known as UK General Insurance, has been introduced in the UK.

Led by group chief executive Tim Smyth and chair Lord Marland, the Bspoke Group consists of the following businesses:

• Bspoke Underwriting (formerly UK General Insurance)
• Bspoke Lifestyle (formerly Binnacle Insurance Services)
• Bspoke Commercial (formerly One Commercial)
• Provego
• One Commercial Specialty

“We have been working hard since the acquisition to get the group in the best possible position for substantial and profitable growth,” said Smyth in an emailed release. “The group currently underwrites more than £100 million GWP (gross written premium) with plans to grow both organically and through an acquisition strategy fully supported by our shareholders.

“In the last five months of trading since the business was acquired, our commercial insurance businesses have grown organically by 10% and the pace of this growth is accelerating. The profitability of the schemes business has improved significantly compared with the prior year, with a number of new accounts onboarded and operational efficiencies delivered.

“We have great support from both our investors and our major capacity providers while we complete the transformation of the business to create a secure, stable platform for taking advantage of the many opportunities in the UK insurance market.”

The CEO will be supported by Ryan Gill and Craig Hunter as executive group board members. Previously group chief financial officer and having been instrumental in the management buyout, Gill will become chief commercial officer of Bspoke Group. Hunter, meanwhile, will serve as chief operating officer and continue to drive the group’s operational transformation.

According to Bspoke Group, its goal is 100% growth in the next three years.

“We have been quietly building a pipeline of opportunities; the MGA sector is attractive to acquirers like us who have supportive investors and A-rated capacity,” shared Smyth, whose camp also includes Bspoke Sports & Leisure and Bspoke Private Clients and will be targeting those areas. “We are also interested in talking to underwriting teams seeking a great platform from which to grow and build their own value.”

“The Bspoke Group of companies has a very exciting future,” added Lord Marland. “Our supportive investors have fully bought into our ambitious plans, and I am confident that we will provide them with excellent returns.” 

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