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QBE Asia has announced that its P&I operations in Singapore will take on the name of British Marine, beginning Jan. 1.

The move brings back the British Marine brand in Singapore, after QBE acquired the company in 2005. Founded in 1876, British Marine is one of the largest fixed P&I insurance providers, specialising in marine insurance for owners of small, medium-sized and specialist vessels.

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The tribunal found that Olivier Argence-Lafon, a former ARK senior underwriter, had been unfairly dismissed under section 98 of the Employment Rights Act, but it did not have jurisdiction on one allegation relating to protected disclosures, and a claim under section 103A of the act failed. The tribunal also said it was not “well founded” that protected disclosures by the claimant had led to him being put on a performance review plan.

Claim concerns

Argence-Lafon, a senior underwriter with 17 years’ experience who joined ARK in 2018 when the business acquired part of PartnerRe’s marine and energy portfolio, had raised concerns about Italian oil company ENI and joint venture partner Essar E&P’s 2019 Ken Bau claim relating to an “underground blowout” when drilling a Vietnamese offshore well, according to a tribunal document.

Argence-Lafon raised concerns following a loss adjuster report that found the $63.7 million claim was covered and the acceptance of the claim by its insurers, of which ARK was one. He continued to raise doubts despite a second independent loss adjuster’s assessment that corroborated the initial report’s findings.

“Based on the information provided, I am convinced this is not a valid claim,” Argence-Lafon said in a September 2020 internal email.

Performance targets

That November, the claimant was set nine personal objectives and “expressed reservations” about three of them, according to a tribunal document. At the time, the team had underwritten a total of 283 risks, with another senior underwriter on the team having underwritten 203 of these, and the claimant having underwritten 22, “which was lower than the risks” underwritten by junior underwriting colleagues, the tribunal document said.

A series of performance related meetings took place between the claimant and his manager, at which Argence-Lafon disputed the “appropriateness” of his objectives but ultimately grudgingly accepted them, according to the tribunal judgment.

In an April 2021 meeting with ARK group CEO Ian Beaton that followed these, Argence-Lafon again raised concerns about the Ken Bau claim, as well as alleging that “negative competition and ego were at play” in the team, the tribunal document said.

A “complex” claim

ARK carried out an investigation into the ENI and Essar E&P claim that month, under Beaton’s instruction, and reviewed some 300 pages of documents. It concluded that there was “no evidence to support the claimant’s allegation that the ENI claim was fraudulent and no merit to the claimant’s view that there had not been an underground blowout”, according to the tribunal document.

“This is clearly a highly technical and complex claim,” the report said.

“Whilst there must be an element of subjectivity over the exact quantum and indeed the cause of the claim, based on preliminary investigation, there is little evidence to substantiate even a suspicion of fraud.”

The claimant continued to raise concerns around the energy claim’s validity, and in May 2021 submitted a report entitled “Why I consider the ENI Ken Bau loss is fraudulent”. He also continued to allege that three of nine of his performance objectives were not “realistic or achievable”. This is according to the tribunal document.

On May 6, the claimant was offered a settlement agreement that would see him exit the business, with salary to be paid until the end of the year, according to the document.

In a letter that followed in June appealing a grievance process, the claimant’s solicitors alleged: “In both cases our client believes that employees of Ark […] have deliberately ignored the ENI claim fraud and/or been complicit in it.”

“Our client has clearly stated that he believes that EB and PD set unreasonable objectives and created unjustified concerns about our client’s performance because of his protected disclosures about the ENI claim fraud,” the letter further alleged.

In August, the claimant was terminated, with the business having concluded there had been a breakdown of “trust” in the team and that his objectives had been appropriate for a senior underwriter.

Unfair dismissal

The tribunal ruled that while Argence-Lafon had made protected disclosures, this had “played no part” in the targets that the claimant was set, nor had later disclosures that were not protected led to him being put on performance review.

However, it did find that he had been unfairly dismissed.

Over 2.5 years at the business, “he had not had regular appraisals, he had not been set personal objectives, it had not been made clear to him what targets he was expected to achieve, it had not been drawn to his attention that what he was achieving in terms of risk and submission count and premium income was significantly below what was expected,” the tribunal said.

Under the 2020 targets, he had been expected to double monthly premium income and boost submission and risk count by 7.5 times and 5.5 times, according to the document.

“The respondent failed to conduct such investigation as was reasonable and, had it done so, it might have come to a different conclusion,” the tribunal said.

ARK also did not give advance notice that a “breakdown of trust and confidence” would be considered at the dismissal hearing, according to the document.

“For the reasons given above, we concluded that the dismissal was unfair,” the tribunal said in its December judgment.

Argence-Lafon and ENI were contacted for comment.

ARK declined to comment. The business had said it would look to reduce any compensation due in an application to the court “on the grounds that the claimant’s conduct had contributed to his dismissal and because of subsequently discovered misconduct”, according to the tribunal document.

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AXIS highlighted that under Benchimol’s guidance, the firm has led a multi-year transformation program, repositioning the company as a leader in specialty underwriting. Commenting on his tenure, Henry Smith, chair of the AXIS board of directors, said the firm is indebted to Benchimol for his leadership.

“Under Albert’s direction, AXIS has had a remarkable transformation, refocusing itself as a specialty leader while building a balanced and resilient portfolio and placing the company on a pathway for lasting profitable growth,” Smith said. “Albert has also been a great culture leader, growing a workplace environment that is both performance and people-oriented, and under his guidance, AXIS has become a best place to work in the industry.

“Underpinning all of this is a customer-service mindset that permeates every aspect of the company’s operations, resulting in strong and enduring bonds with brokers and customers – a testament to Albert’s legacy.”

In a Press release, Benchimol said that serving as president and CEO of AXIS has been “the most fulfilling and rewarding experience” of his professional career. He said he was grateful to his fellow colleagues, both past and present, for their support, commitment, and dedication, and “incredibly proud” of what they’ve accomplished together.

“Even with all the progress that’s been achieved, I believe AXIS has only begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible,” he said. “I have enormous confidence in Vince and his leadership, and I have comfort knowing that I am leaving the company in very strong hands.”

Smith stated that AXIS was very excited to announce Tizzio’s appointment as the future president and CEO. During his first year with the company, Tizzio had made an impressive impact, he said, challenging AXIS to build on its progress and identifying new avenues to grow the business.

“In addition,” he said, “Vince is an energising and committed people leader who will continue to help our team and company unlock their significant potential.”

Tizzio said it was both a “privilege and an honour” to succeed Benchimol as president and CEO of AXIS and to have an opportunity to build on the great work that he and the team had done.

“My experiences in my first year at AXIS only further intensified my belief that there’s tremendous opportunity to further profitably grow the business and deliver even greater value to our employees, shareholders, and customers,” he said. “Moreover, in today’s market environment where brokers and insureds are looking for specialised insurance and risk solutions, we were literally built for this moment.”

“Vince is deeply committed to our strategy of advancing AXIS as a leader in specialty,” added Benchimol. “In a short period of time, he’s made an enormous positive impact, mobilising the team to even further elevate our ambitions, leverage our extensive market knowledge and relationships, while delivering added value to our customers and the market.”

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The Financial Times revealed that Credit Suisse, which had a deep relationship with Greensill, provided the group with a $140 million loan in October 2020, less than five months before its collapse. The documents showed that part of the loan’s proceeds would be used to set up a “captive insurance firm” to provide the group with coverage for risky lending it carried out, according to people familiar with the matter.

A person involved in the negotiations around the loan deemed the deal “mind-boggling” that Credit Suisse believed that “Greensill would be allowed to build an insurance company,” despite the growing issues it was facing at that time.

On September 1, 2020, before Credit Suisse finalised the loan, Australian insurance firm The Bond and Credit Company – owned by Tokio Marine – confirmed that it would not renew a crucial policy that expired in six months.

Credit Suisse informed the Financial Times that it was “not informed about any insurance discontinuation until February 22, 2021.”

“Credit Suisse continues to pursue all possible angles in order to recover cash for investors in the supply chain finance funds,” the bank said, as reported by Financial Times.

After Greensill’s collapse, Credit Suisse was able to recover the loan as it had a first-ranking charge across the firm’s assets – with Financial Times reporting that the loan’s collateral included invoices to companies that denied ever doing the business stated on the documents. The bank has also overhauled its risk management safeguards since Greensill’s collapse and after losing $5.5 billion on the implosion of Archegos Capital.

Since its collapse, Greensill creditors have shown concern over if insurance contracts will pay out after the group’s collapse in 2021. Meanwhile, Lex Greensill – who previously blamed the non-renewal of his company’s trade credit insurance for the business’s demise – and other ex-directors of the insolvent firm are expected to face disqualification proceedings.

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“We’d seen them and their team at events and things, and they are very well-respected,” he said. “So, I spoke to them about what their succession planning was, and whether they had any plans for what they were going to do next. Over time, we agreed a deal and then it was just a case of getting the FCA to do their bit before, in November, they became part of The Needham Group.”

Why Corporate Insurance Solutions was the right fit

As with all the deals done by Needham in the past, Lowe said, CIS was the right fit for a variety of reasons – not least for its talented team and shared values. CIS’s book of business also provided great symmetry, he said, because it aligned closely with Needham’s core areas of business and was well within the group’s comfort zone. That the company directors and their team would come across under the terms of the deal was another critical advantage.

“It was key for us, as it was with Baldersons, that there was already a team in place, already a manager of the office there,” he said. “We’re not looking to change anything people-wise. The people still work with each other, with their clients. We’re just hopefully improving the offering that they can deliver to their clients. That’s really the aim.”

The key concerns facing insurance brokers

Whether considering or completing an acquisition, Lowe said, the philosophy of Needham is clear and it centres around the question, “what can we do to help the existing business to achieve more?” Looking across the market, he highlighted that two key pain points are frustrating insurance brokers at the moment – the level of compliance required and access to insurers.

Needham’s offering has proven very attractive to broking leaders looking for the next steps and keen to circumvent these challenges. The group has its own compliance team, he said, and is able to navigate the complex regulatory environment in which broking businesses operate. In addition, it recently went live on Acturis which has given the team access to a lot of very strong insurance companies.

The move to Acturis aligned with the group’s rebrand as when filling out new documentation, the team realised they needed a company name to bring all the businesses together. This was particularly important, Lowe said, as a critical part of Needham’s M&A offering is understanding the value and history of an acquired business’s name and ensuring they can keep that part of their identity.

To bring everything together under the umbrella of a company name was essential and as the group has a few more acquisitions planned for 2023, it made sense to do that sooner rather than later. It sets the business up for the next five-to-10 years of trading, he said, and makes it a great deal easier to sit down with other business owners and explain The Needham’s group philosophy and offering.

What’s next for The Needham Group?

“We’ve got a couple of other acquisitions lined up at the moment for next year,” he said. “And they’re following exactly the same philosophy where we’re sitting down with those owners and we’re asking them ‘what keeps you awake at night?’ And the answer is [always] increased regulation and having those relationships with insurers. They’re the two key drivers for them in thinking about who to partner with going forward.

“When we say, ‘well, you’ll keep your name’. That name that’s been part of your business for however long [you’ve been operating] will be retained, and you’ll become part of The Needham Group, and we’ll sort out all your compliance and we’ll give you access to some more markets, and higher-level access to some of the markets you’re already dealing with – well, that’s what they want, so they like that approach.”

Looking to Needham’s future, Lowe highlighted that M&A is only part of its growth strategy and one that has to work in tandem with continued organic growth as the business aims to hit a turnover target of £20-plus million GWP by 2025.

“So, the plan for 2023 is to keep speaking with more business owners, explaining our offering and seeing if it is of interest to them and the businesses,” he said. “I expect to have a lot of conversations next year with business owners promoting The Needham Group. I know some of them will love what we are proposing, and it will be suitable for us to take those discussions further. I’ve already had some conversations that may come to something, they may not, but we just need to keep talking to people.”

What are some of the key pain points you are seeing impact insurance brokers considering selling their businesses? Feel free to comment on your findings below.

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DAC Beachcroft partner Toby Vallance (pictured) has been elected as London FOIL president for 2023.

“Toby is a long-time member of London FOIL’s executive committee and knows the London Market inside out – he is perfectly qualified to take the helm and lead the organisation during these uncertain times of financial turmoil across the globe,” said Forum of Insurance Lawyers chief executive Laurence Besemer.

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Peloso is an expert in environmental and global climate issues, and has authored numerous studies and reports on sustainability and climate risk. She holds a PhD in environment from Duke University and a law degree from Stanford University. She is a board member of the Environmental Law Institute and a past board member of the Surfrider Foundation. She is a former member of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Council.

“I am delighted to welcome Maggie to Chubb,” said Evan G. Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Chubb. “She has worked closely with us as outside counsel and demonstrated her leadership and expertise on a wide range of climate issues. As an insurer, our business is to provide protection to our insureds and offer them resilience against the threat of a changing climate through our products and services.

“We encourage and actively support societies’ efforts to transition to net-zero while supporting in a responsible way the need for energy security. Maggie’s experience and deep insight on climate issues will advance Chubb’s leading role in meeting the challenges of climate change to the benefit of our clients and society.”

“Chubb is engaged in research and advocacy on climate issues, both internally and externally, through industry institutions and international organisations,” said Joseph Wayland, executive vice president and general counsel for Chubb Group. “Maggie’s expertise and perspective will be critical as we further deepen our understanding of how underwriting policies can facilitate the reduction of [greenhouse gas] emissions, and as we continue to work actively to advance our industry’s expertise in climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

As executive director of the Chubb Charitable Foundation, Peloso will lead the foundation in expanding its reach and further its mission to support projects that solve problems in measurable and sustainable ways.

Have something to say about this story? Sound off in the comments below.

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“But that can only be truly effective when there’s a good deal of predictability about the market and how it’s performing,” he said. “What we’ve got at the moment is a situation where that future predictability is super challenging and it is not an issue specific just to the insurance industry. You’ve got both the direct and indirect impacts of inflation so it is pretty much a perfect storm of internal and external pressures.”

Insurers at the heart of weathering the financial storms buffeting consumers

As a protection industry first and foremost, insurance companies are very much at the centre of that storm and are having to navigate their way to safer shores for themselves as well as the consumers and businesses they protect. Coupland highlighted that the current inflationary environment is impacting the attitudes of insurers when it comes to pricing

Pricing is front and centre because if it takes insurers too long to make a pricing or underwriting adjustment, where historically they may have been able to limp through that inefficiency, now it’s going to hit them very hard.

“Insurers are having to start making some very specific decisions about how they drive those inefficiencies out and drive efficiencies into their organisations, so that when they see a change in the market, they can do something about it, quickly,” he said. “And this subject goes so deep because you’re looking at both the existing and the future-facing impact of inflation [simultaneously].”

Between claims costs escalating, rising energy bills and the spiking cost-of-living crisis – the question on the minds of everyone is ‘where’ and, perhaps more crucially, ‘when’ does this end? And while there are forecasts, he said, it’s an onion effect with each layer being peeled back to reveal another concern – as seen by the compound effect of the cost-of-living crisis on employee wages at the same time as supply chain concerns continue to burgeon.

What’s critical to bear in mind, Coupland said, is that the impact of these underlying financial conditions is not linear as rising inflation is not the only factor impacting premium changes amid changing consumer demands and regulatory frameworks. That’s why it is so important that insurers look to agile and fast-moving pricing systems able to keep pace with these changes.

What challenges is inflation creating for insurers?

“[This environment] is creating challenges for the insurers in terms of how efficient they are, how quickly they can respond, and how quickly they can affect changes in pricing and monitor how effective those changes are,” he said. “And in empowering them to be tactical and strategic, to driving inefficiency out and efficiency in, and enacting wholesale changes to their processes is where, I think, Earnix is beautifully positioned to help these insurers.”

It’s important not just to look at the current environment in terms of its challenges, Coupland said, as with these changing market conditions comes new opportunities for insurers to step back and re-evaluate the underlying product design of insurance. For example, the changes in how people live and work over the last few years, combined with the rise in insurance costs, and the increasing inflationary environment are likely to create additional interest and demand for more innovative insurance solutions such as usage-based and telematics.

How can insurers get ahead of these challenges?

The answer for insurance companies is to be ready and willing to embrace the changes required within their own pricing and underwriting systems to facilitate these changing market conditions – both the challenges and the opportunities. Looking across the market, Coupland highlighted that many insurers now recognise that need and, rather than insisting on extensive transformation projects, they’re increasingly understanding the power of tackling pressing pain points head-on – and are looking to composable, configurable solutions as the answer to doing so.

“It’s a real mindset shift,” he said. “They’re taking a different approach to how they execute on these changes… because when you need to respond to a fast-moving marketplace, you’ve got to be more agile. Whereas historically, the view was, ‘we need to go this way’, that view is being challenged because the industry is seeing evidence of how [utilising] composable, agile solutions can get them where they need to be much more quickly.

“I also think the credibility and trust of seeing how these organisations – and some of them are leading, cutting-edge insurers – have actually implemented these system changes, like with Earnix, and are seeing that value and that benefit and are talking about it and sharing it within their communities and their peer groups, that just adds to the confidence. Fundamentally, there’s a real recognition that there is a better way of getting things done.”

How are you seeing the link between augmented pricing systems and battling inflation evolve? Leave a comment below.

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The deal brings an additional £25 million, 41 staff and over 2,000 clients to the Jensten Group. It’s also the second sector-focused broker acquisition for Jensten in the last seven days, after the group’s deal with specialist motor trade broker Bellegrove. Group CEO Allistair Hardie said then that “further announcements” were to follow soon.

Surrey-based Basil Fry provides insurance to the UK’s removals, storage, and self-storage sectors, including several associated industry organisations. Managing director Greg Wildman will continue to lead the business, reporting to Jensten’s retail managing director Rob Organ. Established 50 years ago, Basil Fry now looks to grow further in the UK and Europe.

“After significant sustained growth for many years, we needed to find a powerful partner to develop our service offering both in the UK and in Europe,” said Wildman. “We are very excited about the opportunities that Jensten will provide to us.”

Focus on people and culture

Wildman cited Jensten’s focus on Basil Fry’s clients and staff as the reason for the partnership. “We had various opportunities to consider elsewhere but it was clear that our shared ethos would make this transition a success,” he continued in a statement.

“Basil Fry is the market leader in its chosen sectors and another top-quality brokerage that has chosen Jensten as its acquisition partner. I look forward to welcoming a further 41 talented colleagues to the Jensten family,” said Hardie. “Jensten’s ability to continually attract established, entrepreneurial brokers stands testimony to its culture – putting people and clients first.”

The Jensten Group is comprised of three insurance distribution businesses: Jensten Insurance Brokers, the Coversure Franchise network, and Jensten’s wholesale division, which consists of Jensten Underwriting and Jensten London Market. Since it launched in 2018, it has now grown to place more than £400 million in the market.

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This is according to information supplied to Insurance Business as part of a Freedom of Information request response.

Number of firms contacted	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug (as of 25/8)
Proactively (no specific evidence of non-compliance)	27	4	5	0	0	0	0	0
In response to evidence of potential non-compliance	3	4	7	7	1	2	0	1
In relation to the GIPP attestation	0	0	0	15	81	511	473	10
Total	30	8	12	22	82	513	473	11

Source: Insurance Business, FCA FOI data

GIPP rules came into force in January of this year, as the regulator sought to stamp out a practice known as ‘price walking’ or ‘dual pricing’, through which loyal consumers were quoted more at renewal than they would have been as a new business customer.

As of August 25, the regulator had contacted firms 1,151 times in total regarding compliance with the regulations, with the bulk of this relating to GIPP attestations (1,090 instances) where firms had failed to respond and the remaining 36 firms having been contacted despite no evidence of non-compliance.

Of the firms that had responded to the FCA’s queries on GIPP attestation, all that had responded by August had either said they were compliant or that the rules did not apply to them, the regulator said.

Insurers fare better than brokers on GIPP compliance

The FCA published the results of an analysis of a sample of 18 insurers and 48 brokers that had supplied GIPP attestations in December, and while it found that larger firms – said to be mainly insurers – were “generally able” to attest compliance, smaller firms had “few or no” records to show.

Some firms supplied “limited information” or a statement claiming that they had not treated renewing and new customers differently prior to rules being in place, although no evidence was supplied to support this in most cases, the regulator said.

The FCA found some areas for improvement, with four of the 48 sample brokers having failed to make clear whether a person attesting was a senior management function holder.

Just 11 of 66 firms initially supplied records that “met our expectations”, the FCA said in the December 2 update. However, following meetings with a sample 15 firms, the regulator said it was “generally able to gain sufficient assurance” that appropriate evidence and records existed.

Many firms often omitted key evidence in attestations, while in some cases internal audits were relied on as the “main if not only” source of compliance evidence, and in some cases the regulator said governance and policy documents had not been updated.

More than a third of the businesses failed to “adequately” provide evidence on governance and controls, and procedure documents, the regulator said.

“This increases the risk that firms may systematically discriminate against home and motor insurance customers resulting in harm to consumers,” the FCA said in its report.

No enforcement action had been taken against insurers or intermediaries for GIPP breaches as of August 25, 2022, according to the FCA FOI response.

Tackling the “loyalty penalty”

Citizens Advice brought attention to the price walking issue in a 2018 super complaint, after it found that loyal customers were paying a £3.6 billion penalty across the home insurance, mobile, broadband, mortgages and savings markets.

Over the past 12 months, in which GIPP rules came into force, home and motor insurance pricing has “increased at the competitive end of the market” by 4.1% and 12.8% respectively, according to Consumer Intelligence.

The changes have also led to a “proliferation” of PCW product offerings, according to Consumer Intelligence CEO Ian Hughes.

“Some of these [new PCW] offerings are brand new to market and some are mutations of previous offerings,” Hughes said. 

“The critical question for all these products is whether they are designed to deliver good outcomes for customers.”

Brand stacking, wherein a PCW user may see multiple products from the same insurer in their top search results, is one tactic that has boomed since GIPP changes.

Engineered well, brand stacking could offer more consumer choice, though done badly it could be “confusing”, with a Consumer Intelligence representative having previously said that the regulator could be keeping an eye on the practice.

Given the recency of changes and responses, “conversation and understanding is critical for all parties [including insurers, PCWs, and the FCA] if they are going to deliver the outcomes for consumers”, Hughes said.

“We welcome anything that helps to give the market better understanding and a level playing field that increases trust and confidence from consumers. That must be the right thing in the long term.”

In August, four years on from its super complaint, Citizens Advice said that one-in-seven people continued to face a loyalty penalty of £1.2 billion in total across the mortgage, broadband and mobile markets.

How well are insurance businesses, PCWs and the regulator performing on pricing practices rules? Share your thoughts below.

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