Insurance news

“This is my last job, I won’t ever have another job after this,” McManus said. “But this is also the only business that I think I’ve ever been able to influence the culture of. Of course, we started more or less from scratch, so we didn’t have a culture to inherit. In my previous roles, I’d worked in companies that were sometimes 200 or 300 years old and trying to influence their culture or even move it even one degree is kind of impossible no matter how senior you are.

“But in this business, we wanted something really simple to understand – whether you are an 18-year-old apprentice or a 62-year-old manager – to put it simply, we want our culture to be defined by collaboration. And that’s collaboration with purpose for the benefit of our clients.”

Read more: PIB Group swoops for two insurance brokers

That culture is at the root of all the market moves made by PIB – of which there have been many in recent weeks, with January 2022 seeing the business welcome four acquisitions. Touching on this M&A activity, McManus highlighted that PIB does not measure success by comparing itself to its competitors but rather focuses on forging its own path. Right now, he said, the group has a strong pipeline and quite a lot of deals in due diligence, keeping the M&A team very busy.

It’s an exciting time in the market, McManus said, because COVID-19 did hamper deal-making due to travel restrictions but now he and the team are embracing the opportunity to get back out into the wider European market to tell the PIB story and build strong relationships with potential vendors once more. The intermediary group’s recent trio of acquisitions in Ireland reflects the depth and strength of broking opportunities available there. The Irish market is becoming more consolidated but PIB has identified several businesses as solid prospects and is delighted to see the collaboration already emerging between their existing Irish businesses.

Similarly, the group is exploring prospects elsewhere in Europe, as emphasised by its recent acquisition of the Polish firm Brokers Union, as Poland boasts a range of opportunities including a well-educated workforce, a variety of specialist businesses and a good GDP. However, PIB has no intention of limiting its focus to Poland and Ireland, he said, and there will be other EEC countries that the team will be looking to invest in over the upcoming period.

Despite the geographic variety of businesses that pique PIB’s interest, McManus emphasised that there is a clear through-line in the firms it looks to invest in. The intermediary focuses on businesses that have a specialism and are prominent within that specialism, he said, because he has seen that specialist businesses tend to have a closer relationship with their clients, due to the depth of industry insight they can offer them.

“It’s not just about being the lowest price,” he said. “And we also know that when there are more difficult economic times, and we’ve had some recently, that specialist businesses not only retain their clients better than a general business, but they also continue to grow… We’re investing in these businesses with a purpose. That always starts with strategy… And we tend to focus on people that have got a core central focus on a vertical or an industry sector and we will continue to do that.”

In addition to, but also running through PIB’s M&A focus, are three key pillars – people, tech and performance. People are integral to PIB’s success, McManus said, and its entire M&A strategy hinges on having great relationships with vendors to ensure strong collaboration going forward. PIB buys and invests in businesses that are managed by excellent people because they want to empower those same people to continue to successfully run their firms.

Backing up this people focus, PIB is making substantial investments in its learning and development across the wider group for its staff. It’s also currently recruiting about 200 more people to join the team, McManus said, and the larger its team becomes the more critical this L&D investment becomes as well. These initiatives will be centred on people at every level, whether that’s technical training for apprentices, management training for new managers, or MBAs for senior people.

“Becoming a big business doesn’t need to be complicated,” he said. “I think we can keep it fairly simple. The critical thing for us is that we keep our people. If we keep our people, we keep our clients, we keep the revenue, and then we can grow. There’s always going to be some turnover but if too many people leave, then that makes it difficult to service your clients and it makes it difficult to retain your revenues and it makes it impossible to grow. People are a critical part of this business, we don’t have a lot of big, silver machines that do all the work. It’s the people that do it and it’s the people who build relationships with clients.”

Supporting those same people is PIB’s continuous investment in its tech platforms and that capital expenditure isn’t slowing down, he said, as the group continues to invest significantly in these systems. People and tech will continue to be key areas of emphasis for the business going forward, as it’s not looking to change its strategy of investing in specialist commercial-lines driven businesses.

Read more: PIB Group welcomes first deal of 2022

“We’ve got a long way to go in Europe,” he said. “I think we’ve got another four or five years before we’re where we want to be there but once we’ve got good traction in Europe, we’ll also start to look at other geographies. We’re looking at Asia, we’re looking at the US and Canada as well and we’re thinking about the long-term future for this business.”

From McManus’s perspective, PIB is now in the position of coming out of its teenage phase, the business is growing up and everything is starting to come together very well. That’s not to say that there are not certain elements the group would like to do better, he said, and he knows they’re not getting everything 100% right yet. Key areas for improvement will include continued investment in technology and upgrading infrastructure but, overall, the business is now very well-placed to be considering its long-term future.

“And that long-term future is that PIB will remain privately financed,” he said. “Of course, we’ll need to refinance our business from time to time, we’ll bring in new investors from time to time. But it’s never our intention to say sell this business to one of the alphabet brokers, as some of our competitors have done. We won’t do that. And I always describe PIB as being a destination business – whether you come here to work or whether we invest in your business, we won’t then sell you on to somebody else again. You’ll remain PIB.

“That’s a very important part of our proposition and you can only do that if you’re really successful and you continue to give your investors a great return as then they want to keep on investing more and more. So, our performance is the third leg of that [strategic] stool. It’s learning and development, it’s technology but it’s also making sure we’re performing really well, as giving our investors a great return is an important part of making sure that our future remains in our own hands.”

Source

“They have not increased the rate, that rate has stayed the same,” he said, “But the receipts are an enormous amount at £6.3 billion in the last 12 months. We feel that this is affecting the take up of insurance at 12%. And our main board would like us to call for the government to reduce the headline rates of IPT in the next budget. Now, I know that’s not an easy ask and we will be coming up with costings for that, and a full argument in due course, but it’s something we’re going to put our stall out about.”

In its Manifesto, BIBA highlighted that IPT is “a regressive tax that acts as a disincentive to buying adequate insurance” and the IPT receipts collected in the last 12 months stand at a near-record level despite the pandemic and the resultant shock to the economy. BIBA’s call for action to the government is to reduce the rate of IPT to 10% in the next budget.

Zeroing in on the changes the association would like to see implemented, Trudgill highlighted the targeted relief it wants to see from IPT as well. BIBA is calling on the government to grant IPT relief in several key areas – property insurance for high rise residential buildings with cladding that requires remediation, telematics led motor insurance policies, cyber insurance and travel insurance.

“Take cladded buildings. If you think that a big, cladded building is paying half a million pounds in premium, £60,000 of that goes to the government for doing nothing,” he said. “We’ve been speaking to DLUHC about that, how we don’t think that’s fair, how they should have a carve-out in these incredibly difficult times when they’ve seen an 800% increase in their premiums. So, we think that’s a strong argument.”

Meanwhile, the telematics argument continues to be absolutely valid, he said, as young drivers that use telematics are far less likely to have a claim. This has been highlighted by additional evidence from BIBA member Adrian Flux which has demonstrated the benefits telematics can bring by offering discounts for people that moderate their speed and the clear correlation between that and significant improvement in road safety.

Read next: COVID interventions – BIBA on their critical role

BIBA’s call for action around telematics is, “for government to publish the results of their research into young driver telematics and to incentivise more young drivers to buy telematics policies by granting an IPT exemption on these policies.”

Looking at how IPT relief would impact cyber insurance, BIBA highlighted that only 6% of all firms, and 4% of micro-firms, buy dedicated cyber insurance. The association believes that an IPT break would help the uptake of cyber insurance, Trudgill said, as it’s the number one risk facing firms. It is therefore calling on the government to make cyber insurance more affordable for sectors with limited resources, like SMEs, by making dedicated cyber policies exempt from IPT.

“On travel insurance, they are still paying the 20% rate because of an ancient issue about value swapping, which disappeared with regulation many years ago,” he said. “Let’s bring travel down to 12% because the travel sector has had the worst time. It really does need some support and it’s the right time to do that.”

BIBA’s call for IPT action relating to the travel insurance market requested the government “to simplify IPT and reduce the rate on travel policies to the rate applicable to other classes of general insurance to encourage uptake and lessen the burden on Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office consulates.”

Source

Having served the insurance market for over three decades – in a range of senior roles that saw him lead Zurich UK’s P&C business and the UK and international operations of RSA – Lewis has amassed significant insight into the machinations of the insurance industry, both in the UK and globally. Joining Pro represented an opportunity to tie the weight of all his experiences together and apply that in an advisory setting to the industry he knows so well.

Earlier in January, Pro announced a re-positioning from its role as a trusted provider to a wider, more holistic trusted advisor role, and Lewis emphasised the value that seeing the industry from a slightly different perspective brings to such positioning. For, at the core of his own professional evolution and the work being done by Pro is an emphasis on the critical function that strategic partnerships play in the long-term success of a business.

Read more: Pen Underwriting extends 20-year strategic partnership with QBE

“A personal belief of mine is that focus is one of the critical ingredients to business success,” he said.  “I think that’s a reflection also that the world is a complex place and is changing at pace. The pacesetter of the last 10, 20, even 30 years has been technology and that’s technology that is amplified with data analytics and the advances in AI and associated deep learning aspects that technology brings.

“It’s about recognising, therefore, that it’s highly unlikely any business can be good at everything so that ‘focus’ point is about a business identifying where its core competencies lie and what allows it to do something differentiating and compete effectively. [The question then] is how to partner with the other capabilities that are still important for entire business delivery, in a way that helps the business amplify its competencies.”

Pro’s modus operandi is that “focus fuels success”, Lewis said, and recognising that is of increasing relevance to clients as he believes that the businesses that will survive the upheaval of current market conditions will be those that have identified their core competencies and play to those strengths. For Pro, it’s not a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ and he noted that this messaging around focus is one it takes very seriously as it explores where it needs to partner strategically in order to amplify its client offering.

If you get that strategic partnership piece right, he said, that should be mutually beneficial for your business, your partners and your clients alike. He highlighted an example of this in the way that Pro looks to support its clients. Ultimately, the team’s aim is to help a business transform and respond to the challenges, not just of the market of today but also the market of tomorrow. When the market of tomorrow looks set to be influenced by factors such as technology and data analytics, the pressing need is to produce a holistic, transformative offering built to negotiate changing market conditions. 

“Now you can look at that and either ask whether we should build the necessary transformative technology and analytical capabilities or whether there are other organisations out there for whom that it is their bread and butter, their focus,” he said. “We ask, ‘are we better to marry Pro’s practioner competencies together with a partner’s tech & analytical capabilities to provide that comprehensive transformative offering to our clients?’ And why is that a win-win? Well, it’s a win-win, because quite often one of the failure points of technological transformation is a lack of practitioner-led understanding.”

In the above scenario, what Pro brings to its partners is the ability to assure their implementation, Lewis said. At the same time, what they bring to Pro is the ability to broaden its offering to make it more transformative so Pro can address its clients’ challenges. And what clients receive as a result of that, is a holistic transformative offering, he said.

Read next: Pro Global team reveal the legacy claims insurers should be considering

The value in identifying what you’re good at and finding partnerships to fill in the gaps has been firmly instilled in Lewis by his experiences working across a variety of roles in insurance. Before Pro, he lived his insurance life on the carrier side, operating in large composites that looked to provide insurance coverage on a global basis and across every line of business – from personal lines, to small ticket corporate, to large international programmes.

“And yet, what you often find is, in every one of those dimensions, you face off in the market against a mono-line insurer,” he said. “That mono-line insurer, all they do every single day is get out of bed and worry about that mono-line. And what you’re trying to do as a composite is solve all of that continuously, so you’re making trade-offs. So, are you as sharply focused on what it takes to win?

“There are many examples in our industry that demonstrate that focus gives you an advantage. The classic example is personal lines motors in the UK and Admiral. It’s that focus that has allowed them to ultimately deliver profitability throughout what was a highly challenged market during the last 20 to 25 years. And you can find many of those types of examples in our industry, but it’s not just reflective of our industry, it’s a thematic issue that I think plays out across any sector.”

Source

As part of the deal, the advisory and brokerage services provider will complement and enhance the offering provided by WDB, a Polish brokerage that is part of PIB and plays a key role in its consolidation strategy for the Polish insurance brokerage market.

Brokers Union CEO Filip Rybacki (pictured) said the acquisition is a massive step towards building a competitive brand in the Polish and foreign markets.

“I’m very glad that we are now, together with WDB, part of the PIB Group,” Rybacki added. “I am convinced that the combination of our knowledge and experience will bring both sides many tangible benefits. It is not only an opportunity for business development, but the investment also represents a huge injection of energy and inspiration that will support our daily operations. Most importantly, for our employees, I believe that we are building a great space for their personal and professional development.”

WDB CEO Mariusz Muszyński welcomed Brokers Union to PIB and WDB, noting it represented the group’s growing Polish operation and the opportunity to work together on several synergies.

“Their experience in handling public tenders will be a particularly valuable addition to our combined offering. I look forward to working with Filip, Patrycja, and their fantastic team, whose proximity to us in Wroclaw is a great start to our ambition of building a strong brokerage hub for our region,” Muszyński continued.

The announcement follows PIB’s acquisition of Ireland-based Campion Insurance (Campion) and Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers (Oliver Murphy), following regulatory approval. Earlier this month, the group also announced its fourth retail acquisition in Ireland with the purchase of Alan Tierney & Partners Ltd (Tierneys).

Commenting on the latest acquisition, PIB CEO Brendan McManus said: “This is another exciting moment for PIB Group as we welcome everyone at Brokers Union. Their arrival boosts PIB’s growing international footprint, and their expertise further strengthens our existing capabilities in the territory through our WDB operation. We look forward to investing in the next chapter of success for Brokers Union and their collaboration with WDB for the benefit of their customers and colleagues alike.”

Source

“That’s why we’ve not just got a chapter on it, we’ve also got it running like a torrent through the whole of the BIBA Manifesto,” he said. “We’ve got advisory boards for small brokers, large brokers, network brokers and all sorts of different brokers at BIBA but the small brokers are often the most vocal. So, we absolutely know what their issues are and certainly regulation has been a concern.”

BIBA CEO Steve White (pictured below) highlighted that the first two sections of the chapter dedicated to this consideration look specifically at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and make the point that the weight of regulation is impacting the broking sector’s ability to innovate. This, in turn, is leading to knock-on effects for customers.

The increasing weight of FCA regulation is the number one issue for BIBA’s members, he said, and one of BIBA’s frustrations is that there does not appear to be anybody at the regulator’s HQ who is taking a helicopter view of the impact of layer upon layer of regulation. BIBA is calling on both the FCA and Treasury to take a step back and examine that impact because its effect on smaller firms is “stifling”.  

“So, we’re calling on the FCA in this section to think clearly and with some effort about the word ‘proportionality’,” he said. “The bulk of the firms that they regulate are smaller firms and this feels very disproportionate.”

Trudgill stated that members have informed BIBA that it’s taking around nine months to receive approval for a change in management, which is far too long. The FCA needs to help make the market work well by supporting brokers in doing their day job, he said. BIBA’s Manifesto revealed current statistics around general insurance intermediary consolidation – in 2011, there were 5,955 intermediaries in the market compared to 4,352 a decade later.

Read more: BIBA on what’s causing “uproar” among insurance brokers

This increased M&A activity is at least in part because some brokers can simply no longer cope with the cost and weight of regulation and are having to join up with larger firms. Trudgill noted that there is no single answer with regards to how to offset the regulatory burden weighing on brokers but that part of the answer is something that BIBA has been lobbying on for four years.

“If we can get that growth and competitiveness objective for the regulator, that will manage them and contain them a bit,” he said. “They’ve never had that before, they’ve been a bit out of control. Having that containment, and they would have to report every year on that as well – on how they’ve made sure that all the new things they’re doing meet this growth and competitiveness objective -that could be such a help in making sure that the regulation is more proportionate and appropriate for members.

“We’ve been bending John Glen and his team’s ear about that for a long time. He knows what we want. And it’s such a big deal for us to get that specified in the latest Treasury regulatory framework consultation. So, hopefully, we can get that one through over the next year or two.”

The implementation of the FCA’s general insurance pricing practices, which BIBA did a lot of work towards ensuring works for members and insurers alike, is verification that real movement can be made with regards to regulatory processes. But Trudgill emphasised that the sheer weight of regulatory concerns means there is still a lot more to do. For BIBA, these things cannot be seen through a silo and so these challenges are tackled in conjunction with other macro-environmental considerations, such as the public perception of insurance and broadening access to insurance services.

Read more: Chair of BIBA’s Access to Insurance Committee calls brokers to action

The association has its own Access to Insurance Committee now, he said, and also sits on the Disability Insurance Champions Access Committee as well and has an outreach programme to charities. This work is not necessarily explicitly outlined by members but rather centres on BIBA’s core philosophy – of representing the sector and promoting the benefit of brokers and how they help consumers.

“There are so many good stories to tell about brokers,” he said, “and we’re trying to help tell those stories.”

Source

Commercial property insurer FM Global has announced that it has appointed Sanjay Chawla, the company’s chief investment officer, as an executive vice president.

Chawla’s promotion reflects the contribution he and his investment team have made to the total financial strength of FM Global, the company said. FM Global’s insurance investment assets have grown to about US$25 billion (about £18.68 billion).

Source

Clarke went on to become the CII’s treasurer between 2003 and 2007 and was appointed president in 2018, with his driving theme being the development of a united profession. For him, he said, the key was to be united around standards and professionalism, as well as the diversity of the activities that insurance professionals are involved with and, perhaps most importantly, the diversity of the customers they serve and their diverse needs.

“During my year as CII president, I travelled the country visiting various local institutes, attending all kinds of interesting and diverse events,” he said, “and witnessing the tremendous work our members do every day to promote the standards and professionalism of our sector. Being out here and meeting members and the customers we serve in their hometowns is a great way to both see the value of what we do and also to learn about what we might do better, or in a more helpful way.”

In his time as president, Clarke said he was continually reminded of how important it is for insurance professionals to also make time to celebrate their successes, be that through exam awards or during the Public Trust Awards, which speak to professionalism in a truly positive way. One of the dangers in taking on a position like CII president is that you’ve been involved for a while, he said, and it is easy to assume you know how things work and what members are looking for. It is those visits to local institutes that keep you grounded and aware of the importance of keeping the CII relevant, he explained.

Exploring that relevancy, Clarke highlighted that 2022 marks 125-years since local institutes came together to form the federation which would evolve into the CII, a professional body worthy of a Royal Charter to raise public trust in the profession. Reflecting on that history, and the impact of the pandemic on the profession and the public the institute serves, he said, he still sees evolution.

“The Federation’s initial aim was to produce technical papers – akin to the good practice guidance issued via the [CII]’s Societies of insurance and personal finance professionals today – and to establish examinations,” he said. “Our first president remarked: ‘The demand of the day is for technical education in every branch of skilled industry. Is, then, instruction in insurance business not to advance with the times?’

“At the start of the 20th century, CII president F.W. Pascoe Rutter noted: ‘Working together, as one united profession, we will drive confidence in the power of professional standards.’ The [CII]’s leadership recognises that we must continue to evolve to meet the needs of insurance and personal finance professionals for relevant learning and a benchmark for professional standards.”

It was this thinking that was behind the launch of the Shaping the future together consultation in 2021, he said, an initiative that encouraged members to share their views on proposals for how the CII will work. The CII will share the findings of the consultation, and how it will help shape the group’s work to ensure it continues to raise trust in the insurance profession, this year.

Read more: Applauding insurance’s New Generation

Clarke noted that Fisher’s announcement last year that she would leave the CII on March 31 was consciously timed to see through the Shaping the Future together consultation process, cover the 2021 financial year-end and ensure her permanent successor would be able to take forward the board’s refreshed strategy and the next five-year plan for the CII.

It was to ensure continuity during 2022, that he been appointed as interim CEO until the permanent CEO is in place, he said, and the recruitment process for a new CEO is well underway and being led by the CII’s chair, Dr Helen Phillips, and the CII board.

“As a past president and CII treasurer between 2003 and 2007,” he said, “I am aware of the wonderful work the institute, along with the local institute, membership society, practitioner panel and regional committee volunteers, do to raise trust in the insurance and personal finance profession. I hope to couple my deep understanding of our organisation with my expertise from working in the insurance profession, links with the personal finance profession and engagement with regulators to bring immediate benefits to the CII as a professional body and to our members.”

His role is to keep the CII looking forward and allow the new CEO, when appointed, to step into the job and develop the strategy to take the CII into the next period. The organisation has had a successful consultation with members, he said, and will want to look at what that means for the institute, and to produce a deliverable plan for the organisation and its members.

Looking to his own points of focus during his tenure as interim CEO, Clarke highlighted that he wants the insurance and personal finance profession to utilise the diversity of its skills to continue to make a positive impact on the financial resilience of society. For many years, he said, his hobby has been sailing – a sport that embodies teamwork. Teamwork is something he has always believed is incredibly important.

“In the way the CII is structured, we have a great opportunity to work together,” he said. “Working together, we can train, teach, mentor, inform and educate each other and, in the process, we can help foster the trust in our profession that we all want to see. A friend’s mother used to say ‘we are all special, we are all unique’. I believe my role is to foster that sense of inclusiveness that allows us to build the team here at CII. But we must respect that our members have individual needs while still being in so many cases part of teams delivering on the wide range of financial services we collectively offer our customers. 

“Professionalism in all we do in financial planning and advice and insurance is a key plank in public trust.”

Source

Don’t miss the chance to be featured in Insurance Business UK’s Fast Brokerages 2022 report. If your brokerage enjoyed a year of increased revenue, headcount growth, and other milestones, this showcase is the right platform for you.

Participation in this annual ranking provides a wealth of opportunity for businesses looking to build their profile in the industry. Winners will be featured on the Insurance Business UK website and gain access to exclusive marketing and promotional opportunities designed to amplify their achievement across multiple channels.

Source

The last 18 months have seen many MGAs negatively impacted by the uncertainty and upheaval of the COVID-19 crisis, with those firms operating in the travel contingency and hospitality insurance markets especially affected. Zeroing in on some of the key problem areas that he is currently seeing impact the industry, Keating highlighted that, first and foremost, all MGAs need to look after their capacity.

“That’s the first principle,” he said. “They are an agent of the insurer, they’re there to underwrite profitably so, therefore, you have to look after your capacity.”

Looking to specific segments of the economy, such as hospitality which has been shut down or limited for the bulk of two years now, clearly indicates where MGAs have displayed agility in that they have been able to shift gears and mitigate challenging market conditions. Some MGAs have been able to pivot, he said, in a bid to service and assist their clients during the lockdowns, and by negotiating with their respective insurers in terms of reduction in coverage or where they’re not operating but still need to recover assets.

Read more: Mike Keating on turning challenges into opportunities for the MGA sector

“MGAs have again been very active and proactive in terms of doing that and in looking after customers in those sectors,” Keating said.“[While, at the same time,] MGAs have been able to pivot and look at other sorts of product opportunities during that lockdown period. Again, the themes I’m sure you recognise are the nimbleness, agility and entrepreneurship of MGAs to quickly respond to customer and client needs. And that is something which is unmatched and unrivalled elsewhere in our profession.”

Find out more: Listen to some of the biggest names across the sector discuss the impact of COVID-19 on MGAs

Source

Among the most unusual payouts Aviva had to make, however, was for a shop owner who claimed that a misguided sheep leapt through his showroom window, shattering it into bits, before disappearing.

The insurer also revealed the 1978 case of a London hotel keeper who suffered a blow to the eye from the cork of a champagne bottle he was opening. The worker successfully claimed £25 and ten shillings, or £20,120 in today’s money.

Read more: Insurance: the weird and wonderful

“As our records show, we’ve seen the strangest and most unusual claims, which goes to show that planning for the unexpected is good business practice,” said Nick Major, managing director of commercial lines at Aviva.

But apart from the strange, the company has also paid out on some of the most infamous and tragic events in the country’s history.

In 1963, Aviva insured some of the banknotes stolen in the Great Train Robbery involving a Royal Mail train going to London. The company paid out £1,091,340 and ten shillings, or equivalent to £59 million today.

Aviva also paid for a fishmonger’s van caught in the siege at the Libyan embassy in London following the fatal shooting of PC Yvonne Fletcher in 1984. The vehicle was parked nearby and could not be moved until the siege ended 11 days later. By that time, the fish the van was carrying had already rotted. 

“Aviva has played an important role helping businesses protect what’s important to them, enabling them to continue to trade through good times and bad, something we have continued to focus on through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Major said.

Source