Insurance news

The call for entries for Insurance Business UK’s Elite Women 2022 is underway. This showcase brings together top-performing women leaders who have achieved remarkable success in the business.

Readers and colleagues are invited and encouraged to nominate a deserving woman for recognition via this online form. Entry is open to all women in the UK insurance industry. Nominations from or on behalf of women from diverse backgrounds are particularly encouraged.

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Willis Towers Watson has announced that Arch Insurance International has committed to align capacity with, and Fidelis Insurance has endorsed, Climate Transition Pathways (CTP), an accreditation framework that provides insurance companies and financial institutions with a consistent approach to identifying businesses with low-carbon transition plans. The announcement comes on the heels of news that Liberty Specialty Markets and SCOR had become the first group of insurers to support CTP.

CTP is designed to help organisations wishing to make the low-carbon transition by achieving accreditation. The CTP framework is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Science Based Target initiative and the EU Sustainable finance taxonomy, Willis Towers Watson said. The announcement that Arch and Fidelis are supporting CTP demonstrates wider industry support for the model, ensuring that companies will have the opportunity to access insurance capacity to support their transition and help them meet their low-carbon commitments.

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“Where harm occurs, it is often because principals do not undertake adequate due diligence before appointing an AR, and from poor ongoing control and oversight. We consider there is now significant evidence of harm requiring regulatory intervention.”

The FCA’s proposals include requiring principals to provide not only additional but more timely information on their ARs and how they are overseen, as well as clarifying and strengthening both the responsibilities and expectations of principals.

The regulator, which is also seeking views on other potential areas of policy change, has collaborated with HM Treasury on the latter’s call for evidence on how market participants use the AR regime and how effectively it works in practice. The call for evidence also spans possible reforms.

Commenting on the watchdog’s consultation, Movo managing director Lea Cheesbrough said in a statement sent to Insurance Business: “The FCA review is welcomed and is wholly refreshing as the onboarding process has no guidance currently from the FCA. Working with the FCA to address the issue and to have a set of principles in place will be a step to ensuring all customers are treated fairly.

“The issue isn’t just the onboarding, but the level of access deemed appropriate by the principal; by not giving the AR full access to all products, the customer could actually, on many occasions, not be treated fairly as a result. Some principals have certain deals with insurers, but this means placement isn’t always made in the way the AR deems suitable.”

Cheesbrough stressed that it is the AR that holds “that important customer relationship” and would, therefore, be reliant on the principal fully understanding clients’ demands and needs.

“This is why in the Movo network model we allow ARs to deal directly with insurers and we oversee and govern the advice,” she added. “The business is placed in the best market for the client and not for the principal.”

Movo, which from March next year will no longer be part of the Hedron broker network, has 52 AR broker members. In 2022, it expects to raise that number to 75.

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There will soon be a new face at the helm of Marsh’s international placement business, Marsh Bowring.

The company has today announced the appointment of Justine Mayhew (pictured) as CEO UK & Ireland, effective January 01. She will be based in London and will report to global CEO Tom Davies.

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Some 38 years later, Spurway has carved himself a remarkable career, which has seen him take on a range of roles at some of the world’s leading insurance brokers. It has been an incredible journey, he said, particularly when he looks back on where it all began and what it was like to start his career at a point in time where computers and fax machines were really only just being made available.

With almost four decades of experience to his name, Spurway is delighted to be in a position where he can lend his experience, his expertise and his unique perspective on the insurance market to those around him. It helps to have that experience, especially when the wider market is facing such a difficult time – with COVID changing the way people work, clients facing difficulties within their own businesses, and the hard market to contend with.

“One of the reasons that I enjoy being in the industry so much is that every day is a learning day,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in it or whether you’ve seen a hard market before, there’s always something new. But I do think this hard market is different in a number of ways because a lot of the people who are [working through this now] have never experienced one before. Whereas in the past it was an expected cycle that happened every few years, this one is a real example of a perfect storm.

“Being able to pass on knowledge and insight to my colleagues about market conditions is another reason why I love this industry. My mindset is that I’ve been in the business for 38 years, if I can’t pass on that knowledge to others then I’ve wasted all those years. It’s great for me to be able to share my own experiences and my knowledge so the chain carries on because that’s how I learnt – so I’m very keen to help others progress that way as well.”

This passion for sharing industry knowledge is a key part of why Spurway is so delighted to have joined Bridge, as the broking business contains a seamless blend of seasoned professionals and up-and-coming talent. He joined the business five months ago but has known the firm for a long time, having moved to Manchester to work with the nationals in 2003 and quickly becoming familiar with Bridge as a business that boasted a very strong reputation, particularly within the real estate and construction markets.

“They’ve got a fantastic reputation not just in Manchester, but it was here that I got to know them in the first place,” he said. “I was quite taken back by the size of some of the clients they look after because when you’re in business, you have an idea about who your competitors are looking after because they’re on your prospect list. So, it was from a very early start that I had an interest in Bridge and the way they conducted themselves and that came to a head this year when the time was right for us both to get together.”

Read more: Bridge Insurance Brokers announces ‘exciting’ partnership

Bridge celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, Spurway said, and it’s a great experience to be joining the business at such an exciting juncture. The key for the firm right now is maintaining its forward momentum, something Bridge’s team has done remarkably well during the last 18 months. The COVID period has been challenging for everybody, he noted, and supporting staff and making sure everybody was looked after has been front of mind for the business throughout.

Making sure that everyone was working from home rather than anyone being furloughed was key, he said, but beyond those early weeks Bridge has been exploring every means possible to look after the wellbeing of staff in the home working environment. What this has done is give the broker a fantastic core team who now feel closer together than ever because of how everybody has worked as one to succeed during this challenging period.

Read more: Bridge Insurance Brokers brings in three

This has given Bridge a solid foundation on which to keep the business evolving, Spurway said, and he’s excited about what the future holds now that the working environment is shifting once again. Being back in the office is important for professional development and for the personal touch that it brings but the business has not forgotten how well its people worked from home and flexibility will be built into any new working model.

“There’s a real enthusiasm about the times ahead,” he said. “[Bridge] is a great company, we’ve got a great staff and we’re very mindful of that, and we understand our clients’ needs and just want to look after them. As for me, I feel like I’ve been working here for a number of years already – in a very good way. I’ve certainly found my home.”

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In an industry where most leadership roles are still dominated by men, the women in last year’s Elite Women showcase prove that they are changing the status quo.

After receiving hundreds of nominations from insurance professionals around the country, Insurance Business UK recognised 49 inspiring women leaders who have overcome obstacles and broken down barriers to become some of the industry’s top professionals – and the IBUK team believes that 2022 will be no different.

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MS Amlin Corporate Services Limited (MS ACS) has tapped The Hartford’s Matthew Pasterfield (pictured) as chief executive officer of its MS Amlin Business Services (MS ABS) unit.

He will commence his new role in 2022, replacing Rob Houghton who will be leaving at the end of the year to pursue opportunities outside the company.

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Allianz Holdings – the name behind Allianz SE’s principal insurance operations in Great Britain – has ushered in the final month of 2021 with the arrival of new chief executive Colm Holmes (pictured above).

In a video message on his “very exciting” first day (December 01), the Aviva and Zurich alum stated: “I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to all of our customers, our brokers, and our business partners.

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At Guernsey Finance, which operates under the WE ARE GUERNSEY brand, Kitcat will be in charge of expanding the British Crown dependency’s range of financial services activities not only in the City of London but throughout the country.

“I am very excited to become part of the WE ARE GUERNSEY team and look forward to representing the agency in the UK,” said Kitcat, who has over two decades of financial services experience.

“Guernsey is quite clearly a leading financial centre, and I am delighted to be involved in helping to continue building relationships. If people are visiting, please do make contact if there is anything I can do to help.”

The island is the closest global finance centre to London.

Lifting the lid on the appointment, chief executive Rupert Pleasant noted: “We always had plans to fill this role again, but with so much taking place online during the pandemic, it made sense to wait until life was beginning to get back to normal so that we could fully utilise the face-to-face element of business development, so now is the right time.”

Aside from the UK, Guernsey Finance has permanent representatives in Hong Kong and South Africa, as well.

“Jo has great experience in business development across several markets,” added Pleasant, “and we look forward to his contribution sharing the story of Guernsey’s world-class financial services industry, particularly in a key market such as London.”  

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Hynds brings 14 years of insurance industry experience, more than 12 of which were spent at Wesleyan. Gavin, meanwhile, has two decades of know-how from the likes of Pi Property Insurance and Gallagher.

“I had reached the point in my career where I wanted to expand my horizons and become part of an ambitious and growing business,” stated Hynds, who previously provided professional indemnity insurance (PII) support and advice.

“I knew that there is a fantastic support network at JM Glendinning that would allow me to better my career, and I also knew that I could learn a lot from working with Jake Fox. I really love the appetite for growth and development that exists here.”

Fox is the broker’s group managing director and head of professional risks.

The JM Glendinning boss commented: “We are very excited about the huge opportunity that exists in the Midlands, and these two appointments reflect our commitment to growing our business in Birmingham and becoming an insurance broking powerhouse in the city.

“Blake is a specialist in PII and has a great understanding of the market. Equally, Lee has an excellent reputation in the real estate insurance market and his experience and track record will be a huge asset.”

For Gavin, coming onboard not only to progress his career but also help build the business is a “very exciting” prospect. The real estate insurance expert added that he and his direct supervisor, Chris Hitch, share the same values and passion for high levels of client service.

JM Glendinning is headquartered in Guiseley, near Leeds.    

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