Insurance news

Read more: The Insurance Octopus appoints long-time executive to top role

When she left university, Bush moved straight into a graduate position at a media company before moving onto a different media firm. After taking a bit of time away from the “hamster wheel” of work to travel, she was looking for her next move when she joined ‘The Business Octopus’ – as the firm was known back then.

“They were brand new and looking for employees to generate leads for insurance companies,” she said. “So, I went for an interview and started pretty much the next day, and I got to know the owners very well as they had only started the business a couple of weeks previously. I just got my hands dirty with everything, as you do with a small business.

“And because I had a bit of work experience, I turned my hands to whatever needed to happen and that was how I grew up with the business and learnt about different areas for growth – [including questioning], ‘well, we sell insurance leads, what if we just became an insurance broker?’ I grew up with the business and have stayed ever since.”

Coming from a background other than insurance has lent Bush a unique perspective on what it takes to run a brokerage, and it means she is not restrained by a sense of the way things have always been done. As such, she said, she encourages her team to always look outside the box to discover new solutions because there’s no reason for the industry to remain static. From conversations with insurers and other brokers alike, she has seen that everybody wants to move the insurance industry onto the next level of digitisation and modernisation, and the more people that want to do that, the sooner it will happen.

Taking on the most senior role at an insurance brokerage during a COVID was not without its challenges, she said, but that’s where that innovative, customer-focused piece came into play again. Being at the forefront of change and making sure the ball was never dropped when it came to customer service and employee wellbeing has been and remains a priority for Bush and her team, and anything over and above that has been a bonus.

“And we did manage to succeed, we worked very successfully from home,” she said. “When people wanted to come back in the office, they did come back into the office. When they wanted to work from home, they worked from home. And we still have in place a [flourishing] hybrid working environment, which works really well for us. And, as much as you can say it during COVID, we have had a really successful year – and success for me is about looking after our colleagues and looking after our customers.”

Key plans for the year ahead revolve around the same considerations, Bush said. She wants to take The Insurance Octopus to the next level in terms of growth, continuing its journey as a well-established broker with the right product offering – and kicking that into the next gear. The firm’s acquisition by Verastar Group in 2016 is an affirmation of that ambition and Bush noted that to be the insurance leg of Verastar’s offering as a multi-service provider is a great opportunity of which she and the team are very proud.

Underpinning all operational and strategic growth remains a focus on how the firm and its senior management team can continue to professionally develop their colleagues, she said, as that is integral to long-term success. Making sure that people are happy and engaged at work is a significant part of what holds her interest and keeps her looking for the next challenge.

“We have a great team here,” she said. “The management team that is working with me is phenomenal, and we all have the similar vein of really caring about our people, and making sure that everyone has the support they need – and everybody did need support during COVID… As a team, we’ve navigated some very tough waters and I’m really proud of all of them.”

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The Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) has today elected Stuart Hardy (pictured), partner at BLM Law as its new president, as it looks ahead to a year of recovery after COVID-related business interruption and the other issues impacting the insurance ecosystem. Meanwhile, Nicola Critchley, partner at DWF Law, has been selected to become vice-president of FOIL and will work closely with Hardy throughout the year.

Hardy has almost 25 years of experience in motor, EL and PL litigation, focusing on serious and complex injuries and involving claims of a technical nature and cross-jurisdictional issues. He succeeds Jennette Newman of Clyde and Co., whose tenure saw her take on a range of challenges – including the Supreme Court’s judgment on business interruption, and the launch of the OIC small claims portal.

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Operating income in the quarter, meanwhile, stood at US$31.7 million. The corresponding figure a year ago was an operating loss worth US$10 million.

In the nine months ended September 30, Argo enjoyed US$114.1 million in net income attributable to common shareholders. Last year, the insurer was hit with a net loss attributable to common shareholders of US$55.2 million.

Also, operating income in the first nine months reached US$103.4 million – an improvement, as well, from the US$1.1 million operating loss incurred previously.

“Argo continues to pursue profitable growth, improve underwriting margins, reduce volatility, and maintain disciplined expense management,” said chief executive Kevin J. Rehnberg, whose team announced a revamped management structure in August. “The successful implementation of our strategy is evidenced in our financial performance.

“As we continue to optimise our business mix, the underlying strength of our core lines of business is more clear. We are particularly pleased that our efforts to reduce property catastrophe exposure have led to a significant improvement in our results, against the backdrop of the elevated catastrophe losses the insurance industry experienced this quarter.”       

Argo’s total catastrophe losses in Q3 were US$27.3 million, a significant decrease from last year’s US$71.2 million.

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Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction will bring Marco’s headcount to more than 300 insurance specialists, over 250 of which are from CCIS in London and Cheltenham. CCIS provides outsourced business processes in areas such as underwriting support, claims management, and client finance.

CMA, meanwhile, has been described as one of only two independent turnkey providers at Lloyd’s, catering to both live and run-off syndicates. Its expertise spans business planning support, underwriting, actuarial and reserving, and regulatory compliance.

It was noted that the 2020 profit before tax for the businesses stood at £5 million.

“This is the seventh exit we have announced in the past 12 months,” said Capita chief executive Jon Lewis, whose camp is targeting £700 million of non-core disposals proceeds by June of next year. “I am really pleased with this progress.

“Today (November 02) is another step towards a more focussed and sustainable business for the long term. Further progress on disposals will be announced as and when appropriate.”

Marco, meanwhile, considers its latest swoop transformational.

“I am delighted to announce the acquisitions of CCIS and CMA,” commented Marco CEO Simon Minshall. “These two long-established businesses have tremendous growth potential in their core markets, and Marco Capital will provide financial and other support to achieve this potential.

“While these businesses will operate on a standalone basis independently of Marco’s core legacy business, they will substantially increase Marco’s operational capabilities as Marco will become a client of both companies – starting with CMA which has been appointed as managing agent for Marco’s new syndicate to be established at Lloyd’s and later contracting with CCIS for technical support services.”

Headquartered in Malta, Marco provides reinsurance and finality solutions to (re)insurance carriers. It is supported by €500 million initial committed equity capital.

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International insurer Assicurazioni Generali has announced that it has launched a voluntary tender offer on all the shares of Italian insurer Società Cattolica di Assicurazione SPA.

As a result of the shares tendered to thae offer, Generali will hold a stake exceeding 66.67% of the share capital of the issuer with voting rights.

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“Sixty years in business is a remarkable achievement and is testament to the dedicated work of our staff and long-standing relationships that have been fostered and nurtured for more than half a century,” said Lycetts chief executive Charles Foster.

Foster added that while the company is proud of the way it has adapted to the times, Lycetts is “equally proud” of its heritage.

“Maintaining high standards of personal service, creating innovative products, and employing staff who can readily empathise with clients sits at the core of our business and these fundamental values have ensured Lycetts’ sustained success and close client relationships through several generations.”

To mark its 60th anniversary, Lycetts will be giving away a pair of diamond earrings in a special free prize draw. The winner of this contest will be announced in November. The broker has also commissioned a short film, and will be launching a new charity of the month initiative.

For the charity of the month initiative, Lycetts will support charity causes nominated by its staff. Charities that have been nominated include the Percy Hedley Foundation, CHUMS, Racing Welfare, The Woodhorn Charitable Trust, RSABI, Coats for Kids, The Country Food Trust and Learning for Life.

“Giving back is at the heart of Lycetts’ culture and ethos and we are committed to supporting the charitable causes that are important to both our staff and our clients,” said Foster, who added that all of Lycetts’ available profits go to the Allchurches Trust Limited, which invests the money back into the community.

The Allchurches Trust Limited has invested more than £50 million to projects across the UK over the past five years, the chief executive highlighted.

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Bermuda-headquartered insurers Arch Capital Group and Everest Re Group have announced their third quarter results – one of them reporting a loss while the other sees a dip in earnings.

First off, Arch’s net income available to common shareholders fell from US$408.6 million in Q3 last year to US$388.8 million this time around. Available after-tax operating income (or excluding the results of Watford Holdings), meanwhile, grew from 2020’s US$120.3 million to US$294.7 million in the quarter ended September 30.      

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AXIS Capital Holdings has announced its financial results for the third quarter. The company reported net income available to common shareholders of $47 million (approx. £34.12 million), or $0.56 per diluted common share. That’s compared to a net loss of $73 million, or $0.87 per diluted common share, for the third quarter of 2020.

Net income available to common shareholders for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was $391 million, or $4.59 per diluted common share, compared to a net loss of $146 million, or $1.73 per diluted common share, for the same period last year.

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The ‘Forum’, Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited’s (Fidelis) new state-of-the-art trading floor, is now open at 37-39 Lime Street in London.

“The opening of our new trading floor highlights our absolute commitment to providing the face-to-face service and decision-making that our brokers and clients demand and deserve,” said Richard Coulson, the group’s insurance chief executive and Fidelis Underwriting Limited chief underwriting officer.

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In a statement, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) said it welcomed “the fact that [the chancellor] is leaving the rate of the IPT untouched.”

“This is some comfort to insurance customers already facing premium increases for a variety of external reasons,” the association said. “However, tax remains a significant proportion of the cost of being responsible and we hope future spending reviews will recognise the road safety benefits of greater use of telematics-based policies by removing premium tax on these to increase their uptake.”

BIBA added that removing or reducing IPT on cyber insurance policies would help “improve uptake and broaden resilience,” given that only 6% of UK businesses have a specific cyber insurance policy in place, citing the government’s latest cyber security breaches survey.

The Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII) also expressed relief that Sunak did not raise the IPT rate but pledged that the group would continue to lobby for lower-rated healthcare products.

“We will continue to lobby hard that healthcare costs should be zero-rated for IPT purposes in line with other protection and general products, as they make an equally valuable contribution to the health of the nation and the UK economy,” said Dave Middleton, executive chairman of AMII.

Read more: What did Budget 2020 bring for the insurance industry?

Here is a summary of some of the key points in Sunak’s speech and what key insurance industry players are saying:

Taxation and universal credit

Sunak announced that the universal credit taper rate would be slashed from 63% to 55% no later than December 01, allowing claimants to keep more of the payment. The government would also increase work allowances in universal credit for low-income households by £500 a year.

Group Risk Development (GRiD), the industry body for the group risk sector, welcomed this development, saying this meant “not only that ‘work pays’ but also that group income protection pays for those whose employers provide a continued income in the event that they’re unable to work for a prolonged period through illness, injury, or disability.”

Housing

The government has earmarked £24 billion for housing, including £11.5 billion for up to 180,000 affordable homes, with brownfield sites targeted for development. A 4% levy will also be placed on property developers with profits over £25 million to help create a £5 billion fund to remove unsafe cladding.

“We welcome the government’s multi-year housing settlement, including its commitment to building new homes by regenerating brownfield sites across the UK,” said Claudio Gienal, chief executive officer of AXA UK and Ireland. “As we enter a new and exciting phase of building, which will include more focus on sustainability and greater use of modern methods of construction, it is imperative that the planning system and building regulations are redesigned to place safety and resilience of UK housing front and centre.”

Gienal added that failure to do so “risks repeating the mistakes of the post-war era.”

“[These include] building homes and infrastructure unfit for future generations, which must be pulled down or adapted decades later,” he said. “[Regulations] should include putting in place a legal duty for all developers to consider the insurability of buildings at all stages of the planning process.”

Read more: Threat of shouldering cladding costs haunts residents after Grenfell

Public services recovery

The government plans to spend more than £8 billion for a major catch-up programme that will help the National Health Service (NHS) provide elective care that was delayed due to the pandemic. This will be supported by a £5.9 billion capital investment, allowing the NHS to tackle the backlog of non-emergency procedures and modernise digital technology.

Middleton said he was delighted to see the chancellor “injecting much-needed resources into tackling record-breaking NHS waiting lists” but admitted more could have been done to incentivise the NHS and private healthcare sector.

“The measures he has announced are unlikely to solve the unprecedented issues facing the health service and, while subsidised private health insurance would, without doubt, reduce the burden on the NHS, it is a real shame that there seems to be no appetite within government to consider this,” he said.

Flood maintenance

To reduce the likelihood and impact of flooding, the government has reaffirmed doubling

of investments in the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) programme. The £5.2 billion investment is meant to better protect 336,000 properties across England from flooding. The government will also invest an additional £27 million to support flooding incident and emergency response activities and an additional £22 million each year for the maintenance of flood defences.

“We were delighted to see that government is committed to an additional £22 million each year for the maintenance of flood defences,” BIBA said. “We were also pleased to see that government is commissioning a new National Infrastructure Commission study, on the effective management of surface water flooding in England which will also consider the role of a range of interventions, including both traditional built infrastructure and nature-based solutions. We hope to work closely with government to help introduce more general and property specific resilience measures.”

Read more: Flood Re submits plan to reshape the flood insurance market

Skills

The government plans to raise government spending on skills and training by 42%, or around £3.8 billion. Sunak also confirmed the future launch of a UK-wide numeracy programme that will help 500,000 adults improve their numeracy skills.

“We welcome the government’s commitment to skills provisions and education funding as part of levelling-up opportunities across the country,” Genial said. “However, the government must go further and faster in identifying and solving the specific skills shortages the UK faces.

“Achieving the government’s objectives on key policy areas such as net-zero, housing, and the future of transport relies on rapidly developing a versatile workforce with the right skills. The government should create and implement comprehensive skills strategies in each of these areas to ensure there is the expert capacity necessary to deliver real progress in the years ahead.”

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