Insurance news

The battle to determine the future of the mutual insurer LV= has concluded this afternoon, with members voting to block the takeover of the business by US private equity firm Bain Capital. It has been revealed that a significant majority of voting members (69%) voted in favour of the proposed transaction, missing the required threshold of 75%. Therefore, the takeover bid by Bain Capital will no longer proceed.

The breakdown of the votes (which is subject to verification) highlighted a turnout of 174,240 members – representing 15% of LV=‘s 1.16 million members. 119,225 members voted in favour of the proposed acquisition of the LV= business by Bain Capital, representing 10% of all members. 52,561 members voted against the proposals, representing 5% of all members. Meanwhile, 985,760 members did not place a vote.

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Kemple who first joined Close Brothers’ motor finance division in 2017 steadily worked his way to the position of MD in 2020 and he was several months into this role when he was approached by Rebecca McNeil [CEO, Retail] to take over as CEO of the premium finance business. Speaking with McNeil, he said, he got a great sense of where that business stands, where it wants to go next and what it will take to get there – and he was delighted to accept the opportunity.

“Over the last four or five months, we’ve been focusing on a strong colleague-first piece,” he said. “Traditionally there has always been a big focus on broker-first, which I understand 100%, but if we don’t have happy colleagues, we won’t have happy brokers so we’re flipping that into [an ethos of] having happy colleagues first.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work to understand where our people are at, through opinion surveys, pulse surveys etc. as well as understanding where we’re at as a business, what our proposition is, what conversations look like when we go to brokers and what else can we do. So, we’ve been surveying brokers, and have also commissioned some work on competition in the marketplace.”

Receiving this feedback that offers both an internal and external perspective has been tremendously valuable, he said, and brings great affirmation of what the team does particularly well and where it stands in the wider marketplace. This is helping the firm set its core priorities moving forward. Kemple noted that obtaining this kind of quality insight is essential to drive the businesses he leads into the natural next phase of their growth and means implicitly understanding their structure, culture, broker partners and the wider market.

“Because I’ve been in finance, in digital, in print media, in software, in the accountancy sector, in motor finance and now in insurance – I’m used to learning about different and new markets,” he said. “That’s been a really interesting part of [these roles] for me and the motor team have afforded me great support, and with new roles coming that will stabilise even further. That understanding and discovery piece is so important for me as it allows us to prioritise, to understand what sets us apart from our competitors from a performance perspective, as well as from a colleague and culture perspective.”

That kind of clarity allows his wider team to clearly identify main areas of emphasis going forward, he said, as once a set of priorities has been established it makes it easier for a business to rally around them. Kemple noted that he has been delighted by the talent of the team he has seen in premium finance and is looking forward to tapping into the depth of talent that exists within that team to empower it going forward.

In that spirit, a key focus for both the motor finance and premium finance businesses in recent months has been bringing in great new talent to kick his transformation programmes into the next gear.

Read more: Brokers crucial to post-pandemic recovery, says Close Brothers PF

For Kemple, who has held several senior roles in a variety of industries over the last two decades or so, the key to setting strong operational and strategic objectives goes back to that culture and people piece. Seeing an improvement in top-line numbers is brilliant, he said, and a great affirmation of a strong strategy, but having a culture that allows people to know they are an instrumental part of its success story and are empowered to contribute in meaningful ways is the key to long-term achievement.

Seeing your people thriving and enjoying their work is the most rewarding part of being a leader, Kemple said, and he has already seen from his work with the motor finance team how this emphasis can pay dividends. Developing people to the best of their potential may see them move on in time, but that’s what a good manager should support and, having that kind of culture, will in turn draw in the best talent from the rest of the industry.

“We’ve developed an internal strapline ‘together, we are premium’,” he said, “and we’re developing a whole new approach to colleague engagement… And we’re really keen to get back into the office and see people and be with each other, I can’t wait to do that. And I know that the leadership team across Premium are all in the same position.

“[…] That culture piece is something that we’re only really getting started on, it’s incredibly important and aligned to what we’re doing here, around how it feels to be an employee of Close Brothers and how this business puts people first in everything it does. And that’s only going to grow.”

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Property, commercial, and specialty (re)insurer IQUW, whose cover is underwritten by Lloyd’s Syndicate 1856, has recruited Rene Lamer to serve as underwriting and operations managing director of the group’s Bermuda business.

The new unit, which is led by IQUW reinsurance head and Bermuda chief executive Stephen Young, was launched in July.

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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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