Insurance news

Argo Group International Holdings, an underwriter of specialty insurance, has announced an agreement to sell the renewal rights of its contract binding property and casualty business to Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company (MUSIC), the excess and surplus lines subsidiary of Selective Insurance Group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“This transaction supports the company’s strategy to simplify the business,” said Marsh Duncan, president of excess and surplus for Argo Group. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that provides a smooth transition for our brokers and insureds.”

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Constanza Gállegos (pictured) has joined the Europe leadership roster of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) in her new capacity as the insurer’s country manager in Spain.  

Based in the Madrid office, the key hire brings nearly 24 years of European insurance industry experience. She most recently served as QBE’s head of distribution for Europe. Gállegos was with the Sydney-headquartered insurance group for 14 years.

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Through participating in Love to Ride’s campaign, users accumulate points in order to win prizes. As part of the partnership, Bikmo will offer several prizes, including Sold Secure gold-rated Hiplok bike locks, as well as a £200 Freewheel voucher to spend in a local bike shop. Members of Love to Ride can also take advantage of discounts on Bikmo cycle insurance.

Bikmo employees will also join Love to Ride’s Cycle September challenge, where individuals and workplaces compete nationally and worldwide to earn the most points by riding their bikes and encouraging others to join them.

Bikmo will also provide Love to Ride members with educational resources and essential tips, such as how to lock up their bike correctly.

‘’Our team is made up of enthusiastic riders, from every discipline you can think of,” said David George, CEO of Bikmo. “In addition to offering Love to Ride members with prizes for their challenges and exclusive savings on our insurance policies, we’ll be bringing our expertise on key subjects for keeping your bike safe.”

The campaign comes ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference that will be held in November. Road transport has been identified as one of the top sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and Love to Ride committed to converting more car journeys to bike trips in a bid to reduce emissions globally. The organization also supported people to save an estimated 3.5 million kilogrammes of carbon by riding for transportation, or roughly the same impact of 162,701 trees in a year.

“’We’re looking forward to partnering with Bikmo to get more people enjoying all the benefits of riding a bike,” said Sam Robinson, director of Love to Ride. “We think our UK riders will greatly benefit from discounted access to their insurance and educational resources to keep their bikes safer.”

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It was a personal connection that led to his first role in insurance, as he got to know a director at Swinton Insurance through a mutual interest in horses which, in turn, led to a role at the business when he left school. From there, he moved to the AA and later on to running a branch for a provincial insurance broker. It was then that he realised that running his own business was something he was more than capable of doing, Booth said, and so, at the tender age of 24, he and a friend decided to set up their own firm.

“We had nothing,” he said. “We only had £5,000 each, but we had bags of determination and drive and enthusiasm. So, we took the plunge and started Premier and that was 31 years ago… We thought we could take on the world, so we just went for it. And it’s probably different the older you get because you have more to risk – but when you’re young and single, there’s not a lot to lose and you don’t want to live your life with regrets.”

There are no regrets necessary for Booth as though the business started without a client to its name, Premier quickly developed a niche specialism in the concrete industry. That too came about through the development of a strong personal connection, he said, as not long after the firm started, he was recommended to a client who invited him out to assess his business’s volumetric batching unit.

“Well, it’s not an offer you get every day, so I went out to take a look,” he said. “I got on really well with the guy, who’s actually still in the business some 30 odd years later and I decided to help him because he was struggling with his insurance. So, I looked at what he needed, took it away and broke it all down and put it together in a slightly different way.

“And he absolutely loved it – it was better coverage and miles cheaper, but it was more the fact that I’d taken the time to understand what he wanted. He became a massive fan, and he would tell anyone who would listen that they needed to go and see Premier, that we were the specialists in this. That’s really what started our specialism because it ignited an interest and a passion in me for this sector.”

That has remained with him, Booth said – bolstered by the opportunities that working in this niche area have given him to see the industry from every angle and rub shoulders with the lively characters that make it up. It’s great to have a chance to be out with the operators in their trucks, to explore the unique challenges they face and to determine the unique requirements they have for protection.

“Having that specialism is great because people really value that meeting of minds,” he said. “You both tend to respect each other’s unique skill set a little bit more. And they appreciate what you do and the fact that you can talk the talk with them and that you understand their world a little bit. I think that there’s a lot of comfort in that.”

Personal relationships have been the touchstone of every step along Booth’s insurance journey and he noted it is the people he has met along the way that have kept his enthusiasm for the profession alive. He paid credit to the team at Premier and their professionalism and comradeship.

“We’ve built this from nothing and provided employment for people and seen people’s careers develop, and mentored and nurtured people along the way,” he said. “I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be capable of doing that. And I love my clients, I love meeting them and hearing their stories and seeing how their businesses have been created, and the unique challenges that they face. It makes you realise that, at the end of the day, we’re all facing the same challenges and there are so many parallels between every business and the issues they face on a day-to-day basis.”

Last, but certainly not least, Booth said, he really appreciates the relationships he has been able to foster with underwriters throughout his career, particularly when that has meant going out to meet them and having a chat in person, something that has become more difficult in recent times.

Read more: Peter Blanc on the three core strands of Aston Lark’s 2021 strategy

It was this emphasis on partnerships and strong relationships that also led to Premier’s recent acquisition, which saw it become part of the Aston Lark family, he said. The deal came about almost by accident as the Premier team had fielded many requests to sell over the years – but before the request came in from Aston Lark, Booth had always ignored them. However, when he spoke to Peter Blanc, he was struck by the difference in the group’s approach to acquisition and the opportunities that the partnership would bring.

“I remember coming off the phone after talking to Peter, who’s such a great guy,” Booth said. “And he just spoke so passionately about his business and his company and its ethos, and how he treated his staff and his clients, and you couldn’t help but get swept up in that.

“And then when I started to look into them a little bit further, I realised that, ‘Wow, this is a collection of brokers that have all got a niche, that have all got individual specialisms’ and something just felt so right about it, it felt like home. So, I just went with my gut instinct, and it couldn’t have been any better, it couldn’t have gone any better. It has been a fabulous process to go through.”

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Coverys European Holdings (CEH) has acquired a 51% stake in Brady Insurance, an Ireland-based insurance underwriting agency, broker and Lloyd’s coverholder.

Brady Insurance, which offers various business and personal lines products, has held Lloyd’s coverholder status since 2013 through its wholesale brand, Brady Underwriting. It is headquartered in Carrick-on-Shannon and has an office in Dublin.

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More than half (53%) of the study’s over 2,000 respondents said they don’t trust that the advertisements on search engines were placed by a legitimate financial company. A similar proportion of respondents (56%) don’t believe that search engines verify the authenticity of the financial products or services being sold.

Contrary to popular belief that older people are more gullible when it comes to matters relating to the internet, respondents over 55 were much less likely to trust search engine results than those aged 16 to 24. Only 29% of over-55s trusted the results, compared to 59% of the 16 to 24 age group.

“There is a clear mistrust of financial services adverts online,” said Rob Lee, director of fraud prevention at Aviva. “However, there is no legal responsibility for technology firms to verify the legitimacy of the companies which pay them to publish adverts on their platforms. This potentially leaves millions of internet users exposed to unscrupulous adverts.”

Most consumers believe that more needs to be done to make the internet safer from financial harm. Almost nine in 10 (87%) said government must introduce laws ensuring search engines and social media sites do not mislead consumers or promote financial scams. Eighty-five per cent said search engines should be responsible for advertising content on their platforms to prevent misleading customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns presented a major opportunity for fraudsters. Aviva found that more than two out of five respondents reported they have been targeted by a COVID-related scam in which they received emails, texts, phone calls and other communications mentioning coronavirus, and which were suspected to be a financial scam.  This was a 91% increase in the number of reports over the past year.  

“We believe the Online Safety Bill presents an opportunity to protect financial services consumers at every stage of their online journey,” Lee said. “We welcome the recent inclusion of user-generated fraud – such as that promoted on social media sites – within the scope of the regulatory framework. We support the financial services industry in calling for the legislation to include financial scams promoted by paid-for adverts.”

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The winners came from an assortment of companies, including Willis, Marsh, Tokio Marine Kiln, Schroders Personal Wealth, Zurich, Aon, RSA, Brewin Dolphin, Saunderson House and Money Matters North East.

Each winner will receive a prize between £100 and £1,000, plus a certificate from the sponsor of the category. The prizes are usually presented to the winner at their local institute dinner, but due to government guidance regarding the pandemic, the certificates will be sent directly to the winners and the CII will celebrate their achievements through its social media accounts. In the coming weeks, CII will post photos of the winners, along with what the awards mean for their career and their tips on how they were able to achieve their exceptional performance.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all our lives, which makes the achievement of these individuals incredibly impressive,” said Sian Fisher, CII chief executive. “I applaud the efforts of our prize winners who, during this time of uncertainty, continued to study and managed to achieve the best results in our examinations. These winners have overcome challenges to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to help consumers and performed exceptionally well when completing one of our qualifications.”

List of winners:

Crawford Prize, for the best result in completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Gemma Louise Howard of Willis (UK)

Henry J. Tapscott Prize in recognition of excellence in completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Adam Williams of Lex-London, a division of AIG

John Ellams Award, for excellence in completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Laurence Owens of Specialist Risk Group

Swiss Re Reinsurance Prize, for the best result in the reinsurance unit M97 on completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Marina Tsokur of Cargill International SA and Darcelle Wiltshire of Colfire

Manchester Centenary Prize, for excellence in completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Elinor Katie Webb of Tokio Marine Kiln

AIA Education Foundation Prize, for the best result in the aviation and space insurance unit M91 on completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Dominic Christian Hurst of BPL Global

Alison Ecob Memorial Prize, for the best result in the risk management in insurance unit 992 for a UK candidate on completion of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Emily Ward-Booth of Tokio Marine Kiln

Worshipful Company of Insurers Prize, for the best result in the advanced diploma in financial planning qualification: Thomas Lester of Schroders Personal Wealth

Barnfield Prize, for excellence in completion of the core units of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Sebastian Bulgin of Zurich Financial Services

JB Welson Prize, for excellence in completion of the core units of the advanced diploma in insurance qualification: Sarina Kamalarajah of Sompo International

HJ Greening Prize, for the best result in the long term insurance business unit P63: Chris Luff of LV

Kenneth Griffiths Prize, for the best result in the advanced claims unit 820: David White of Tokio Marine Kiln and Alexander James Edward Marks of DWF LLP

Paul Maynard Memorial Prize, for the best result in the advanced insurance broking unit 930: Olivar Wilson of Aon PLC

CII Award in Excellence in Claims Practice, for the best result in the claims practice unit M85: Lucy Brown of Tokio Marine HCC

McNeil and Wallace Award, Liverpool Underwriters Association, for the best result in the cargo and goods in transit insurance unit M90: Marta Tomecka of UPS Global Treasury

London Business Interruption Association Prize, for the best result in the commercial property and business interruption unit M93: David Richard John Zabrocki of Beamount Lawrence & Co.

Stanley Brown Prize, for the best result in the liability insurances unit M96: David James Martin of Arthur J Gallagher (UK)

Boleslaw Monic Prize, for the best result in the reinsurance unit M97: Angella Tusaba Nakabuye of Britam General Insurance

McNeil and Wallace Award, Liverpool Underwriters Association, for the best result in the marine hull and associated liabilities unit M98: Philippa Lucy Wyatt of Marsh Ltd

Layborn Prize, for the best result in the pensions and retirement planning unit R04: Luiza Maria Todd, Bespoke Training Solutions

Sedgwick International UK Prize, for the best result in the insurance, legal and regulatory unit IF1 and the insurance claims handling process unit IF4 for a UK candidate: Claire Elizabeth Palmer of RSA

International Underwriting Association Prize, for the best result in the diploma in insurance qualification for a candidate employed by a member of the IUA: Victoria Lowe of Liberty Special Markets

Worshipful Company of Insurers Prize, for the best result in the diploma in insurance qualification: Sebastian Bulgin of Zurich Financial Services

John Poel Prize, for the best result in the diploma in insurance qualification for a candidate employed by a BIBA member: Rebecca Amy Allen of Willis Towers Watson

Worshipful Company of Insurers Prize, for the best result in the diploma in financial planning qualification: Tracey Che of Saunderson House Ltd and Louis Hodgson of Money Matters North East

The Colin Gilchrist Memorial Prize, for the best result in the certificate in London market insurance specialisation: Afsar Ali of Guy Carpenter & Company

Worshipful Company of Insurers Prize, for the best result in the certificate in insurance qualification: Claire Elizabeth Palmer of RSA

Certificate in Paraplanning Prize, for the best result in the certificate in paraplanning qualification: Maria Johnson or Brewin Dolphin Securities

The Rutter Medal, for the best new fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute: Amy Elizabeth Pearson

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“A number of factors, including increased competitiveness, regulation, and a disproportionate cost base, made it necessary to recently review all Endsleigh product lines to ensure the long-term stability and sustainability of the business for our customers, our people, and our partners,” reads part of the full statement.

“The strategic review of all product lines has led us to the regrettable decision that it is no longer viable for us to continue to distribute specific personal lines products in the way we do today.”

It was revealed that Endsleigh’s new distribution and brand model will be known as MyEndsleigh and Endsleigh Compare, with a focus on the insurance provider’s core markets.

The spokesperson noted: “As part of the A-Plan Group, we have a sister company A-Plan Holdings, offering distribution opportunities through their nationwide network of over 100 branches and who benefit from significant scale, from both a customer and insurer perspective. We have reached a decision to migrate specific personal lines books to A-Plan.

“These will be distributed through the A-Plan nationwide network to offer a personalised service and wider insurance choice to customers. We anticipate the transfer of these books will commence from October 04, 2021, and be completed no later than September 2022.”        

Endsleigh, which has entered into a consultation with the employees affected by the move, offered assurances that placement support will be provided to anyone who will be made redundant in the process.  

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In support of the upcoming Insurance Day of Giving, Zurich Community Trust (ZCT) – Zurich Insurance’s charitable arm in the UK – has launched a matched donation campaign.

The Insurance Day of Giving will be held on Thursday, November 04. Organised by Insurance United Against Dementia (IUAD), it will be a chance for the industry to get together and raise both funding for and awareness of the cause.

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Whitespace Platform, a fully digital e-trading platform for brokers and insurers, marked the second anniversary of its launch.

According to Whitespace, since its launch, 189 organisations have joined the platform, which serves customers in the UK, Europe, North America and Africa across 14 overall classes of business.

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