Insurance news

In a Press release, the reinsurer stressed that it is sticking to its ambitious climate targets, including the reduction of GHG emissions related to its investment portfolio by 29% by the end of 2025, and thereafter successively brought down to net zero by 2050.

In addition, Munich Re noted its ambition to reduce its climate-related industry exposure to the exploration and production of oil and natural gas (primary insurance, direct and facultative reinsurance) in such a way that there will be no associated net GHG emissions by 2050. The reinsurer’s first step will be to aim to reduce emissions by 5% by 2025.

As of April 2023, Munich Re has stated that it will not insure projects involving new oil and gas fields or new midstream oil infrastructure. At the same time, it will reduce thermal-coal-related exposure in its direct and facultative insurance business by 35% Group-wide by 2025 – before eliminating this exposure altogether by 2040. The reinsurer also noted that since 2018, it has stopped insuring new coal-fired plants, coal mines and since, 2019 oil sand mines.

Meanwhile, regarding the emissions from its own operations, Munich Re highlighted that it has been carbon-neutral since 2015 and previously reduced CO2 emissions per employee by 44% from 2009 to 2019. Current GHG emissions are to be reduced by a further 12% per employee by 2025. By 2030, Munich Re expects to achieve net-zero GHG emissions in its operations.

“Our climate commitment is unwavering,” Wenning said. “We follow scientific recommendations. To date we are decarbonizing even faster than what is required to reach net zero by 2050.”

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Run in collaboration with the M&A Research Centre at The Bayes Business School, the survey said the positive performance of Q1 was driven by Asia-Pacific deal activity, where buyers outperformed their regional index by 13.8 percentage points. The Asia-Pacific region saw 43 deals closed in the first quarter, a 7% drop in volume from Q1 2022.

There was a significant slowdown in M&A activity globally, posting the lowest first-quarter figures since 2015 with 157 deals completed worldwide in Q1 2023, compared to 220 deals in Q1 2022 and 202 deals in Q4 2022, WTW reported.

North American acquirers underperformed their regional index by -3.9 percentage points with only 79 deals closed in Q1, a 32% drop from Q1 2022. Dealmakers in Europe underperformed their index by -7.4 percentage points with 30 deals completed in the first quarter, 39% down from Q1 2022. UK buyers underperformed by 1.4 percentage points.

“The sharp decline in M&A deals completing this quarter is the inevitable hangover effect following an outstanding year in 2021, compounded by the macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds that bruised the market last year,” said Jana Mercereau, head of corporate M&A consulting, Great Britain, at WTW. “At the same time, M&A markets are far from closed. The number of deals we’re seeing in the pipeline has not dropped at all, but many have made slower progress towards completion, or have paused, as buyers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach. Dealmakers remain fairly bullish and believe M&A activity will increase in the second half of 2023 as markets stabilise and interest rates level.”

Cross-sector deals flourish

The need to adopt new technologies and talent, reach new markets, and overhaul supply chains has spurred cross-sector deals to their highest level since WTW’s M&A survey began in 2008.

The survey also found that the median time to close deals in the first quarter was the slowest since 2008, with 71% of deals taking at least 70 days to complete, up from 53% less than 18 months ago. This trend is directly linked to the rise in cross-sector acquisitions, which generally take more time to close, as well as a greater need for more robust due diligence.

“There are tremendous opportunities to explore for acquiring companies, especially corporates and PE funds with high levels of capital,” Mercereau said. “Some sectors that have been resilient or benefitted from the pandemic, such as technology or healthcare, may continue to see strong demand. The banking industry is also expected to see significant consolidation, while the technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector has never been hotter.

“For buyers pursuing deals in the current uncertain economic climate, it will be more important than ever to conduct disciplined due diligence and dive deeper into potential weaknesses in a target,” she said. “Retaining and integrating new employees after a deal closes will also be critical for the acquisition to deliver value, especially if the objective is to boost talent by acqui-hiring. This means well-crafted retention incentives must be a top priority, especially in today’s tight labour market.”

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International brokerage Gallagher will officially open in Sweden following the integration and rebrand of its three acquired local businesses – Brim, Nordic, and Proinova – starting April 3. With this, Gallagher expands its network comprising more than 130 countries to Sweden and establishes a major foothold in Scandinavia.

Gallagher’s three businesses in Sweden are:

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Motor insurance complaints topped the list of general insurance (GI) grievances in the UK in a period spanning the last five years. Research from Insurance DataLab found that car/motorcycle insurance accounts for one third of all GI complaints referred to the ombudsman from 2017 to 2022.

Out of almost 170,000 complaints lodged at the GI market, 55,250 were levied towards the motor insurance sector. Grievances toward the sector were also trending upward, as the Financial Ombudsman Service recorded 3,800 motor complaints in the final three months of 2022, a 49% year-on-year increase.

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Genasys Technologies has announced an expansion with two business units in South Africa, with one focused on continued product development and innovation.

Genasys London will continue to be led by group CEO André Symes (pictured right). Symes will head the insurance administration platform provider’s commercial growth strategy. Craig Olivier (pictured left), co-founder and group CTO, will be based at Genasys’ new South African headquarters in Cape Town, called the Product and Innovation Campus. Olivier will lead the new Genasys Software Solutions division from this office.

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Lloyd’s global (re)insurer MS Amlin has appointed Dr Jessica Turner as its new head of risk analytics, effective June 26. Turner will report to director of underwriting performance Martin Burke.

In a press release, Burke said that Turner’s appointment reflects the firm’s objectives of “seeking out new perspectives and expertise.”

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AXA Retail has confirmed an extension of home insurance coverage for brokers’ clients who have policies underwritten by the UK insurer and are currently sheltering Ukrainian refugees.

This means that clients’ guests escaping the war in Ukraine will be treated as their extended family, giving them coverage just like any other member of the family residing in their homes.

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“We welcome the new Consumer Duty as it reinforces the importance of consumer protection and drives enhanced outcomes.”

Those were the words of Legal & General retail annuities distribution director Cecilia Furner while announcing the financial services group’s Consumer Duty Alliance (CDA) membership. Legal & General, along with Howden, is a foundation affiliate of the new independent professional body.

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Last year, Aviva paid nearly 50,600 individual protection claims in the UK amounting to £1.07 billion.

According to the insurer, 2022 was the third consecutive year that claims payments for individual protection claims exceeded £1 billion. Of all the individual protection claims that were lodged, 98.3% were paid last year – the highest claims paid rate reported by Aviva since it acquired Friends Life in 2015.

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London-based Ballantyne Brokers has completed its management buy-out from parent company K2 Insurance to form its own independent entity. The buy-out was led by original founders Ross Ballantyne and Richard Spragg, plus chief operating officer John Harris; the latter will continue to lead the company moving forward.

With this buy-out, Ballantyne, which is now 100% owned by its employees, will continue to provide brokerage services to clients in its native UK as well as Europe and North America. The firm focuses on cyber, professional liability, property and casualty, personal accident, medical malpractice, financial services, and directors and officers as its main lines of business.

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