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General Insurance Newsletter Friday 12th August 2022

Insurance NewsZurich Insurance Group has reported that its business operating profit (BOP) surged 25% to $3.393 million in the first half of 2022, its highest in 14 years and second highest ever. All regions and business lines contributed to the stellar results. Property and casualty operating profit rose 32% to $2.055 million for the first six months ending June 30, with a record-low combined ratio of 91.9%. Life operating profit rose 13% to $903 million. In a media briefing discussing Aviva H1 2022’s trading statement, group CEO Amanda Blanc credited the “excellent” results as a testament to the progress the UK insurance giant has made over the past two years in simplifying the business and building its resilience. “Aviva is growing and growing profitably,” she said. “The value of new business in the UK and Ireland life company is up 13% and gross written premiums in the general insurance business are up 6%. Profitability is improving and our operating profit is up 14%, significantly ahead of consensus. We’ve delivered an excellent overall combined operating ratio of 94% despite the impact of inflation, demonstrating the scale and diversification of our general insurance business.” In other news...“This has been an excellent six months for Aviva.” That was how Aviva Plc group chief executive Amanda Blanc described the first half of 2022 when the UK-headquartered insurer revealed its operating results for the period, which saw a 14% increase in operating profit to £829 million.In the six months ended June 30, Aviva posted a 6% rise in general insurance gross written premium (GWP) to £4.7 billion. UK commercial lines GWP went up 12%; UK personal lines, down 1%; Canada commercial lines, up 17%; and Canada personal lines, up 9%. Insurtech may not be witnessing a bubble bursting, but it is facing up to difficulties that could change the face of the market, according to Gallagher Re global head of insurtech Andrew Johnston. “I wouldn’t categorise this as a bubble – rather a hot air balloon with a tear in its canopy that is bringing it back down to earth, but not at a startling pace,” Johnston told Insurance Business. Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI) has revealed that its London Market operations, including GCube, will relocate from their current, separate offices into one consolidated location – on floor six of 20 Fenchurch Street, commonly known as the Walkie Talkie. The move will take place in three stages. The first part, which is already underway, will see GCube, Marine Liability, Marine Hull, Marine Cargo and Energy make the move to their new premises. The second shift is scheduled for Q4 2022 and will see all other London Market teams, US credit and underwriting performance move to the new location. European insurance group Talanx has outlined its financial results for the first half of 2022, a day after announcing the renewal of chief executive Torsten Leue’s contract. For the six months ended June 30, Talanx saw a 2.6% increase in group net income attributable to shareholders to €560 million. Operating profit, meanwhile, grew 1.9% to €1.4 billion. Other metrics included €1.9 billion in net investment income, which was a slide from last year’s €2.4 billion. As for gross written premium (GWP), the insurer enjoyed a 17.7% lift to €28.3 billion. Digital managing general agent C-Quence has announced that it is adding an excess D&O product to its range of financial lines offerings. The new product will be traded on C-Quence’s proprietary cloud-based platform, CQ Elements. According to the MGA, the excess D&O product will have a cover limit of up to £10 million on an any one claim (AOC) basis, backed by A-rated capacity. C-Quence added that the product is aimed at brokers that require higher limits of indemnity and protection for clients within the MGA’s target market. To allow brokers to quote and bind more new and renewal business with higher limits of indemnity, CNA Hardy has increased the maximum attachment point capability from its online excess of loss platform. The attachment points have been raised from £25 million to £150 million. UK insurance giant Admiral Group unveiled what group CEO Milena Mondini de Focatiis has described as a “solid set of results” for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Perhaps the most eye-catching figure among the key financial takeaways of the period was Admiral’s 48% drop in profit, which fell from £482.2 million in H1 2021 to £251.3 million in H1 2022. The group’s net revenue dipped 9% to 0.72 billion, however, its group turnover rose 6% to £1.85 billion while group customers rose 12% year-on-year, with 6.94 million in the UK insurance market (up 12%). Birmingham-headquartered Newstead Insurance Brokers, which last month completed its swoop for Crendon Insurance Brokers, has a new management line-up. Company stalwart Sarah Giles has been appointed as managing director, taking over from Paul O’Donnell who will remain as a director. Meanwhile assuming the role of commercial director is Julian Simon. “This is a really exciting time for Newstead,” said Giles, who has been with the now £18 million GWP (gross written premium) business for nearly 12 years. “We are bringing together some great local businesses to create a fantastic new team, and there is a massive opportunity for us to build on our growth trajectory to become one of the dominant brokers in the Birmingham and West Midlands market. British multinational financial services provider Legal & General has reported strong financial performance for the first half of 2022, with profits after tax, earnings per share, and operating profits all up by 8% year-on-year. Profit after tax rose to £1.15 billion in H1 2022 from £1.07 billion in H1 2021, earnings per share grew to 19.28p from 17.78p, while operating profit increased to £1.16 billion from £1.08 billion a year ago. Its interim dividend was also up 5% to 5.44p from 5.18p. Legal & General also reported a surge in cash flow, up 22% to £1.0 billion, and hit its strongest ever capital position, with a solvency ratio of 212%. FM Global has announced it will allocate US$300 million to a first-of-its-kind ‘resilience credit’ to help policyholders invest in climate resilience solutions. The resilience credit has the potential to help its policyholders reduce total loss expectancies related to wind, flood, and wildfire exposure by over US$120 billion, which, in turn, can magnify their positive impact on customers, colleagues, and communities. It’s the turn of reinsurance giant Munich Re to unveil its financial report card for the second quarter of 2022, and the company calls its quarterly performance “resilient”. Munich Re, which emerged profitable in Q2, posted a €768 million profit in the three months ended June 30. The corresponding amount in 2021, however, was higher at €1.1 billion. Similarly, the group’s profit in the first half dipped from last year’s €1.7 billion to €1.4 billion this time around. In terms of its operating result in the quarter, Munich Re remained in the black with €763 million. A year ago, the figure stood at €1.6 billion. The company’s investment result, meanwhile, went down from €1.9 billion in Q2 2021 to €971 million in the latest set of numbers. Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. has shared its latest set of financial results, revealing losses in both the second quarter and first half of 2022. For the three months ended June 30, Argo’s net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to US$18.9 million. In the same period last year, the company enjoyed a US$67.1 million net income attributable to common shareholders. R&Q Insurance Holdings has announced its financial results for the first half of 2022, with strong growth in gross written premium (GWP) and program fee income. The company, which focuses on program management and legacy insurance businesses, recorded a GWP of US$807 million, an 82% increase from US$445 million for the first half of 2021. R&Q’s program fee income of US$39 million grew by 105% year on year from US$19 million. The number of its programs grew to 75, up from 69 during the same period last year. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the name behind global insurer BHSI (Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance), has revealed its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2022. According to the Omaha-based conglomerate, its net loss attributable to Berkshire shareholders amounted to US$43.8 billion in the quarter ended June 30, while the group’s attributable net loss in the first six months of the year totalled US$38.3 billion. PIB Group has released its financial results for 2021, with a 52% year-on-year increase in revenue to £230.9 million. The group’s adjusted EBITDA grew 78% from 2020 to £67 million.Mergers & AcquisitionsAnother day, another acquisition. Global brokerage Gallagher has acquired UK-based risk management consultancy Another Day Limited (AnotherDay). Founded in 2016, AnotherDay helps organisations identify and prepare for complex threats, react to crises, and investigate criminality using intelligence and technology. It has around 20 risk, investigations and crisis response specialists and has supported clients across 90 countries.It’s a done deal for Aviva and Succession Wealth. The £385 million transaction, which was first announced in March, has now been finalised. A national independent financial advice firm that has around 200 planners, Succession Wealth will retain its branding and continue to operate as a separately regulated business.Movers & ShakersRSA Insurance Group (RSA), one of the world’s oldest general insurers, has appointed Peter Townsend as its new chief compliance officer (CCO) for its UK and international businesses. Townsend has been with RSA for 10 years, joining as a legal counsel in 2012. He also held the roles of group head of financial crime and group data protection officer. Before joining RSA, he was a solicitor at Berwin Leighton Paisner and Clifford Chance. Aqueous Underwriting has announced the appointment of William Hall as senior development underwriter. Hall joins the MGA specialist after working as an associate director at professional indemnity (PI) and liability broker Brunel Professions. He has over three decades of experience in the PI and financial lines sector, having started his career at Royal Sun Alliance. He also launched a startup MGA called PU Protect, which was later acquired by Barbican Insurance. Torsten Leue will have at least 10 years at the helm of insurance group Talanx AG after his contract as chief executive was extended. The name behind brands HDI and Hannover Re, Talanx announced that Leue’s contract has been renewed ahead of schedule and will see the business leader remain in charge until May 2028. Broking giant Aon Plc will have a new chief operating officer two months from now. Joining the business on October 10 is Mindy Simon, who will replace James Platt as COO. Platt has now become the group’s chief digital officer after serving as chief operating officer from June 2021. Chief financial officer Christa Davies, in the interim, will be in charge of operations prior to Simon’s arrival. Sedgwick has appointed Ady Hall to the role of client director, as it seeks to strengthen its public sector offering in the UK. In this role, Hall will work to shape Sedgwick’s public sector offering, which currently serves clients such as local authorities, academic institutions, charities and housing associations. He will join an experienced team that manages numerous large and diverse complex losses each year. EeLain Ong has succeeded Julian Chowdhury as chief financial officer at specialist mutual insurer TT Club. Chowdhury, who retired after 27 years with the Club, now serves as a finance consultant to the insurer on a part-time basis. His successor took on the CFO post on August 1. Ageas UK has strengthened its distribution team with the appointment of Claire Green as director of distribution. The personal lines insurer looked internally for its latest appointment, as Green most recently served as Ageas UK’s head of strategic partnerships. She has been with the insurer for eight years. In her new role as director of distribution, Green will work alongside fellow director of distribution Darren Whittaker.Kennedys has appointed Karen Peskett-Hall as its first director of transformation. Peskett-Hall will be responsible for the successful delivery of projects across the Kennedys network, which is comprised of over 2,400 people in 44 offices worldwide. She is tasked with analysing the firm’s current strategy and identifying improvement and innovation opportunities.West P&I has appointed Gina Panayiotou as its new environmental, social and governance (ESG) manager. Panayiotou is an experienced maritime lawyer and industry strategist, having held senior roles throughout her career. She has worked as a legal manager at a leading shipowner, global head of shipping and energy at a multijurisdictional law firm, and in-house legal counsel for an international cruise line.All information provided in this Market Digest has been gathered from multiple General Insurance Media sources and individual company press releases.

General Insurance Newsletter Friday 22nd July 2022

Insurance NewsBeazley has revealed its financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2022, a period that delivered a mixed bag for the Specialty Insurer. Its profit before tax dropped 87% to $22.3 million (approx. £18.64 million), from $167.3 million in H1 2021, while its annualised return on equity dropped to 1%, from 15% for the same period last year.The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published its 39-page response to HM Treasury’s consultation as part of the latter’s review of Solvency II. Part of the ABI’s response reads: “In addition to its commitment to HMT’s key objectives on competitiveness and policyholder protection, the insurance and long-term savings industry shares the government’s ambition to capitalise on Brexit by reforming Solvency II rules to unlock billions of pounds in new investment in the UK economy."The Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) has added a trio of European members to its roster. Now part of the WBN line-up are Dutch business Söderberg & Partners and Croatia-based firms Risk Solution Broker (RSB) and Fortius Inter Partes.There has been a sharp increase in insurance fraud claims this year, and it has been suggested that the surge has been driven by mounting cost-of-living pressures, a new report from Zurich UK has found. According to the Insurer, it saw the number of fraudulent Property claims jump by 25% between January 01 and May 31, compared to the same period last year. Zurich UK also noted that in the last five months, the Insurer prevented fraud totalling £4.2 million, which is up from £3.3 million over the same period in 2021. This translates to over £40,000 a day.There may be a “great deal to be concerned about on a macro basis and a geopolitical basis in the world today”, but the world’s largest insurance Broker remains confident about its prospects in the face of any incoming recession, Marsh McLennan CEO Dan Glaser said. Glaser addressed analysts as the global brokerage released its second quarter results, reporting year-on-year revenue growth of 7%.The cost of comprehensive car insurance rose by £32 in the last 12 months, according to research by Confused and WTW. The Car Insurance Price Index revealed that UK motorists now pay £554 on average compared to £522 in 2021. WTW and Confused detailed that car insurance premiums have now seen consecutive annual increases for the last two quarters, following the implementation of the new Financial Conduct Authority pricing rules on 1 January.The Financial Conduct Authority has revealed progress towards its diversity and inclusion goals in its Annual Report & Accounts for 2021/22. The watchdog, having shown positive movement in all areas, highlighted that D&I was critical to its work on culture and governance. “Improving this in firms promotes diversity of thought, guards against groupthink, promotes better understanding of a diverse customer-base, and encourages greater competition and innovation to meet their needs,” the regulator stated.In further news...The Financial Conduct Authority has warned of a clone which is fraudulently using the logo of Assured Partners Broker, Borland Insurance. CEO of Borland Insurance, John Silcock, said that the clone had been using the firm’s logo but stated that no customers had been affected by the scam.The current Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadim Zahawi, has pledged that laws will be changed under the newly-published Financial Services and Markets Bill. In a speech at Mansion House this week, Zahawi, said: “The Bill implements the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework Review. I can announce today that we will repeal hundreds of pieces of retained EU law."The Financial Conduct Authority only met its processing speed target for 44.7% of appointed representative notifications in 2021/22. The FCA detailed that it has a voluntary target of processing 95% of complete notifications for AR status within five working days of the request. The low achievement in 2021/22 was even worse than the year before when it only delivered on time for 48.1% of notifications.The Financial Ombudsman Service has highlighted a 33.4% fall in complaints about insurance pricing in 2021/22. The one-third drop took complaints from 1,507 in 2020/21 to 1,004 – effectively in line with the 1,076 reported in 2019/20. There was also a reduction in the FOS’ uphold rate. The percentage of complaints upheld by the ombudsman has now fallen from 29% to 19% between 2019 and 2022.Alison Meckiffe, CEO of Broker Endsleigh, has taken the business back to its roots focusing on education, students and not-for-profits. Meckiffe, who joined the Broker in 2020, said: “The role came as a surprise opportunity and offered a chance to bring the business back to profitable growth and focus on its heritage."The Protection Distributors Group (PDG) has announced the latest list of Insurers that meet its best practice claims criteria to become Claims Charter signatories, following a rigorous review of claims handling practices across the industry. Fourteen (14) Insurers have met PDG’s standards and been named as signatories to the Claims Charter for 2022, bringing total membership up to 21. These are Aegon, AIG, British Friendly, Guardian, Holloway, HSBC Life, Legal & General, LV=, MetLife, Scottish Widows, Shepherds Friendly, The Exeter, Vitality, and Zurich.Marsh McLennan has kept strong momentum as it heads into the mid-point of 2022, as the insurance and consulting giant revealed its Q2 financial results. Consolidated revenue for the group saw a 7% rise year-on-year at $5.4 billion, slightly lower than Q1’s result of $5.5 billion. The group’s revenue increased by 20% on an underlying basis, while its operating income stood at $1.4 billion, an 11% spike from the prior year. Adjusted operating income rose 8% to $1.3 billion.Insurtech Gateway – the birthplace of the likes of FloodFlash and By Miles – has completed the first close of its Seed Fund II, which will allow the Insurtech investor to back a further 20 teams over the next four years. “We believe that insurance and technology can transform society,” said Insurtech Gateway Chief Executive Richard Chattock, whose incubators support 20 portfolio companies in the UK and four in Australia. “We are proud to have created a place where independent Founders can build sustainable partnerships with progressive Insurers, Regulators, and Co-Investors.”Global insurer Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has now made its way to Switzerland. Announcing its foray into the Swiss market, the Boston-headquartered group said it now underwrites Property, Casualty, and Executive & Professional lines in Switzerland from the company’s new office in Zürich. Meanwhile several other product lines are set to be launched later on.HSBC Life UK has launched a digital underwriting innovation that enables medical screening requests to be sent to and received back automatically from the medical screening provider Square Health, exclusively available on UnderwriteMe’s protection platform. Once the screening is completed, the results are returned to HSBC Life’s digital underwriting rules engine – provided by UnderwriteMe – to instantly provide an eligibility decision. This will also be available via the HSBC Life extranet journey for those IFA users who use IRESS, iPipeline and Synaptic Webline.Major reinsurer SCOR has tapped into Insurtech Concirrus’ data modelling capabilities to improve its Marine line’s loss ratios. Concirrus was founded to harness data and technology to improve loss ratios and increase Specialty and Commercial insurance’s operating efficiency. Gregory Delaisse, Global Head of Marine at SCOR, said the reinsurer has teamed up with Concirrus to access its Hull Market Model.HSB (UK and Ireland) has brought together its business development, customer trading hub and claims areas under a newly created Commercial Division. The Commercial Division will deliver a more collaborative and seamless customer experience for Brokers, Insurers and MGAs.The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is pleased to welcome Arch Insurance as a partner. Steve White, BIBA CEO said: “It is really valuable to have another BIBA partner. Insurer insights help our Broker members to help their customers. We are delighted that Arch has joined BIBA and we look forward to working with them.”Mergers & AcquisitionsGlobal Risk Partners has bought Maidstone-based First Insurance Solutions in its first deal since the takeover by Brown & Brown completed earlier this month. The consolidator confirmed that First Insurance, a broker providing bespoke insurance solutions in the contracting sectors such as drainage, cleaning, electrical, air-conditioning and security, will keep its brand, offices and all staff.The Jensten Group has acquired Leeds-based Broker Ravenhall Risk Solutions for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which is subject to approval by the FCA, bolsters Jensten’s regional presence in Yorkshire and is the Group’s latest step in its ‘buy and build’ strategy.Just Travel Cover, the Leisure Travel Insurance specialists and insurance product and service provider, has acquired the Travel insurance and Scheme specialist business Alpha Underwriting from CPP Secure Limited. The deal sees Just Travel Cover grow its Broker network and provide Alpha’s general insurance Brokers with access to its unique panel of insurance products, meaning they can compare multiple schemes from leading Insurers in one place, without the need to re-key, and offer worldwide travel insurance with no age limit, cover for hundreds of pre-existing medical conditions, cruises, winter sports and other activities.Davies has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Asta Capital, the market-leading third-party Managing Agent at Lloyd’s, following approval by regulators including Lloyd’s, the UK’s Financial Conduct and Prudential Regulation Authorities, and the Dubai Financial Services Authority.Movers & ShakersAllianz Holdings has appointed Ashish Patel as Chief Operating Officer after Stephanie Smith left at the end of 2021. Smith had been with the business since 2009 becoming COO in 2016. The role has been held by Gavin Dresher on an interim basis since her departure. Patel has worked for the Allianz Group for nine years, having previously held the position of Head of Allianz Technology India.APRIL International has announced two new hires – Agne Gacionyte has been appointed to the newly created role of UK Marketing Manager, while Roshani Thapa has joined as Broker Sales Consultant. Gacionyte most recently held a senior marketing role at AXA Health. She has more than seven years of experience in the industry and will draw on her experience of managing SME engagement and strategic media partnerships in supporting APRIL International’s continued growth. Thapa was previously with Aetna International, where she was responsible for providing support to the UK sales and retention teams for SME and large corporate accounts.AXA XL Insurance has appointed Sarah White as Senior Underwriter, Professional Indemnity, UK & Lloyd’s, with immediate effect. Ms. White began her insurance career in 2006 as an Account Manager in the Professional Indemnity team at Lockton (formerly Alexander Forbes). In 2010, she joined HDI Global Specialty (formerly Inter Hannover) as an Assistant Underwriter, before being promoted to Underwriter and later, Senior Underwriter and Product Lead for SME lawyers.Admiral Group has hired Keith Davies as Group Chief risk and compliance officer starting September 2022. Davies has experience in risk management and compliance. He is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the audit and risk committees for two Admiral entities: Admiral Insurance Company and Admiral Insurance Gibraltar.Dan Blake has joined the senior management team, as the new Head of Private Equity. Blake is a Chartered Insurance Broker and joins Vista from Arthur J Gallagher Insurance Brokers. His key role will be to lead Vista’s private equity practice. Blake started his career with J K Lee, which is now part of Howden Group.The Financial Ombudsman has appointed James Dipple-Johnstone as Deputy Chief Ombudsman and Karl Khan as Chief Operating Officer. Dipple-Johnstone has previous experience in leadership roles. He currently works as the Deputy Commissioner for the Information Commissioner’s Office. He has also held senior posts in UK police, health and government oversight agencies. Khan has recently completed a secondment from HM revenue and Customs to the UK Health Security Agency as Operations Performance and Improvement Director. He was previously Interim Director General in the customer service group at HMRC.Spring Insure has named Bethany Thomas as Senior Underwriter, where she will be responsible for leading the UK Financial Lines and Commercial D&O team. Thomas has spent her 14-year insurance career as a Financial Lines Broker and joins Spring from Protean Risk where she held the positions of Account Director and Team Leader.Collinson has named Mo Shakarchi as its new Chief Product and Innovation Officer and will report to joint CEO Christopher Evans. Alongside his work at Collinson, Shakarchi will continue to be an advisory board member for Global Logic and start-ups, where he advises C-level suit on product, digital and data trends across industries.Beazley has revelead that its Chair, David Roberts will be standing down from the board in autumn 2022 to take up the role as Chair of the court of the Bank of England.Miller has hired Paul Jacobs and Steve Quick to form a Farms and Estates team. The rural team will be part of Miller’s new ‘international special asset insurance’ department, which incorporates its private client, rural and soon-to-be-launched equine offerings. Jacobs will report into Katie Small, Head of Private Clients, with Quick reporting into Jacobs.Insurtech Ripe Thinking has welcomed industry veteran Laurel Powers-Freeling as the new Chair of its board. Powers-Freeling brings to Ripe a proven track record in financial services, tech, and business growth. Aside from serving as CEO of M&S Money, she has held various senior executive, board, or non-executive positions for major financial institutions like Prudential, ACE/Chubb, Lloyds Bank Group, and the Bank of England. She has also made significant impact in fintech, currently serving as chair of both Uber UK and personal finance platform Moneybox.All information provided in this Market Digest has been gathered from multiple General Insurance Media sources and individual company press releases.