Articles by Emmanuel Kenning
Hodges to continue acquisition drive at Towergate
Towergate chairman Alastair Lyons said he was "absolutely delighted" at the arrival of Mark Hodges from Aviva and promised the company would continue on its broker acquisition path.
Aviva responds to Hodges' departure to Towergate
David McMillan, chief executive officer of UK general insurance at Aviva, has told Insurance Age that it is “business as usual” for Aviva following the shock departure of Mark Hodges to Towergate.
FirstAssist issues legal costs warning to SMEs
Small businesses, a core part of many brokers’ portfolios, continue to ignore the risk of costly legal action even though defending an average case could potentially put them out of business, according to research by FirstAssist Legal Protection.
APC revamps hoteliers and guest house owners policy ahead of Olympic tourist surge
APC has announced the re-launch of its hotel and guest house product with area rating designed to help brokers service UK proprietors looking to take advantage of the expected nationwide surge in tourist numbers resulting from the Olympics.
Broking success: Training to gain
Emmanuel Kenning speaks with a profitable, debt free start-up motor broker that is writing more than £50m a year, targeting 250,000 policies within 18 months and focusing on staff training and development
Update: Axa Commercial Lines unveils regional branch managers
Axa Commercial has confirmed a series of appointments across its branch network following its declared strategy of empowering local underwriters to service insurance brokers.
HMRC takes Lloyd's broker Swinglehurst to court
International insurance and reinsurance broker Swinglehurst is facing a High Court winding-up petition Insurance Age has learnt.
Is this the end of insurer love affair with MGAs?
Market flux fuels speculation over managing general agents sector
RSA buys into calm waters of marine
Insurer snaps up pleasure craft specialist despite softening marine sector
Brokers unconvinved by signs of market hardening
Lone suggestion that the commercial market could be on the cusp of changing is dismissed by rest of market.
More judicial reviews but no certainty of success, says RPC
There will be more judicial reviews following the decision by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to increase the top limit of awards by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) however recent events mean the regulators will be “emboldened” in defending…
Wave of new regulation tops insurance sector risks in poll
The greatest risk facing the insurance industry is the raft of new regulations being introduced simultaneously at international and local levels, according to a new survey.
Judicial reviews will rise after FOS award change, warns law firm
The announcement by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that the Financial Ombudsman Service's (FOS) maximum binding award is to be increased to £150,000 will lead to an increase in judicial reviews according to lawyers at Browne Jacobson.
No ban for referral fees, says LSB
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has recommended that referral fees be allowed to continue but with strengthened transparency obligations to manage their impact and prevent abuses.
FSA confirms new consumer complaint handling rules and ups FOS award limit to £150,000
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has confirmed new complaints handling rules as part of a package of measures designed to drive up standards within the industry.
Quinn losses reached €888m in 2009
Quinn Insurance lost €644m (£557m) in 2009, it has been revealed taking the overall group’s losses for the year to €888m.
JLT targets landlords with online offering
JLT Specialty (JLT) has launched an online quote and bind facility for property owners' risks aimed primarily at the broker sector.
Insolvency rate improves for SMEs
The health of the UK’s micro and small business community improved in April, according to Experian’s latest Insolvency Index.
Biba welcomes government move on signposting
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) has given its support to the government’s signposting proposals adding it believed they will maximise the likelihood of older customers finding insurance.
Personal injury costs to approach £10bn, report says
Costs faced by the personal injury insurance industry are likely to rise from £8.4bn in 2010 to £9.7bn by 2014 driven by the growth in the number of motor personal injury claims according to a report by Datamonitor.
Insurers issue ash-cloud travel insurance advice
Aviva and Ageas have stated their positions on their travel insurance policies following the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland which has closed parts of the UK airspace.
HomecallPlus enters liquidation
HomecallPlus, supplier of emergency cover for homeowners and landlords, has gone into liquidation with confusion surrounding whether any policies issued in the last six months were backed by an underwriter.
Ageas sees no sign of commercial hardening
Barry Smith, chief executive of Ageas UK, told Insurance Age he had seen no signs of commercial market hardening and indicated that he was not anticipating it happening soon.
Ageas returns to profit despite 104.6% COR
Ageas Insurance has revealed profit before tax of £3.9m for the first quarter of 2011, a £9.2m improvement over the equivalent quarter in 2010.