Articles by Siân Barton
Gallagher shutters Dumfries office with three other locations under threat
Dumfries staff face redundancy as broker discusses future of Ayr, Fort William and Inverness bases as it seeks to move some locations to remote working.
The Blog Spot: Taking the virtual route
Why it is right for Biba to keep things virtual at its 2021 conference, Sian Barton writes.
Biba confirms virtual 2021 conference
The trade body said it was “impossible and unwise” to press ahead with an in person meeting for 2021 because of coronavirus.
Ageas takes chief distribution officer from Aviva
Adam Beckett joins the insurer in the New Year after 20 years with Aviva.
Editor's letter: November 2020
Reasons to be cheerful: The pandemic is still ongoing and many clients are struggling, but brokers are finding ways to keep a positive outlook
Date set for Supreme Court BI battle
The case, brought by the FCA on behalf of policyholders, will be heard for four days from 16 November.
Erskine Murray joins PIB stable
All employees of the Leicester-headquartered broker will remain with the business following completion of PIB’s largest deal to date.
Clementi exits as MS Amlin Underwriting CEO
Johan Slabbert takes up the position later on this year as Clementi leaves the insurer.
AIG set to restructure
The insurer will separate its life and retirement business from its GI division and will refresh leadership as CEO Duperreault steps back to executive chairman role.
FCA raps Aviva on the knuckles over share announcement
Insurer apologises over 2018 announcement with the potential to mislead the market in a “serious but not intentional” breach.
Trust in insurance sector plummets after BI case
The Financial Conduct Authority test case has seen a third of sector professionals believe faith in insurance has been “greatly reduced”.
Applied’s Fairchild plans organic growth
But doesn’t rule out acquisitions as he praises Google investment for helping the software house develop a more open platform and hails Howden’s A-Plan deal.
BI dispute: RSA won't appeal on Resilience and two Eaton Gate wordings
The insurer is not challenging the judgement on three wordings as the coronavirus business interruption proceedings head to the Supreme Court.
Clear Group 2019 results highlight growth
The business saw improvement across all metrics in the year it bought Morrison Insurance Solutions.
Insurance investor backs Let Live Thrive events cover initiative
John Kinder is spear-heading a public private initiative developed to help the hospitality industry get cover following the coronavirus pandemic.
Bollington reports profit and turnover surge
Turnover shot up to £23.6m in for the year ending 31 December 2019 from £14.4m the previous year and the broker flags £24m bank loan for deals.
UK insurance firm goes into administration
East West Insurance Company was forced into administration following a Court of Appeal ruling on a claim.
Gallagher forced to take global systems offline
The broker has confirmed that a ransomware incident hit its network but everything is now back online as ICO says attack has been reported.
Insurance mental health network launched
LikeMind has been set up by sector volunteers and is due to go live on 22 October.
A-Plan makes first deal as part of Howden stable
The broker is to buy Ingenie from Watchstone Group as it moves forward with plan to develop its technological capability.
Editor's letter - October 2020
Repairing reputation: How can the insurance sector move forward from the reputation shattering BI test case?
Broker Littlenlarge bought by Verastar
The SME service provider, which also owns The Insurance Octopus, has purchased the commercial property specialist for an undisclosed sum.
HG invests in Howden-owner Hyperion
The deal places an enterprise value of $5bn on Hyperion and provides it with $1.5bn to acquire and invest in data and technology.
Paul Evans joins Allianz as chairman
The former UK and group CEO for Axa will oversee Allianz Insurance and LV General Insurance.