News Analysis
Bspoke sets marker with £5.17m turnover in inaugural accounts
Bspoke Insurance Group has forecast returning to profit after achieving £5.17m of turnover but post-tax losses in its first five months of trading since being formed out of UK General and Precision Partnership.
17% of brokers report unprofitable quarter to FCA financial resilience survey
An average three-month net profit of £22,636.50 has ranked insurance brokers and intermediaries as the third most profitable sector in the latest Financial Resilience Survey by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Clear spending tops £100m in 2023
Clear spent £102.4m snapping up 10 businesses in the year ended 31 October 2023, the most in its history and around double the year before.
Applied updates on commercial push
Applied Systems has confirmed Arch Insurance is about to enter the pilot phase of onboarding and will be live on the Applied Epic broker management system in April, with Iprism and Ark to follow and more promised in 2024.
Sabre to ride on in motorcycle with broker deals after MCE collapse
Sabre is in discussions with larger motorcycle brokers and confident of adding two new partners towards the end of 2024 and into next year, CEO Geoff Carter told Insurance Age.
Broker worries bubbling up on Ageas-Direct Line but one hope trumps all
Brokers have raised concerns about the impact on the sector if Ageas snaps up Direct Line but expressed confidence in the potential buyer’s management should a deal come to pass.
Trade Credit Insurance is again in the spotlight. How can brokers take advantage?
Described as a ‘sleeping giant’ of the insurance market, brokers should wise up to the opportunities offered by trade credit. Especially, as Martin Friel discovers, recent geo-political events mean this vital safety for businesses is edging to toward the…
FOI request pulls back the curtain on FCA’s broker S166s
A Freedom of Information request by Insurance Age to the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed further details on the spike in insurance skilled persons reports.
Analysis: What can brokers expect from RSA’s new-look commercial senior team?
With a new-look senior commercial lines team in place, brokers must hope RSA is done with chopping and changing at the top. Jonathan Swift assesses what the future might hold now dates have been set for the NIG integration.
Holmes promises to ramp up focus on smaller brokers and across mid-market
Allianz has been growing in SME business and will push ahead further with smaller brokers this year alongside targeting growth in mid-market, according to UK CEO Colm Holmes.
Has cyber reached a tipping point with new entrants and incumbent product pushes?
Against a backdrop where the Financial Conduct Authority has warned the cyber insurance market over its concerns on policy wordings, a recent survey has found over one-third of brokers are still not selling this product. Siân Barton mulls whether a raft…
News analysis: Employee ownership – how does it work for brokers?
Towards the end of 2023, Thomas Carroll became the latest broker to become employee-owned. Ida Axling looks at the benefits of the model for intermediaries and how the sale of Ten to Acrisure busted one myth that they cannot be sold.
All FCA authorisation metrics out of red zone
No Financial Conduct Authority authorisation metrics were rated red in the third quarter of 2023/24, with brokers also seeing an improvement in most key areas affecting the sector.
Ardonagh Advisory targeting deal a month in 2024
Ardonagh Advisory is expecting to match its seven deals in 2023 in just the first half of this year, according to chief commercial officer Phil Bayles.
Banga commits to more Polaris developments as insurers push the boundaries on digital trading
Having just completed five years as managing director of Polaris, Vivek Banga has promised more developments from the “core and essential” digital trading offering in 2024 after £2.5m of investment last year.
Axa pulls the plug on motorbike business
Axa will stop underwriting motorbike insurance from March, Insurance Age can reveal.
Interactive insurance broker UK M&A Map 2024
In 2023, Insurance Age reported on 114 UK broker deals with Brown & Brown Europe leading the way with 21.
South West tops survey for insurance account executive pay rises
The 2024 average salary for insurance account executives is up 7.5% in the South West, the highest rise in the UK closely followed by Wales and East Anglia, according to a survey by recruitment consultants Reed.
Broker Diversity Push: Broking gender diversity in leadership stuck at 16%
The latest update to Insurance Age’s Broker Diversity Push benchmark has revealed women still only hold 16.61% of six key leadership roles in broking.
Fitch: Improving outlook for insurers but no room for complacency
The effect of “baked in” pricing improvements and easing economic headwinds gives an improving outlook for insurers this year, but will only make it less bad than 2023, according to Fitch.
Travelers steps back from Biba partner status
Travelers did not renew its partnership status with the British Insurance Brokers’ Association on 31 December 2023, but will be exhibiting at the trade body’s conference in Manchester this May.
Brown & Brown rolls out on Acturis
Brown & Brown is moving its retail platform to Acturis, Insurance Age can reveal.
The American consolidators are not done yet
Recent years have been notable for the amount of consolidation led by US-based insurance brokers. Ida Axling looks at whether these players are likely to continue doing deals at the same rate and what is driving these buying sprees.
Qmetric reveals £41m loss in run-up to sale
Policy Expert owner Qmetric lost £41.06m last financial year ahead of being bought by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which has gone on to invest £35m in the business.