Personal
A-Plan details £3.6m rebrand spend as turnover ticks up but profits dip in 2024
A-Plan, now rebranded as Howden, grew turnover by 2.1% to £167.3m in the year ended 30 September 2024 as investments in staff, rebrand costs and IT spend hit the bottom line.
Ageas claims ‘number three’ UK personal lines position with £1.3bn Esure deal
Ageas has reached an agreement with Bain Capital to acquire Esure to create what it claims is the third largest UK personal lines player.
News analysis: To what extent have brokers bought into Flood Re’s Build Back Better scheme?
Flood specialists warn of a persistent knowledge gap among general brokers, but highlight that more providers need to make the Build Back Better scheme available. Ida Axling reports.
Aviva reports 18% increase in ghost broking frauds in 2024
Aviva detected an 18% increase in ghost-brokered policies and linked an additional 8,600 cases to open investigations into known ghost broking cases in 2024.
Aviva partners with Towergate on caravan cover
Ardonagh-owned Towergate has teamed up with Aviva on caravan, park and leisure homes.
Two specialty MGAs set to merge
Managing general agents Nirvana and Pulse have announced plans to merge their businesses.
Flood Re boosts education drive with academy launch
Flood Re has launched a dedicated online e-learning platform providing free training on the Flood Re scheme and the Build Back Better initiative.
PwC highlights pressure on motor, home and specialty insurance from Trump’s tariffs
PwC has warned of higher claims costs, particularly in motor and home, leading to pressure on premium rates due to the US placing new tariffs on its global trading partners.
FOS expects motor insurance complaints to stay high in 2025/26
The Financial Ombudsman Service has flagged it expects complaints about motor insurance to remain high in 2025/26 due to the higher cost of, and supply challenges around, parts and labour.
Deal-linked Esure swings back to profit
Motor and home insurer Esure, previously touted as takeover target for Ageas, Allianz and Aviva, moved back into the black in 2024 with a £57.7m post tax profit reversing a loss of £60.1m the year before.
Brunel Insurance Brokers in North Devon broker deal
Brunel Insurance Brokers has snapped up the renewal rights of John Walker Insurance.
RSA cutting up to 250 jobs in Peterborough following personal lines exit
RSA has put 250 jobs at risk in its Peterborough office over the next two years, following the insurer’s decision to exit the personal insurance market first announced in December 2023.
Ecclesiastical delivers major COR improvement with sub 80% in UK and Ireland
Ecclesiastical Insurance improved its combined operating significantly in the UK and Ireland last year as underwriting profits more than doubled.
Which? calls out ongoing “hefty” premium finance charges
Consumer champions Which? have branded premium finance rates currently being charged by many insurers as “difficult to justify”, especially with car insurance where it found a third of rates are above 25%.
Ageas CEO Middle on elevating onto the podium with broker growth
Ageas has its strongest pipeline of opportunities with brokers ever as it targets growing to be a podium player, CEO Ant Middle told Insurance Age.
Sabre CEO Carter on growing profitably with brokers
With over 70% of Sabre’s business going through brokers, CEO Geoff Carter has hailed the insurer’s performance and promised there is more to come.
Bspoke buys insurtech Arma Karma
Bspoke Group has bought Colchester-based monthly insurance subscription insurtech Arma Karma.
Sabre in first share buy-back as profits soar in 24
Sabre has posted a 5% rise in gross written premiums as profit after tax nearly doubled in 2024.
Zurich targets £250m of GWP after extending relationship with MGA
Zurich UK has extended its capacity agreement with Plum Underwriting for a further five years, with ambitions to reach £250m GWP over the term.
M&A market will be busy but less frenzied in 2025, says Ardonagh boss Bayles
Ardonagh Advisory leader Phil Bayles has hailed reaching the goal of 12 deals in 2024 and indicated around a further six this year.
Granite to roll out broker portals and enhanced trading platform
Acorn’s Granite Underwriting will launch broker portals in the next few months as one part of an ongoing group investment in technology with Acturis-owned ICE, Insurance Age can reveal.