Q&A
Review of the Year 2023: CGI and Acrisure’s Andy Fairchild
CGI brand ambassador and Acrisure networks chairman and retail broking adviser Andy Fairchild celebrates one of life’s nice guys getting to lead the way, and a rebranding handled sensitively with real clarity and purpose.
Review of the Year 2023: Aurora’s Carla Havemann
Carla Havemann, head of partnership strategy and engagement at Aurora, suspects AI will not revolutionise the market in the short term and hopes she is never subjected to an insurance-related remake of Barbie.
Review of the Year 2023: Investec Premium Finance’s Osian Rees
Osian Rees, head of Investec Premium Finance, reflects on why affordability and access to insurance cover could be vote-winners at the next election, and why brokers must ensure their supplementary costs align with fair value principles.
Review of the Year 2023: Macbeth’s Paul Macbeth
Macbeth Insurance Brokers CEO Paul Macbeth hails its success at the Hedron Networks awards and admits to being surprised – as much as you can be these days – by Romero’s acquisition.
Review of the Year 2023: Broker Insights’ Fraser Edmond
Broker Insights CEO Fraser Edmond predicts more insurer M&A for 2024 and suggests those who use AI better will win out in the future.
Review of the Year 2023: Polo Managing Agency’s Paul Andrews
Paul Andrews, CEO of PoloWorks and Polo Managing Agency, wonders what happened to Arch’s auction for Castel and predicts an FCA crackdown on the ‘last bastion of poor outcomes’ to protect vulnerable groups.
Review of the Year 2023: Technology experts
Manoj Pant from Pega, Bradley O’Connor from Miller, and Tom Lawrie-Fussey from LexisNexis Risk Solutions offer perspectives on the year and predictions for 2024 from a technology expert perspective.
Review of the Year 2023: ThingCo’s Jonathon Valentine
Jonathon Valentine, CIO at ThingCo, looks forward to proving the telematics naysayers wrong and reflects on how much insurers have to fear from AI in such a heavily regulated market.
Review of the Year 2023: Spring Insure’s Paula McManus
Paula McManus, senior PI underwriter at Spring Insure, shares her thoughts on continuing major market withdrawals and recalls Socrates when advising the political parties on how to win her vote at the 2024 General Election.
Review of the Year 2023: Arc Legal Group’s Peter Harvey
Peter Harvey, deputy CEO of Arc Legal Group muses on a 20th anniversary celebration and reliving his school days by becoming an Olympian long jumper.
Review of the Year 2023: Ageas’s Middle, Beckett, Clarke and Linklater
The Ageas UK management team ponder the plethora of personal lines exits and why a reduction in IPT could be a 2024 election vote winner.
Review of the Year 2023: Direct Commercial’s Adam Marsh
Adam Marsh, head of agency and development at Direct Commercial reflects on asking ChatGPT why commercial motor insurance should use AI and why good service is frequently over-promised and under-delivered.
Meet the MGA: Corin Underwriting
Andy Hurrell, the managing director and head of underwriting at Corin, outlines his plans for a business that has made Lloyd’s-on-Sea its home with a strategy that aims to embrace everything good about being a virtual insurer and a recognised MGA.
Review of the Year 2023: Clear Group’s Neil Bunce
Neil Bunce, regional managing director at Clear Group, reflects on why penetration – not AI – is his buzzword of the year, and predicts Aviva might make a major UK acquisition in 2024.
Review of the Year 2023: Zurich’s David Nichols
David Nichols, Zurich Insurance UK head of retail reflects on the hype over the ‘war for talent’ and how RSA’s acquisition of NIG is symptomatic of the drive towards e-trading and serving brokers better.
Review of the Year 2023: Academy Insurance’s Gilles Normand
Academy CEO Gilles Normand explains the problem with election manifestos and why AI poses little threat to the insurance sector as it has yet to get to grips with previous so-called game changers, such as digitisation.
Review of the Year 2023: OneAdvent’s Tim Quayle
Tim Quayle, CEO of OneAdvent, admits relief that the hype around blockchain has rescinded and wonders if it is time for Lloyd’s to turn its iconic building into a shared office space for the market…. with beer on tap.
Review of the Year 2023: Sicsic Adivsory’s Nadege Genetay
Nadege Genetay, partner at Sicsic Advisory, risks hate mail by citing the FCA action on multi-occupancy building insurance as her highlight of 2023 and predicts some brokers might move away from commission to remuneration based on work performed.
Review of the Year 2023: Iprism’s Ian Lloyd
Ian Lloyd, CEO of Iprism, reflects on a major M&A deal he did not see coming, and how he could turn childhood promise in shooting/archery into an Olympic podium finish in 2024.
Review of the Year 2023: JMG Group’s Nick Houghton
Nick Houghton, CEO of JMG Group, reflects on the handsome multiples being paid for brokers and why he does not like the phrase ‘direction of travel’.
Review of the Year 2023: Axa’s Sarah Mallaby
Sarah Mallaby, Axa commercial distribution and trading director, reflects on the insurer’s cautious exploration of the opportunities afforded by AI and pushing the boundaries in ‘green’ schemes business.
Review of the Year 2023: Brown & Brown Europe’s Chris Sime
Chris Sime, group markets director at Brown & Brown Europe, reflects on why AI is the 'new black in insurance' and his surprise at the amount of broker M&A still being done
Meet the MGA: Onda
Launched into the UK in October, chief underwriting officer Alex Jomaa explains why managing general agent Onda is on a mission to simplify and demystify cyber insurance for both brokers and customers alike.
Review of the Year 2023: Acrisure’s Mark McIlquham
In the first of our ‘Review’ series Mark McIlquham, president of Acrisure UK Retail, reflects on whether the 15-year cycle will see a large insurer buy a large broker, and how he’d recast the Barbie film with senior figures from its ‘network dream team’