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Princeton Financial Systems announced the successful completion of the Service Organization Controls 2 (SOC2SM), Type 2 examination for the period October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012, covering its eMIG21 investment compliance suite and ePAM investment accounting solutions. Princeton Financial is the first Software as a Service (SaaS) provider among its peer group to issue a SOC2, Type 2 controls report.

Established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SOC2SM and its companion standard SOC1SM for financial reporting, replaced the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS70) as the official auditing framework for service organizations. The AICPA’s new guidelines entitled, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, or Privacy (SOC2SM), expands the opportunities for service organizations to provide attest reports over areas outside of financial reporting, such as compliance with laws and regulations or the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.

SOC2, Type 2 engagements cover how Princeton Financial addresses criteria established by the AICPA related to compliance or operations, including security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy (also know as the Trust Service Principles).  “Princeton’s ability to publish a report at first attempt reflects the strength in its controls and the commitment across its organization to perform at a level that meets and exceeds customer expectations regarding our services addressed by SOC2 criteria,” states Michael Dahl, Chief Legal Officer of Princeton Financial Systems. “This achievement is a benefit to both Princeton and its clients. We have made significant investments in our infrastructure, systems and training, which enables us to help clients better understand internal controls in their service organizations. We are proud to be among the first of our peers to successfully complete the service audit,” adds Dahl.

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Xchanging has unveiled Netsett, the global accounting and net settlement utility, to the U.S. market at the ACORD LOMA Forum in Las Vegas.

The Netsett platform is the result of a partnership between Xchanging and Deutsche Bank and is set to transform the way in which global insurers and brokers transact financial settlements. The platform seeks to replicate, on a global basis, the cash liquidity and operational cost saving benefits from which the London market has long benefited through central settlement platforms.

The launch on Tuesday follows a roll out in Asia in February, and the successful completion of phase one in the UK in January. The second phase of Netsett, delivering full end–to–end ACORD capability and a Ruschlikon compliant process, is due for release in Q3 2013.

Max Pell, Managing Director, Xchanging UK Insurance commented: “The global (re)insurance market is an increasingly complex and regulated business and crucial to the success of the market is the management of contractual performance and cash flow between brokers, including effective management across borders and currencies.

Netsett is a major innovation for Xchanging and I am delighted that our US customers are now able to take advantage of this utility, which in simple terms facilitates faster payments with less transactional costs as well as increased control and greater adherence to regulation and compliance.”

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Argo International (‘Argo’), the Lloyd’s insurer and member of Argo Group, today announces the appointment of David Harris as managing director of Syndicate 1200 at Lloyd’s.  Mr. Harris succeeds Jeff Radke who has been appointed to a group-wide operations role.

Mr. Harris brings more than 25 years experience in the London insurance market. He most recently spent nearly ten years with Amlin plc in various roles including international development director, syndicate managing director, and chief operating officer. Previously he held senior operations roles in both AXA Insurance and RSA.

Argo Group Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Watson III said: “Our Lloyd’s operations have made remarkable progress, particularly since Jeff took the helm two years ago. David’s experience, reputation and relationships make him ideally suited to lead the Syndicate and build on this solid foundation and I look forward to working closely with him.”

“I’d like to congratulate Jeff on his well deserved appointment to the newly created role of head of group operations and I am certain that the disciplines he’s employed so successfully in London will be of great benefit to the wider group,” commented Mr. Watson.

Mr Harris’ appointment takes effect immediately subject to regulatory approvals.

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Aon Benfield launches a specialist team to address client challenges in the construction and engineering sector.

Led by Julian Wood, Aon Benfield’s Construction and Engineering team combines a wealth of sector knowledge with unrivalled risk insight, and premier placement and post-placement services.

Based in London, the team is part both of the firm’s treaty and facultative divisions, via Global ReSpecialty and Aon Benfield Fac, providing it with access to the full resources of the Aon Benfield’s network, including a 500-strong Analytics function.

Aon Benfield’s Construction and Engineering team brings a complete range of dedicated solutions to the firm’s client base, as well as access to the world’s premier treaty, facultative and capital markets reinsurance capacity, sourced from the industry’s leading markets, including Lloyd’s of London.

Key areas of expertise include; Contractors All Risk, Erection All Risk, Builders Risk, Course of Construction lines, as well as Machinery Breakdown, Computer and Electronic Equipment, and Contractors Plant and Machinery.

Dominic Christian, co-Chief Executive Officer at Aon Benfield, said: “We are delighted to offer dedicated and specialised construction and engineering capabilities to our client base, embracing the treaty, facultative and capital markets. As part of Aon Benfield, the Construction and Engineering team has access to a wide range of risk transfer and capital solutions, as well as our global Analytics function. This means the team is able to offer clients an incredible variety of risk analysis tools and actuarial services, which is a real differentiator in the marketplace.”

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Bluefin Professions, the specialist division of UK broker Bluefin, offering insurance and risk management solutions to professional services businesses, today announces four new appointments. Bobby Payne has been appointed as Broking Director, Adam Burton as Account Manager and Nick Wakefield and Alison Pugsley as Account Brokers, all with immediate effect.

Bobby Payne will be responsible for managing and developing the Bluefin Professions broking teams in Bristol. Previously, Bobby has worked as Operations Manager at Jelf Professions and Team Manager at Alexander Forbes/Lockton. In these roles he managed the development, compliance and key client account handling of the broking teams.

Adam Burton will be responsible for servicing existing Professions clients and prospects in the South East region and will be based in London. Prior to this role, Adam has worked at Heath Lambert, Blackmore Borley and latterly as Team leader of Affinity Renewals at Lockton.

Nick Wakefield will service new business and renewals for the Professions teams. Previously, Nick worked at RBS Insurance, where he dealt with personal lines/commercial packages, liabilities and property policies.

Alison Pugsley will handle client accounts including renewals of policies, mid-term servicing and general customer care. Before starting at Bluefin, Alison worked for Aon, both in Bristol and in Australia.

Paul Gillett, Operations Director, Bluefin Professions, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome all four new members to Bluefin Professions. We have been working with professional firms since 1992 to become one of the UK’s market leading brokers specialising in professional indemnity insurance. We are keen to grow our business both in Bristol and across the South East and our new joiners are ideally placed to help us with this expansion. We look forward to working with them.”

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General Legal Protection Limited has launched the UK’s most straightforward ‘Landlord Rent Guarantee’ insurance product that is specifically designed for the letting agent market.

Whilst the product insures both legal fees for a wide range of scenarios and rental payments if a tenant falls into arrears, it also offers its own upfront free express tenant referencing system to reduce the chances of renting to a risky tenant.  It pays up to £25,000 for rent arrears and up to £25,000 for legal expenses.

André Scruton, Managing Director of York based General Legal Protection, says: “The growth of the private rented sector combined with an uncertain economic climate means more tenants than ever before are defaulting on payments.  Recent figures from the National Landlords Association reveal that 49% of landlords have experienced rental arrears in the last 12 months.

“Part of the reason for this is that even the most stringent checks and references won’t help if a tenant falls on hard times.  Plus there are an endless number of reasons why a landlord might need legal assistance which can range from having to evict tenants through to pursuing costs for damage or even defence costs if a tenant takes action against the landlord.

“As a result we spotted a gap in the market for a straightforward insurance product that landlords can rely on.  As soon as they experience problems they can speak to an expert who will advise them about how to proceed and take immediate action on their behalf.”

André adds: “The product is also specifically designed to be easy for letting agents to purchase on behalf of landlords.  Landlords typically pay between £45 and £75 per year for the product and letting agents receive a commission for each product they sell. There’s also the added benefit that problem tenants are dealt with by a team of professionals rather than the letting agent having to handle the difficult situation between the tenant and aggrieved landlord.  Plus the cost of the policy is tax deductable against a landlords’ income which makes it even better value for money.”

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Fitch Ratings has affirmed Aegon N.V.’s (Aegon) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘A’ and senior unsecured debt at ‘A-‘. Fitch has also affirmed Aegon’s primary North American life insurance subsidiaries (Aegon Americas) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings at ‘AA-‘. The Outlooks on Aegon’s Long-term IDR and the IFS ratings of its primary North American life insurance subsidiaries are Negative. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this comment.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The affirmations reflect Aegon’s continued capital strength and the significant cash held at the holding company level. Aegon’s ratings continue to reflect the diversification of both its products and distribution, particularly in US retail markets, its measured risk appetite and its focus on cost control.

Offsetting this, earnings remain under pressure in Aegon’s main markets, although Fitch expects profitability to gradually improve as Aegon continues to move to less volatile fee-based business and executes its strategy to focus on core operations, scale back non-core operations and improve operating efficiency.

The Negative Outlook reflects Aegon’s high financial leverage as calculated by Fitch (33% at 31 December 2012) and low fixed-charge cover (around 5x in 2012), which remain materially outside stated guidelines for the rating level. The ratings are likely to be downgraded if financial leverage does not improve to below 30% and fixed-charge cover to above 5x. However, Fitch understands that Aegon will retire USD750m of senior notes in 2013. This, in combination with retained earnings boosting capital, should drive financial leverage down.

Aegon’s credit-related investment losses have declined, with impairments falling consistently since peaking in 2008. Aegon’s unrealised losses on structured credit products also shrank significantly in 2012 as market conditions improved but Aegon remains exposed to financial and credit market conditions through its holdings of US residential mortgage-backed securities and commercial mortgage-related investments.

However, Fitch expects Aegon to continue its shift to a higher-quality credit portfolio with a reduction in the allocation to relatively risky structured assets such as ABS and RMBS.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could lead to a downgrade include financial leverage not declining in 2013 and remaining above 30% when calculated with 2014 financials; fixed-charge cover not improving to above 5x; large credit-related investment losses (realised or unrealised); a material decline in operating profitability; or significant earnings or capital volatility from Aegon’s US variable annuity portfolio if, for example, Aegon’s hedging becomes insufficient or underperforms.

The rating actions are as follows:

Aegon N.V.

Long-term IDR: affirmed at ‘A’; Outlook Negative

Senior unsecured debt: affirmed at ‘A-‘

Short-term IDR and commercial paper programme: affirmed at ‘F1’

The following Aegon N.V. perpetual capital securities are affirmed at ‘BBB’:

USD500m 6.5%, callable 12/2010 (NL0000062420)

USD250m floating rate, callable 12/2010 (NL0000062438)

NLG450m 4.26%, callable 03/2021 (NL0000120889)

EUR200m 6%, callable 07/2011 (NL0000168466)

USD550m 6.875%, callable 09/2011 (NL0000686368)

USD1,050m 7.25%, callable 12/2012 (NL0006056814)

EUR950m floating rate, callable 07/2014 (NL0000116150)

USD500m floating rate, callable 07/2014 (NL0000116168)

NLG250m 4.156%, callable 06/2015 (NL0000120004)

USD1,000m 6.375%, callable 06/2015 (NL0000021541)

NLG300m 5.185%, callable 10/2018 (NL0000121416)

USD525m 8%, callable 08/2017 (US007924608)

The following Aegon North American life insurance subsidiary companies’ Long-term IFS ratings have been affirmed at ‘AA-‘. The Outlooks of all the companies are Negative:

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance Company of New York

Monumental Life Insurance Company

Stonebridge Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Life Canada

Transamerica Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Life International (Bermuda) Ltd.

Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio

The following Aegon subsidiary companies’ Short-term IFS ratings have been affirmed at ‘F1+’:

Monumental Life Insurance Company

Transamerica Life Insurance Company

The following Aegon subsidiary companies’ Short-term IFS ratings have been affirmed at ‘F1+’ and simultaneously withdrawn as the rating is no longer considered by Fitch to be relevant to the agency’s coverage:

Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company

The following Aegon subsidiary companies’ secured notes programme and outstanding issues have been affirmed at ‘AA-‘:

Monumental Global Funding III

Monumental Global Funding II

Monumental Global Funding Ltd.

Transamerica Corporation:

Long-term IDR affirmed at ‘A’; Outlook Negative

Transamerica Capital II:

Trust Preferred 7.65% due 12/1/2026, affirmed at ‘BBB’

Transamerica Capital III:

Trust Preferred 7.625% due 11/15/2037, affirmed at ‘BBB’

Aegon Funding Company LLC:

Senior debt: affirmed at ‘A-‘

The following Aegon subsidiary company’s senior debt and medium term notes have been affirmed at ‘A-‘:

Commonwealth General Corporation

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RMS announced that it has conducted the expert risk analysis for two new catastrophe (cat) bonds: Bosphorus Re 1 Ltd. (Series 2013-1) cat bond; and the Tar Heel Re Ltd. (Series 2013-1) cat bond, launched in April 2013. With the recent series of cat bonds, RMS has modeled $1.2B of new issuance in 2013.

Bosphorus Re 1, sponsored by the Turkish Insurance Catastrophe Pool (TCIP), was upsized from its initial target of $100M after strong investor demand.  The cat bond provides TCIP with $400M of protection against earthquakes in the Istanbul region of Turkey until April 2016. This transaction uses a parametric trigger based on a network of stations in and around Istanbul. This is the first transaction to bring pure parametric Turkey earthquake risk to the market, and investor demand drove the price down to a record low.

Tar Heel Re (Series 2013-1) is sponsored by North Carolina Joint Underwriting Association and North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCJUA/IUA), and was also upsized from its initial target of $250M. The cat bond provides NCJUA/IUA with $500M of protection against U.S. tropical cyclones until May 2016. RMS conducted the risk analysis using its RiskLink® version 11.0 U.S. Hurricane Model, and the deal is the first to include a number of sensitivity analyses around long and medium-term rate scenarios and storm surge leakage levels. This gives investors a range of modeled loss estimates to help inform more resilient risk management decisions.

“We are excited to see such strong investor demand for both of these transactions,” said Peter Nakada, managing director of RMS Capital Markets. “With a continuing interest and influx of investor capital into the Insurance Linked Securities market, now is a great time for cedants to lock-in attractively priced cover for the next few years. RMS is delighted to help facilitate this risk transfer, with these successful transactions.”

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Bluefin Insurance Group today announces the completion of the acquisition of Bonsure Insurance Brokers Ltd (“Bonsure”).

Bonsure, founded in 1994 and based in Dartford, is a general brokerage business offering a broad range of services to both businesses and individuals across the UK. It has developed a particular specialism in providing brokerage and advisory services to care homes and is one of the UK leading brokers in this specialist area.

Bonsure’s two partners, John Whitefield and David Brine, will be joining Bluefin and will relocate to Bluefin’s offices in Chelmsford.

Stuart Reid, CEO of Bluefin Insurance Group, said: “We believe that Bonsure is an excellent broker with a track record for growth and specialist skills in areas such as Care Homes. We are very pleased that both John and David wish to continue working in the business as part of Bluefin.

This is a good example of Bluefin’s acquisition strategy, targeting high quality broking operations with areas of specialism which complement the group’s offering. We have made it known that we are pushing our acquisition strategy this year. This acquisition shows that we are open for business and we are hungry for more deals.  We hope that our renewed presence in the acquisition market will be welcomed as healthy competition.

Give me a ring if you are considering selling – we believe we have the best offer in town.”

John Whitefield, Partner of Bonsure, said:  “Bluefin values the ability of its professionals to bring specialist expertise to customers and is therefore able to meet the consistently high levels of service that we pride ourselves on. We are confident that the attitude and approach of Bluefin is an excellent match for our company. Our customers can look forward to continued excellence as we join a major national broker and we look forward to joining the team and working to expand our business”.

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ProSight Specialty Underwriters Ltd. (‘ProSight’), operating Syndicate 1110 at Lloyd’s, is pleased to announce the appointments of Peter Lodge and Stephen Kiedish as underwriters in the newly formed Leisure and Hospitality team. Both take up their new roles with immediate effect.

Peter Lodge has over thirty years underwriting experience. He joins ProSight from Aegis London where he held the position of Leisure and Hospitality Class underwriter. Peter began his career with Commercial Union and has held roles, first as a Property and Casualty underwriter, before specialising in the Leisure and Hospitality sector at Economic Insurance Co, AGF Insurance and QBE.

Stephen Kiedish also joins ProSight from Aegis London where he worked alongside Peter as a Leisure and Hospitality Underwriter, writing a book of UK, Australian and Canadian P&C Leisure and Hospitality business. Stephen began his career at RSA and has over a decade of experience specialising in the Leisure and Hospitality sector.

Julian Enoizi, Managing Director of ProSight Speciality Underwriters Ltd., commented, “Attracting highly skilled underwriters like Peter and Stephen to ProSight reflects both our ambitions for the future and how we aim to develop this business. They bring with them a combination of specialist knowledge, sector expertise and a proven track record of building profitable books of business. The Leisure and Hospitality market is an area where we have identified significant scope for expansion and with Peter and Stephen forming the base of our new team, we are well positioned in this class.”

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A team of 24 staff from specialist Lloyd’s insurer Jubilee are aiming to raise £20,000 for King’s College Hospital by rowing across the English Channel.

The group will be rowing in three boats from Dover to Calais between 18th and 24th May, weather permitting. The 26 nautical mile crossing of one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world is expected to take a total of 5-6 hours.

All the funds raised from the challenge will go to support the work of King’s College Hospital in London; a cause close to the heart of the team for the hospital which celebrates its centenary this year.

Neil Tayler, Accident & Health Underwriter at Jubilee, who devised and organised the challenge, explained: “The daughter of one of our colleagues was involved in a serious car accident last year. King’s College Hospital treated her injuries and set her on the slow road to recovery.

“We want to raise funds to acknowledge the help they provided to our colleague and his family, and also the work they do on a daily basis which very seldom receives the credit it deserves.”

Johnny Rowell, CEO of Jubilee, praised his colleague efforts: “We are so proud of this group of staff setting out on an amazing challenge to support such a worthwhile cause.

“Their level of commitment and teamwork in tackling this challenge will also be of great value to the business; strengthening their working relationships and support for each other.”

The team, who are all first time rowers, have received a much needed boost from five times Olympic Gold Medal Rower, Sir Steve Redgrave who sent them a message of support: “Good luck with the Channel Row Challenge and for raising funds for such a great cause.” he said.

Anyone wishing to support the group’s fundraising efforts can do so by going to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/JubileeChannelChallenge

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QBE is supporting charity, Backcare, and manual handling experts, Pristine Condition Ltd, in their bid to reduce back injuries in the construction industry.

Despite extensive efforts to reduce the need for manual handling in the construction sector, it is an unavoidable component of activities undertaken at most sites and remains one of the biggest causes of injury and lost time; primarily due to poor lifting and handling practices.

QBE’s own experience shows that manual handling accounts for approximately 25% of employers’ liability claims. Of those, two out of three will be settled in the claimant’s favour at an average cost of £10,000 per claim, making this a real issue for both employers and insurers in the construction sector.

The industry’s Skills Certification Scheme, designed to ensure operators are appropriately prepared for site work, does not adequately cover manual handling.  Consequently, Pristine Condition and Backcare, with the support of QBE, have developed a “train the trainer” programme specifically addressing manual handling and targeting sub-contractors and small to medium sized construction companies.  The programme fulfils employers’ legal duties and can assist in the prevention and defensibility of claims.

Having attended the day-long training course, a company’s representative would return to ‘pass on the principles’ learned to the rest of their organisation.  To support with the dissemination of the training, representatives receive a ‘Construction Pack’ which includes a lesson plan, a DVD covering a huge spectrum of construction related tasks demonstrating correct manual handling techniques and risk assessment materials and support.

Mark Black, Senior Risk Manager at QBE, said “QBE are proud to be supporting Pristine Condition and Backcare in making this initiative happen. It will provide much needed information and resources particularly to sub-contractors and SMEs who currently find it difficult to address their manual handling exposures due to costs and logistics.”

Davy Snowdon, Managing Director for Pristine Condition adds “Manual lifting and handling continues to be one of the biggest causes of accidents and injuries within the construction sector. The launch of our ‘Construction Pack’ will provide not only a cost effective, but realistic and achievable approach to this long standing problem.”

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Truro based insurer Cornish Mutual has experienced rapid growth since being supported by Transactor Global Solutions Ltd’s (TGSL) specialist software solutions, designed to increase productivity and efficiency, reducing costs and increasing profits.

In March 2013, Cornish Mutual reported a 9% increase in gross written premium to £19.2m in the full-year to September 2012. Profit after tax increased significantly to £2.09m from £336,221 in 2011 and the insurer saw Members grow to 24,352 from 23,447 in 2011.

After carrying out a thorough tender process in 2010, Cornish Mutual chose TGSL as its new software supplier as it was able to offer the functionality needed to replace the insurer’s existing legacy software as well as a comprehensive ledger solution, vastly improving that offered on the old system.

Peter Beaumount, Finance Director, Cornish Mutual, explained the decision: “We were looking for technology that was up to date, scalable and offered a platform for future development. TGSL have proved, as we hoped, to be interested in us as a business and they wanted to help us develop our very customer-focused offering through technology.

”Introducing significant changes to an organisation is not without risk but our results show that if you choose the right approach you will reap the rewards.  We are looking forward to the next phase of improvement at Cornish Mutual and our technology choices have played a big part in the capabilities we are now unlocking as part of that development.

“As a mutual we want to make it easy for our Members to do business with us. We also want to promote professional standards and reliability. Therefore, we are very conscious of the fact that we need to work with partners who will support our ethos. We are delighted that TGSL has enabled us to introduce significant changes to the business while maintaining service levels to our Members.”

Ian Blakesley, Chief Technology Officer, TGSL, said “Cornish Mutual’s latest results are extremely impressive and we are always thrilled to see a client doing so well. The company has great staff, realistic objectives and an admirable commitment to improving the service offered to its Members. These latest results prove that with the right people, and the right values, a company can really prosper and grow when supported by Transactor software.

“The collaborative working practices in place between the two companies have led to the sharing of ideas, concepts and development of new projects in claims, accounts and toolsets.  I am sure that Cornish Mutual will continue to develop and will have more fantastic results to announce in the future.”

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Arc Legal Assistance (Arc Legal) has secured a series of new deals with specialist boat insurance brokers to provide Marine Legal Expenses Insurance. As a result, Arc Legal will now provide in the region of 70% of all Yacht and Dinghy Marine Legal Expenses Insurance policies in force in the UK. 

Noble Marine Insurance (Noble Marine), one of the largest boat insurance brokers in the UK, is one of the new brokers to sign up with Arc Legal. Under the deal Arc Legal will provide the product to over 20,000 policyholders.

Arc Legal has developed an enhanced product, offering new and unique elements of cover and services specifically for pleasure craft owners. These services are backed up by a specialist marine law firm with expertise in all aspects of marine law, who provide support in the claims process and operate a dedicated legal helpline.

Commenting on the new schemes and Arc Legal’s market leading position in the Marine Legal Expenses market, Director Richard Finan said: “These new schemes represent an important milestone for us. Our marine and pleasure craft business has continued to grow significantly since 2010. These deals affirm our position as the leading provider of Marine Legal Expenses Insurance.”

Finan continued: “Noble Marine is recognised as a leading broker in this market, and so securing this scheme is further recognition that our bespoke approach and commitment to providing enhanced covers and access to marine legal experts is directly meeting the needs of pleasure craft owners.”

Jon Langford, Managing Director of Noble Marine said: “Arc Legal’s understanding of this market and the needs of our clients were important factors in our decision to appoint them for this scheme. They have recognised the importance of providing experienced and expert help which ensures our clients receive responsive and quality support.”

Arc Legal has a distribution deal with Haven Knox-Johnston, part of the Amlin Group, and one of the largest providers of boat insurance in the UK.  Haven Knox-Johnston partner to market and distribute Arc Legal’s marine LEI product on a wholesale basis under a delegated authority arrangement.

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    Bluefin Insurance is one of the founding sponsors of ‘Gromit Unleashed’, a new ground-breaking public art exhibition, hitting the streets of Bristol this summer to raise funds for Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal. For ten weeks from 1st July, the art trail will feature over 70 giant, Gromit sculptures, designed by well-known and local artists, which will be auctioned after the event.

    All the money raised will go towards supporting the expansion of Bristol Children’s Hospital, one of the leading multi-disciplinary children’s hospitals in the UK. Some of the famous names that will each transform a giant Gromit sculpture are Nick Park, Celia Birtwell, Sir Quentin Blake and Harry Hill. Sir Paul Smith’s Gromit will be sponsored by Bluefin Insurance.

    www.gromitunleashed.org.uk

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    New members joining the UK Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) since the beginning of 2013 have increased the total combined gross written premium represented by the Association’s membership to over £2.5bn. 

    The total membership now includes 64 full members, 24 insurer members and 26 supplier members, further cementing the important and ever growing role true MGAs play in the UK insurance market.

    Graham Elliott of Aqueduct Underwriting, which recently joined the MGAA as a full member, said: “It is vital that MGAs such as ours and the sector as a whole are strongly represented to ensure regulation is fair and to extol the benefits of the MGA model.  We are delighted to join the Association and believe its role within the industry will continue to grow and evolve in line with the increased proportion of the UK general insurance market represented by MGAs.”

    Reg Brown, chairman of the MGAA, said: “When we formed the MGAA we had a clear remit to represent the majority of the market in order to provide a better understanding of what MGAs are and the contribution they make to the insurance industry. As we can only achieve these goals when most of the market joins we are delighted to have hit the £2.5bn GWP milestone.

    “Although this is a great achievement, we are certainly not complacent and intend to continue our efforts to build the membership and deliver an increased range of activities and benefits.”

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    Aon has named Nichole Barnes Marshall as Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion. In this role, Barnes Marshall is responsible for leading Aon’s diversity and inclusion strategies across the firm.

    “Nichole brings over 15 years of experience and passion in delivering results around diversity and exclusion,” said Greg Case, President and CEO. “Her expertise in developing and retaining diverse talent will be instrumental as we look to further advance our Unmatched Talent agenda throughout our global network in each of the 120 countries where we serve clients and communities.”

    Before re-joining Aon, Barnes Marshall served as Senior Manager of Inclusion and Diversity at W.W. Grainger, Inc. where she was responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy focused on talent development, inclusive culture, strategic alliances and cultural competence. Prior to her tenure with Grainger, she served as Director of Community Affairs and Head of Diversity Recruiting for Aon Corporation.

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    Car insurance premiums continue to fall according to the latest benchmark AA British Insurance premium Index, covering the first quarter of 2013.

    The average quoted premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy, as tracked by the AA Shoparound summary, is £746.75.  That’s a fall of 1.4% over the first three months of 2013.  Over the past year, premiums have fallen by 4.1%.

    The figures are reached by averaging the five cheapest quotes from a range of premiums from insurers and brokers as well as from price comparison sites, against a fixed basket of risks.

    Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says that the continuing falling trend will be welcomed by consumers who, over the past three years, have faced some of the biggest premium increases ever recorded by the Index.

    “Car insurance has not been far from the headlines for all the wrong reasons as insurers struggled to balance premiums against claims costs,” he says. “Sharp hikes in personal injury claims, fraud and uninsured drivers, to say nothing of last year’s gender directive and changing regulations, have all helped to pile on the pounds.

    “But there are other changes that I expect to help this downward premium trend,” Mr Douglas says.

    On 1 April, the first parts of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) were introduced, with others following later in the month and in July.

    Key reforms include

    – A complete ban on the payment and receipt of referral fees for any claim that includes a personal injury

    – Controls to ensure that costs are proportionate to the damages

    – ‘After the Event’ insurance premiums (often called ‘additional liabilities’) and solicitor success fees can no longer be recovered from the defendant in an injury claim

    – Fixed legal fees for road collision claims valued at under £10,000 will reduce from £1,200 to £500 and;

    – The small claims court limit for personal injury claim cases where legal costs can’t be recovered will increase from £1,000 to £5,000.

    “These should go some way towards bringing no-win no-fee type whiplash injury claims under control and will thus reduce the costs of claims,” Mr Douglas says.

    The Government still continues to focus on car insurance and the Transport Committee of cross-party MPs is currently exploring the very British phenomenon of soaring whiplash injury claims.  The Ministry of Justice has also just finished a consultation on whiplash injury.

    Mr Douglas hopes that these will bring further reforms to bring the number of whiplash injury claims under control, pointing out that 70% of those in crashes on Britain’s roads make a claim for injury even if no injury has been suffered, amounting to some 570,000 claims per year, costing £2bn.

    “This is a shameful record that makes the UK the ‘whiplash capital of Europe’ – in France for instance, only 3% of crashes result in a personal injury claim,” he says.

    The AA would like to see measures such as a part of legitimate injury payments being made direct to providers of rehabilitation services such as physiotherapy; independent medical examination of whiplash injury claimants; and, adoption of a similar system to that in Germany and Austria, where low-speed crashes are not eligible for whiplash injury claims.

    In a separate initiative, insurance companies are expected to be allowed to cross-check car insurance applications against the DVLA (Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency) database from next year.

    “We know that an astounding 23% of motorists wrongly declare their driving history to insurers, either not declaring convictions or disqualifications, or declaring something less significant when they take out car insurance

    “Many more provide other false information such as age, driving experience or even address in order to obtain a cheaper insurance premium.  This is unfair to safer, honest motorists and adds to the cost of insurance.”

    The AA’s own research* shows that the public overwhelmingly support such a move.

    Insurers are now starting to cut premiums in anticipation that that these various measures will reduce costs.

    “I expect the downward trend to continue, which will be welcome news for consumers,” he says.

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    The bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed 3 people and injured more than 178 people have been a strong reminder of the homegrown terrorism threat in the United States.

    As widely reported, the U.S. authorities have identified the two men who are suspected to be behind the Boston Marathon twin bombings as Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar.  While both individuals are of Chechen descent, the two brothers have been in the U.S. for almost a decade and follow the pattern of homegrown jihadi terrorism.

    In recent years, attacks perpetuated by homegrown jihadi groups in the U.S. have become very common. According to our research, more than half of the macro terrorism plots perpetuated in the U.S could be considered homegrown terror plots.  “Homegrown terrorism” is the term that describes terrorist plots perpetrated within the United States by American citizens or legal permanent residents.  These “self -starters” are often inspired by Al-Qaeda or its associated groups, but may have little or no actual connection to these militant groups. Homegrown groups in the West represent the broadest layer of the jihadi network and tend to be radicalized segments of migrant and Diaspora communities.

    The Tsarnaev brothers conform to the model of decentralized homegrown jihadi groups. This concept is defined by key Al-Qaeda strategist Mustafa Al-Suri’s doctrine of nizam la tanzim (system, not organization). In Suri’s view, the future of jihad consists of small autonomous groups having decentralized organizational structures with no official links to Al-Qaeda leadership, so that even if the senior hierarchy was dismantled, the threat from Al-Qaeda would continue to persist.

    The attacks in Boston have undermined the widespread assumption that American Muslims, unlike their European counterparts, are immune to radicalization. Many counterterrorism experts have argued that the homegrown jihadi terrorism threat in Europe is due to the lack of integration among the immigrant Muslim population and that radicalization is the subsequent by-product of the failed integration. In contrast, Muslim immigrants in the U.S. have more successfully integrated, which reduces the likelihood of radicalization. The wave of homegrown U.S. jihadist arrests in the last few years as well as the Boston attack seem to demonstrate, however, that radicalization has indeed affected a small minority of American Muslims.

    RMS assesses that the U.S. terrorist threat will increasingly come predominantly from such homegrown extremists. Due to the highly decentralized structure of such “groups”, they are difficult to identify and apprehend. This problem is further compounded if the homegrown operative is a “lone wolf” who does not seek any type of external assistance. Their proficiency in the English language, the ability to understand Western culture, society, and context  allows them to execute and plan their terrorism plot without raising much suspicion.

    As the terrorism threat will mostly come from homegrown operatives, their technical expertise will be limited. Thus, simple conventional attacks such as IEDs will remain the preferred weapon of choice. While such weapons have limited range, they potentially can cause significant property damage and inflict numerous casualties. Such attacks will occur in densely populated areas, at a time of day selected to cause the most damage and fatalities. As witnessed in the Boston bombing, by refining their targeting and timing, terrorists have become more efficient, making major impacts with lesser-yield bombs. As a result, smaller, but still deadly bombs that can circumvent security measures are the more likely terrorism attack scenarios.

    In the past few years, several homegrown plots against the U.S. have been orchestrated by individuals acting independent of Al-Qaeda’s leadership. Most of these plots have been amateurish at best, as the perpetrators lacked the basic tradecraft and were unable to mount a successful attack. However, as the Boston Marathon bombing attests, this is not always the case. The Tsarnaev brothers were able to conduct a successful attack that was within their capabilities and resources. Such attacks by similar-liked radicalized individuals cannot be discounted in the future.

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    In-force group risk premiums in the UK rose by 9.7% in 2012, confirming the turn around in the market seen in 2011. There were some increases in rates, but also in the overall numbers of lives and schemes covered. The effects of the the introduction of auto-enrolment are still to have an impact on the market. The total cover provided by employer sponsored death benefits arrangements topped £1 billion in 2012 – a milestone for the industry. 

    Swiss Re’s Group Watch 2013 has shown very strong premium growth in in-force premiums for death benefits, long-term disability income and critical illness protection in the UK market.  Group death benefit premiums increased by 9.8% with Excepted Group Life premiums increasing by 14.8%. Long-term disability and critical illness premiums also showed very strong growth of 8.7% each for the year.

    “Growth of around 10% is extraordinary considering that the group market was in decline only two years ago,” says Russell Higginbotham, CEO Swiss Re UK.  “This shows that the market is getting it right in the face of tough economic conditions and legislative changes.”

    The report finds that some growth was driven by premium increases. 80% of industry respondents to Group Watch’s qualitative survey reported hardening rates in the group death benefits sector. However, improvements in the market were also supported by a positive increase in the number of lives and number of schemes in the market.

    “The fact that all aspects of the market have grown despite rate increases is a pleasing result for the sector,” says Ron Wheatcroft, Swiss Re expert on the UK group life market and author of Group Watch 2013. “It is also positive to see that a large number of survey respondents are upbeat on the growth prospects for other key factors, such as the number of lives covered. The figure of £1 billion in premiums for the group death benefits sector is a milestone for the industry.”

    There were few negatives in this year’s Group Watch 2013 report. The number of lives covered under widows’ and dependants’ death in service pensions fell by 3.1% with a 2.5% decrease in the number of schemes. This is largely attributable to the low interest rate environment which has resulted in the provision of lump sum cover becoming more attractive.

    The report finds that further legislative changes will place a greater emphasis on high quality advice to finding the most appropriate benefit packages for employers and their workforces. For example, further reductions in Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance from April 2014 may increase demand for non-pension linked death benefits, accelerating a trend which is already being seen in the growth of excepted group life cover.

    Key figures from Group Watch 2013 (in GBP millions)

    Product Type

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012
    Death benefits

    897

    919

    956

    1,055
    Long-term disability income

    568

    517

    518

    563
    Critical Illness

    48

    50

    55

    60
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