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According to new data from specialist church insurer Ecclesiastical, more churches in Manchester diocese have had lead stripped from their roofs by criminals this year than any other area of the UK.

Manchester diocese tops the list of metal theft claims with more than 90 claims recorded up to the end of November. It is closely followed by Lincoln, Chelmsford and Southwark dioceses with more than 70 claims from each, and Lichfield diocese with more than 60 claims so far this year.

Thefts from these five dioceses amount to more than 25% of all theft of metal incidents in the country. Although the five dioceses have taken the worst hit this year, there is no area in the country that hasn’t suffered from theft of metal and several other hotspot areas are on the insurer’s radar for close monitoring and action.

Overall 2010 is set to be the third worst year on record for theft of metal from churches. So far, a total of 1,484 claims have been received by Ecclesiastical from UK churches alone with a total cost to the insurer exceeding £3 million.

John Coates, Ecclesiastical’s Direct Insurance Services Director, said:

“It’s been a pretty dire year for lead theft with Manchester and these four other dioceses bearing the brunt of the problem.

“With lead and other valuable metals fetching high prices on world markets, it’s not surprising that criminals have been hard at work stripping churches and exposing them to the elements.

“After the slight reprieve of 2009 when we saw a slight decrease in the number of theft of metal claims, this year has once again proved that the issue isn’t going to go away without a more focused effort on a national level to stamp out this crime. Second Church Estates Commissioner Tony Baldry’s speech at the House of Commons last week and the work of the newly formed Church Buildings Council’s theft of metal working group will hopefully help put some pressure on the legislative powers in this country to take some serious action and stop the systematic destruction of our nation’s heritage.

“The key message we have tried and will continue to try to get across is that theft of metal isn’t a crime that simply affects the church buildings. It is a crime that has a devastating impact on the people and communities that support our churches and depend on them in their everyday lives.”

In addition to promoting the use of the forensic liquid SmartWater among its customers, Ecclesiastical has recently successfully trialled and piloted the use of roof alarms in churches that have been targeted by metal thieves repeatedly. As a result of the trial, Ecclesiastical is now launching an initiative which promotes a wider use of roof alarms in churches to detect criminals and reduce metal theft across the country.

2007 and 2008 were the worst years on record for metal theft with the number of claims exceeding 4,600 and costing more than £16 million for the two years.

Source : Ecclesiastical Press Release

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AXA Central & Eastern Europe announced today the acquisition of 80% of Belarusian 2nd largest insurer (and 1st private insurer) B&B Insurance. With this operation, AXA pursues its expansion in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), one of its key growth areas.

B&B Insurance is focused on the property & casualty insurance market, where it enjoys a 10% market share overall (€29 million revenues in 2009) and a voluntary market share between 20% and 40% depending on business lines. This performance is supported by a network of ca. 260 exclusive agents.

Belarusian insurance market offers AXA a very significant potential for growth, as less than 20% are covered with casco insurance and less than 15% of households benefit from a home insurance.

Cyrille de Montgolfier, CEO of AXA Central & Eastern Europe, said: “The acquisition of B&B is an excellent opportunity for AXA to enter a fast developing Belarusian market. In this market, we would like to replicate AXA’s success in Ukraine, where we’ve become market leader in 3 years, by leveraging on geographical and cultural ties between the two countries.”

The closing of this operation is subject to, amongst others, regulatory approvals and is expected to take place in the first quarter 2011.

Source : AXA Press Release

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Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners Ltd. extended their offer to buy Brit Insurance Holdings NV to Jan. 10 after receiving acceptances from 71 percent of shareholders.

Achilles Netherlands Holdings BV, the unit set up by the private equity firms to purchase Brit, had agreed to buy 56 million Brit shares as of 1 p.m. yesterday, the closing date of the original offer, the company said in a statement today.

Apollo and CVC agreed to buy Brit for as much as 888 million pounds ($1.4 billion) on Oct. 26, ending four months of takeover negotiations. Lloyd’s of London insurers have become cheaper takeover targets after premiums fell because of more competition caused by an abundance of capital built up after two years of relatively few natural catastrophes.

The bid for Brit, part of which is dependent on the size of the company’s assets at the end of the year, values the insurer at as much as 51 percent more than its closing price of 729 pence on June 10, the day before the first offer was announced.

Source : Bloomberg Businessweek

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Consummers say they are comfortable haggling on a price for their health, life and car insurance, but new research shows they aren’t doing it.

The latest iSelect Insurance Index survey shows we’re much more likely to bargain for products, rather than services such as insurance.

Paul Cross, general manager of corporate affairs for insurance advisory firm iSelect, says regardless of the type of insurance you seek, shopping around is important.

“Don’t assume if one company is showing you a discount that this is the best you can do,” Cross says. “Often there are better deals out there, especially for car insurance.”

Premiums and benefits can vary significantly from policy to policy and company to company, so get a range of quotes.

Cross says one of the reasons people aren’t haggling is because insurance is seen as complex and can be confusing.

“If you’re shopping for one company’s insurance, you can spend up to 20 minutes on the phone going through the process, so doing that over and over again with different companies is hard.”

Australians rate their enjoyment factor when buying insurance as similar to getting an injection or doing housework, with 52 per cent saying they avoid it, don’t enjoy it or hate it.

Cross says the key is having the right insurance that matches your personal needs and reflects your age and stage of life.

“For example, a young, single person with no debt will need a very different level of life insurance compared to someone who is married, with young children and a mortgage,” he says.

Another important thing to remember is to renew your cover to make sure you’re getting the type of insurance you need.

One in five Australians either don’t remember when they last reviewed their car, health or life insurance policy, or have reviewed it more than five years ago.

Cross says consumers should not compromise on quality.

“Saving money is great,” he says. “But the right insurance for you isn’t necessarily the cheapest or the most expensive, for that matter.

“Whether it’s a choice of hospitals and specialists or no excess on your car insurance, be definite about what is important for you and don’t compromise.”

Source : Herald Sun

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According to a statement by the Insurance Department in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, around $100 million in penalties will be paid by the American International Group due to mistakes in the information for the insurance of the compensation of employees.

Aside from the penalties, taxes worth $46.5 million will be paid by AIG, which will face another $150 million in penalties if it fails to comply with the compliance program. The main violation was reporting over $2 billion as premiums for commercial or general auto liability instead of employee compensation.

Mark Herr of AIG said, transactions from 1975 to 1996 were the main focus of the investigation. Another settlement in 2006 with the state of New York focused on the same time interval. He added that AIG was satisfied with the arrangement since it settles all regulatory concerns in relation to the premiums for the compensation of the employees.

AIG had an arrangement with New York State and Federal authorities in 2006 for a number of issues which included the premium for employee compensation. Over $1 billion was paid by AIG for the settlement.

The latest investigation involved seven other states while the 35 other states have to approve the settlement by the March 1before it will be finalized.

Once the settlement is finalized AIG will take out a major hitch while continuing its reform program, a recapitalization agreement will be finalized on March 15 which will repay the New York Federal Reserve Bank and giving over 90 percent ownership of AIG to the US Treasury.

The AIG bailout reached $180 billion but the government is set to profit by the billions for salvaging the largest insurance company in the world. Shares of AIG closed 2.56 percent or $1.43 lower on December 23 at $54.33.

Source : Planet Insane

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Your Cover insurance, which is already available from yourcoverinsurance.co.uk, has been developed following research with over 4,000 consumers. The product provides customers with the flexibility to build their own bespoke policy and choose the level of cover to suit their individual lifestyle and needs.

Customers can purchase a basic level of comprehensive cover and then add up to 14 optional insurance covers such as Breakdown, Foreign Travel and Roofbox and Trailer Cover.

Policyholders can also select the level of excess that is right for them and, unlike many motor insurance providers, Your Cover does not charge administrative fees for any changes made to policies.

Andy James, head of direct customer marketing for Allianz Retail, says: “Your Cover insurance gives consumers exactly what they have been asking for – the flexibility to build a tailor made policy with a level of cover to suit individual needs – this flexibility ultimately allows customers to have more control over their premium costs.

“Moneysupermarket.com is the UK’s leading finance price comparison website and is an excellent platform for Allianz Your Cover insurance. Allianz always strives to meet consumer demand and appreciates that comparison sites present a popular way to buy insurance products.”

Source : PR USA

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The Treasury Department plans to sell a large piece of its stake in American International Group in two stock offerings next year. It would sell any remaining stock in AIG in 2012, the sources said.

The government will own 92.1 percent of AIG after a recapitalization plan closes by the end of first quarter, and perhaps as soon as December 31.

The sale would mark a major step in getting the government out of its investment in AIG, which received a $182.3 billion bailout package during the financial crisis.

The stock sale will help the government make a profit on the bailout if the offering is roughly $30 per share or higher. The Treasury’s stake is worth about $90 billion at the current share price. It spent $49.1 billion for that stake.

AIG’s shares were up 2.4 percent at $54.69 during morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The U.S. government has seen strong market appetite for stock in bailed-out companies in the past few months, allowing it to be more aggressive in winding down its stakes in companies like Citigroup and General Motors.

The AIG bailout was arguably more controversial and risky than either of those deals as the headline number was higher and the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and a fire-sale breakup after the last-minute rescue.

Since then, AIG, under Chief Executive Robert Benmosche, has sold several businesses, leaving property-casualty and U.S. life insurance operations at its core.

The Treasury plans to sell about one-fifth of AIG in the first offering, which is expected in the first half of 2011 and perhaps as soon as March, sources have said.

AIG and the Treasury would sell stock in that offering, which could exceed $10 billion, sources have said. That would place it among the largest secondary share offerings in history.

Source : Reuters

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Lack of toilets and other proper sanitation facilities costs India nearly 54 billion dollars a year, a World Bank study has found, mainly through premature deaths, especially of young children.

Asia’s third-largest economy loses 53.8 billion dollars or 6.4 percent of its gross domestic product through hygiene-related illnesses, lost productivity and other factors stemming from poor sanitation, according to World Bank.

“For decades we have been aware of the significant health impacts of inadequate sanitation in India,” said Christopher Juan Costain, leader for the World Bank’s South Asia Water and Sanitation Program.

“This report quantifies the economic losses to India, and shows that children and poor households bear the brunt of poor sanitation,” he said in remarks posted on the group’s website on Tuesday.

The lack of proper sanitation creates major health risks, raising the threat of potentially fatal illnesses such as typhoid and malaria.

The study in East Asia showed annual per person losses from poor sanitation in the range of 9.3 dollars in Vietnam, to 16.8 dollars in the Philippines, 28.6 dollars in Indonesia to a high of 32.4 dollars in Cambodia, said Costain.

“In contrast, India lost 48 dollars on a per capita basis, showing the urgency with which India needs to improve sanitation,” he said.

Earlier this year, a UN study found far more people in India have access to a mobile phone than to a toilet.

India’s mobile subscribers totalled around 700 million at the last count, enough to serve more than half of the country’s 1.2 billion population. But just 366 million people — around a third of the population — had access to proper sanitation, said the study.

The World Bank report said early deaths and other health-related impacts of inadequate sanitation such as cost of treatment for illnesses such as diarrhoea, malaria and intestinal worms, cost India 38.5 billion dollars.

This was followed by productive time lost, as people seek out proper sanitation facilities or places to defecate, at 10.7 billion dollars.

India’s government calculates fewer than 30 percent of villagers in rural areas have access to toilets.

New Delhi, Dec 21, 2010 (AFP)

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Zurich Financial Services AG, the insurer that got more than a quarter of policy sales from the U.S. in the first nine months of this year, is adding customers at a unit acquired from American International Group Inc.

Zurich, based in the Swiss city of the same name, bought bailed-out AIG’s U.S. auto-insurance business last year to gain Internet sales. The unit, 21st Century Insurance Co., competes with Warren Buffett’s Geico Corp. and Progressive Corp. in making sales directly to clients, rather than through a broker.

“We’re starting to see very good growth, both from a new- business perspective and the ability to retain customers,” Jeff Dailey, president of personal lines at Farmers Group Inc., a Zurich subsidiary that runs 21st Century, said in an interview on Dec. 17. “We’ve really returned the growth and retention numbers back to where they were before AIG ran into its problems, and actually up a little bit from that.”

Direct sales are becoming a bigger part of the U.S. auto- insurance market. Progressive increased Internet and phone sales as some customers shunned using agents in a U.S. insurance market that has been in decline for most of the past three years. Geico increased its market share in 2009, the last year of available data, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

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AA Insurance is recording a sharp increase in the number of claims for snow or ice-related collisions, particularly in Scotland and Wales as blizzards start to become more widespread.  By midday today (17 December) AA Insurance had dealt with over 300 claims and in Scotland, over half of claims and in Wales a third were blamed on the arctic conditions.

Meanwhile, AA says that properly fitted winter tyres should not affect users’ car insurance premiums.

Latest snowfall brings blizzards of car insurance claims

– Over half of claims relate to snow and ice collisions in worst affected areas

– Winter tyres could reduce number of claims

Snow and ice sweeping Britain is expected to bring a big jump in car insurance claims, according to AA Insurance.

The current blizzards blanketing parts of the UK have, to mid-day today (17th December), already brought in 331 claims: a 10% per cent increase overall, and 21% are snow and ice related compared with a snow free December Friday.  But the pattern is much more dramatic in Scotland and Wales.

Of all claimants, 51% in Scotland and 34% in Wales say their collision was because of snow or ice.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance says: “If the police in your area are advising drivers not to travel then it is sensible to heed that advice and monitor the situation locally.  During the run-up to Christmas, plan your journey to take account of the latest local forecasts and try to stick to main roads, which are more likely to be gritted.

“If the road surface is icy, our advice is to try to keep a gap of 10 seconds between yourself and the vehicle in front to minimise the risk of you sliding in to the car in front.”

He points out that tail-end crashes, especially at road junctions and roundabouts, are the most common type of winter claim, followed by collisions with parked cars. He adds that cars fitted with winter tyres are less likely to lose traction on snow and ice.

Should we fit winter tyres?

With the second snowy winter in succession, many drivers are fitting winter tyres to their cars which has led to confusion about whether insurers consider this to be a ‘modification’ that attracts an additional premium.

Mr Douglas says: “Provided you are fitting wheels and tyres that meet the car manufacturer’s specification – you can confirm this by checking your car handbook or with your local main dealer – and they are professionally fitted, AA Insurance doesn’t consider this to be a modification and it shouldn’t be an issue for other insurers.”

In some European countries that have predictable winter snow, fitting winter tyres is obligatory: Germany being the latest country to require them.

Winter tyres are made from a rubber compound that performs better at temperatures below plus 7 decrees C and tests show that cars fitted with them stop in a much shorter distance on snow and ice than those with conventional tyres.  If such tyres are to be used, it is vital that all four wheels are so fitted.

Most users keep a second set of wheels fitted with winter tyres so that they can be conveniently exchanged when necessary.

Source : The AA Press Release

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The late broadcaster Gerry Ryan’s former wife and children fear losing their family home in the wake of last week’s shock inquest finding that cocaine triggered his death.

It is understood the couple remortgaged their family home in Clontarf on a number of occasions before Mr Ryan separated from his wife Morah.

But because illegal drugs played a role in the broadcaster’s death, the life assurance policy guaranteeing his income and mortgage payments may not be paid out.

A source close to the family last night told the Irish Independent: “The verdict, death by misadventure, is not good. I don’t know what the implications of a verdict like that are for the home, but it doesn’t look good.

“Morah has no means to support the family — she is a full-time mother.”

Mr Ryan’s partner, UNICEF executive director Melanie Verwoerd, has also been left “traumatised” by the shock inquest verdict.

She told the hearing she was not aware Mr Ryan had ever taken drugs throughout their two-year relationship.

A friend of Ms Verwoerd last night said: “She is totally traumatised — she is too distressed to talk this weekend.”

Most insurance policies will not pay out if a death is drug-related. The small print in insurance forms for everything from mortgage protection to car insurance specifically excludes payment in cases involving drug abuse.

Mr Ryan purchased the cream-fronted five-bedroom period house on Castle Avenue in Clontarf in the mid-1990s. Estimated to be worth more than €1m, the last extension to the listed property was masterminded by TV architect Duncan Stewart.

Mr Ryan often spoke with pride about the striking corner house on one of upmarket Clontarf’s most sought-after streets on his daily radio show.

A close friend of the broadcaster said it came as a huge blow to the star when he had to move out of the family home after his marriage of 26 years broke down in March 2008.

“The house represented everything to Gerry,” the friend told the Irish Independent.

“For a start it was the family home. It was also the house of his dreams. Gerry had grown up in Clontarf and always wanted to go back there. Himself and Morah lived in nearby Marino for a while but through all his hard work Gerry managed to buy his dream house.

“His home on Castle Avenue meant everything to him and to leave his family home behind and move into a city-centre apartment broke his heart.”

Financial pressures are also said to have forced Mr Ryan to remortgage the family home before he moved out.

Veteran RTE broadcaster Gay Byrne yesterday revealed he attended a dinner organised by friends of Morah Ryan over the weekend to show her their support.

He said Mrs Ryan was coping with the controversy and publicity surrounding his death.

“She is fine and her main concern now, of course, is for her family. That is all I can tell you,” he told listeners to his programme on RTE’s Lyric FM.

Former RTE presenter Gareth O’Callaghan last night revealed he offered to help his friend beat his long-term drug addiction, but the broadcaster refused to accept his help.

Mr O’Callaghan is a qualified clinical psychotherapist and one of Mr Ryan’s few friends who has been willing to comment publicly on last week’s inquest finding.

Habit

The broadcaster revealed he approached Mr Ryan on at least two occasions to get him to take the first steps to kick his cocaine habit.

He also revealed how he came under fire at the weekend from former RTE and radio colleagues for speaking about the extent of his tragic friend’s drug abuse.

“I got a couple of phone calls from individuals who were very annoyed with my comments,” he told the Irish Independent.

“My reaction was ‘Why were they worried when there was not one word of a lie?'”

Mr O’Callaghan also called for a garda inquiry into his friend’s death.

“Gerry was clearly mixing with people who were able to make it (cocaine) available to him. He didn’t just stumble on a supplier over a weekend in a nightclub in Dublin. There were trustworthy suppliers and he would have been brought into a very inner sanctum.”

Meanwhile, gardai last night ignored growing calls to investigate Mr Ryan’s death in the wake of the inquest’s finding.

Senior officers again insisted there were no grounds for opening up a criminal investigation into Mr Ryan’s death.

Gardai said that if they had information or evidence that warranted an investigation immediately after his death, it would have been initiated.

– Ken Sweeney, Anne-Marie Walsh and Tom Brady

Source : Irish Independent

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Investment income in the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance market, which provides shipowners with marine legal liability coverage, bounced back to $680 million in 2009/10 after record losses cost the market $840 million in 2008/09. This is according to a new report from Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker, which warned that despite good underwriting results, record claims levels and a continuing gap in the performance of individual P&I Clubs could present challenges for the market in 2011.

The Willis P&I Market Review 2010/analyses the overall results of the International Group, an association that arranges the collective insurance and reinsurance for 13 P&I Clubs – insurance mutuals that in turn provide liability cover for their shipowner and charterer members.

Across the P&I market as a whole, Willis said that underwriters almost broke even, with an overall underwriting deficit of only 1 percent for the 2009/10 financial year. This result was achieved against the highest levels of claims in the market’s history with a 12.5% increase in total incurred claims on 2008/09.

Ben Abraham, who leads the Willis P&I division, said, “After one of the worst years on record, the P&I market made a spectacular comeback in 2009/10 with total assets and free reserves representing all time record highs for the International Group. In contrast to this positive news, claims are similarly at an all-time high, worryingly not due to a surge in very large claims, but to the increasing cost of more routine claims.”

The Willis report noted that the variance in performance between individual Clubs also continues to be marked with the largest individual club having an underwriting surplus of seven percent in contrast to the worst deficit which was reported at 23 percent.

Explaining what this could mean for the market, Abraham said, “While two thirds of Clubs in the market are performing close to balance, a minority of Clubs still have some way to go to break even. Imminent widespread unbudgeted calls are unlikely, but the underperforming Clubs are inevitably more vulnerable to fluctuations in claims or investment performance.”

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world.

Source : Willis Press Release

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Statistically speaking, a spouse is more dangerous than a serial killer. Those seeking safe morning routines may want to consider showers instead of baths. Insure.com asked Fred Kilbourne, actuary with The Kilbourne Company in San Diego, to assess some of the unrecognized dangers in daily life. He provides a look at some of the unexpectedly risky choices people make every day.

“Using multiple and sometimes unusual sources of data, Fred Kilbourne determines which acts or situations are more dangerous — for consumers and the insurance industry,” says Amy Danise, Senior Managing Editor of Insure.com. “It’s always one of our most popular features.”

What’s more dangerous?

A spouse or a serial killer?

Roughly 15,000 people are murdered in the United States annually. Of these, about 100 are believed to be the victims of serial killers, although some experts believe this category is underestimated and may be as large as 1,000. Compare this, however, with the number of victims killed by their spouse or intimate partner: 80 percent of the total murder victims are male and about 10 percent of these were dispatched by their wives. Females comprise only 20 percent of the victims – but about half of them are done in by their husbands. Arithmetic leads to an annual estimate of 2,700 people killed by their spouses, which is nearly triple the high-end estimate for serial killers.

Showers or baths?

According to National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data, bathtubs are far more dangerous than showers, both in terms of the frequency and severity of accidents. Fatalities, mostly among children average more than one per week due to scalding water, and about two per week due to drowning. The elderly don’t have a disproportionately large number of bathtub or shower accidents, although their injuries do tend to be more severe.

Cocaine or heroin?

Death due to overdose kills about 2,500 cocaine users annually in the United States, compared to about 2,000 deaths of heroin users.  However, there are many more cocaine users than heroin users in the country, so the fatality rate is much higher among those who use heroin.

Driving during the daytime or nighttime?

More Americans are killed on the road during dusk (5 to 7 p.m.) than during any comparable two-hour period throughout the rest of the day.  This is largely because road usage is at its peak during those hours, however, and not because there’s a greater risk driving home from work as compared to weaving home after bars are closed.

Source : Insure.com Press Release

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Insurancewith has launched a travel insurance policy for people with Diabetes. It is supporting Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in its search for the cure for type 1 diabetes, with £1 from every policy sold from insurancewithdiabetes.co.uk donated to the charity.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life threatening condition that has a lifelong impact on those diagnosed and their families, and it is estimated that 350,000 are living with the condition.

Fiona Macrae of Insurancewith says “No medical condition is exactly the same for each individual that has it, and the more customers we screen, the more we are able to tailor our medical screening.  We want to give something back to the charities that support their conditions.”

Source : Private Health

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Confused.com, home insurance and quote comparison site, has revealed that homeowners in Britain are wasting an estimated 2.5 billion pounds through poor insulation in their homes.

Of the 26.5 million homes in the UK, only 13 million have loft insulation, which is a major energy saving method for retaining heat in the home. Confused.com estimates that the lack of loft and cavity wall insulation is costing the nation 2,493,500,000 pounds a year.

In addition to this only 10 million homes have cavity wall insulation. Figures suggest households can save 145 pounds per year for loft insulation and 110 pounds for cavity wall insulation on their energy bills, meaning the nation could be collectively wasting an estimated 2 billion pounds.

Lisa Greenfield, energy analyst at Confused.com said: “All this snow means now is the perfect time for households to assess their homes and check if they need better insulation.  A quick look at the roof will give them a clue, if the snow has melted then heat is needlessly escaping. It is worth getting in touch with the local council to check eligibility for grants. Any household with a resident aged 70 or over, qualifies for a 100% grant for insulation. These things only need to be done once, and can pay for themselves within a couple of years.”

Confused.com recommends homeowners review their insulation during winter months to help cut energy costs and reduce their carbon footprint in one fell swoop. More details of how to do this can be found within the home insurance guides section of the website.

About Confused.com:

Confused.com is one of the UK’s biggest and most popular price comparison services. Launched in 2002, it generates over one million quotes per month. It has expanded its range of comparison products over the last couple of years to include home insurance, travel insurance, pet insurance, van insurance, motorbike insurance, breakdown cover and energy, as well as financial services products including credit cards, loans, mortgages and life insurance.

Confused.com is not a supplier, insurance company or broker. It provides a free, objective and unbiased comparison service. By using cutting-edge technology, it has developed a series of intelligent web-based solutions that evaluate a number of risk factors to help customers with their decision-making, subsequently finding them great deals on a wide-range of insurance products, financial services, utilities and more. Confused.com’s service is based on the most up-to-date information provided by UK suppliers and industry regulators.

Confused.com is owned by the Admiral Group plc. Admiral listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004. Confused.com is regulated by the FSA.

Source : Confused.com Press Release

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AXA announces the senior management structure for its newly created Personal Lines operation, which now combines all AXA’s intermediated, partnerships and direct businesses, including Swiftcover.  The new Personal Lines leadership team is:

Managing Director, Intermediary and Partner Sales – Mike Keating. Mike’s team will be responsible for managing sales and relationships across the intermediary and corporate partner channels.

Managing Director, Product – Craig Staniland.  Underwriting teams from personal lines intermediary, corporate partnerships and AXA direct and Swiftcover will report to Craig.  They will be responsible for the pricing of all personal lines products as well as reinsurance and customer retention.

Managing Director, Claims –  Tony Peppard.  Tony’s team will be responsible for all personal claims, personal large loss and business services.  The new team incorporates household, lifestyle and personal motor for both the AXA and SIMS operations.

Managing Director, Direct Sales – Richard Coombe.  A new team will be formed to manage the sales of the direct motor, home, travel and ancilliary products, bringing together the teams that currently work on e-commerce, aggregator and commercial direct.

Managing Director, Customer Service – Dave Fretter   Dave will be responsible for running AXA’s customer contact centres and looking after all activities which support AXA’s direct customers, corporate partners and brokers.

Other senior appointments include Waseem Malik, who becomes finance director of the new company; Tina Shortle will become marketing director and Rod Alderton is appointed IT director.

Steve Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, AXA Personal Lines said:

“We have made excellent progress since we began our strategic review of the personal lines business in October.  Our new structure will provide much greater focus on the customer and result in us being better placed to respond to market challenges as well as distributor and customer needs.  I am confident we now have the right structure and the right people in place to deliver our ambitions for this new business.

In commercial lines, Amanda Blanc will join the business early in 2011 and more information about the structure and strategic direction of this operation will follow once she is on board.  In the meantime, John O’Neill, CEO AXA Ireland will continue to oversee the business in the interim period.

Source : AXA Press Release

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Nine in 10 GPs suspect that they have seen patients who have exaggerated their injuries for the sake of insurance claims, a survey has found.

In addition, four in five doctors believe they have seen patients who have totally made up an injury for the sake of claiming compensation. Patients are most likely to say they have whiplash, with 92 per cent of GPs citing this as the most commonly exaggerated injury.

The survey also found that six in 10 GPs reported a rise in the number of patients they thought were exaggerating injuries for the sake of a claim, over the last two years.

Most doctors cited Britain’s “blame culture” as a reason for the rise.

Almost half (46 per cent) said they were now taking more time to scrutinise such claims, while 39 per cent said they had refused to write or sign at least one medical form for a personal injury claim.

The figures were from a poll of 250 GPs, undertaken on behalf of the insurer LV=.

Martin Milliner, director of technical claims at LV=, said: “Clearly anyone who has a genuine injury as a result of an accident that wasn’t their fault, and loses out or can’t work as a result of it, is entitled to compensation.

“However anyone trying to get money for an injury that doesn’t exist is not only breaking the law but also wasting valuable NHS time and resources.”

An additional survey of 2,000 people found 17 per cent admitted to making a claim as a direct result of seeing advertising from ‘no win, no fee’ personal injury lawyers.

Mr Milliner said for every £1 insurers paid out in compensation, they paid an extra 87p in legal costs.

A spokesman for the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said: “We know our members take this issue extremely seriously and are far from complacent about fraud.

“But we need the insurers and all those who are familiar with fraudulent tactics, to keep us informed about current developments so our members are properly prepared when dealing with their clients.”

Source : Telegraph

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Aegis Group plc, the media and market research group, is pleased to announce that Carat has been awarded Campaign’s 2010 Global Media Network of the Year Award for the third time in five years. The Award reflects several important management appointments and a strong new business performance in the US and in Asia Pacific, supporting the Carat network in building on its strong global position during the course of the year.

Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Aegis Group, said:

“I am delighted that Carat has once again been recognised with this prestigious industry award. It is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of our global teams, and demonstrates the breadth within the Aegis Group. The win gives us momentum to further progress our Power Brand Strategy.”

Source : Aegis Press Release

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Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corporation, has won three important awards at two recent London market events.

At the Insurance Times Awards 2010, the firm scooped the Reinsurance Broking Initiative of the Year accolade for its facultative placement platform, FAConnect, and the Broker/Intermediary Innovation of the Year award for its flagship risk management tool, ImpactOnDemand.

Meanwhile, at the Insurance Day London Market Awards, Aon Benfield’s investment banking division, Aon Benfield Securities, won the Broking Team of the Year award for the range of innovative deals it had brought to market over a designated 12-month period.

Dominic Christian, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aon Benfield, said: “We are delighted to have won these three prestigious awards, and we will continue to invest in our people, products and solutions, in order that we can deliver the tools required by our clients and markets to help them achieve their business objectives.”

ImpactOnDemand combines the functionality of Aon Benfield’s ExposureView and CatPortal solutions, allowing clients to plot a million risk locations in less than five seconds. It includes new features that can be tailored to clients’ individual risk management requirements – such as robust global mapping analysis and comprehensive management reports.

FAConnect is Aon Benfield’s facultative placement platform that enables clients to quote and bind their individual risk placements from an internet-enabled device in under five minutes, utilizing a wide range of global markets.

In 2010 Aon Benfield Securities became the world’s largest insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment bank, having brought to market more transactions than any of its competitors.

Source : Aon Benfield Press Release

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Catlin Group Limited, the international specialty property/casualty insurer and reinsurer, announces that Catlin Re Switzerland Ltd. (‘Catlin Re Switzerland’) has received approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (‘FINMA’) to operate as a reinsurance company.

Catlin Re Switzerland will be capitalised with approximately US$1.1 billion. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said last month that it expects to assign a long-term financial strength rating of ‘A’ to Catlin Re Switzerland as a core subsidiary of the Catlin Group, subject to capitalisation of the company and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.
The formation of Catlin Re Switzerland is a major development in the Catlin Group’s international expansion and distribution strategy. The company will underwrite property and other classes of specialty reinsurance for European ceding companies as well as trade credit surety and political risk reinsurance on a global basis.  Catlin Re Switzerland will expand its portfolio of European treaty reinsurance business as market conditions justify, building on the existing book of reinsurance business that has been developed and underwritten by Catlin’s European offices over the past seven years.

Catlin Re Switzerland, based in Zurich, is a subsidiary of Catlin Bermuda (Catlin Insurance Company Ltd.). Upon receipt of regulatory approval by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Catlin Re Switzerland will establish a Bermuda branch, initially to underwrite reinsurance of various Catlin Group subsidiaries.

Peter Schmidt, Chief Executive of Catlin Re Switzerland, said:

“I am delighted to announce that Catlin Re Switzerland has received approval from FINMA. The establishment of Catlin Re Switzerland will significantly expand the Catlin Group’s presence in the European marketplace. Our ambition is to build Catlin Re Switzerland over time to become a leading European specialty reinsurer.

“We are pleased that Catlin Re Switzerland can now serve clients for the upcoming 1 January 2011 renewals.”

Source : Catlin Press Release

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