25 Nov 2013
The FCA’s thematic review of Price Comparison Websites (PCWs) is surely a welcome announcement. In the blurb on the FCA website, they say:
“Price comparison websites (PCWs) are a valuable tool for shopping around, but consumers may not be getting the best deal if they focus solely on price instead of the level of insurance cover.”
As a non...
18 Nov 2013
Tackling fraud remains a key strategic priority for the insurance industry. Customers understandably don’t want to pay for fraud through higher premiums. Which is why the MyLicence project is so important – it should make a real difference to motor insurance customers. So we hope that the industry will really get behind this initiative.
From summer...
11 Nov 2013
The world of IT seems to have come out of an obsession with miniaturisation and into an enthusiasm for all things big and beautiful.
Now that technology has come to a point where pocket-friendly smartphones have a functionality way above and beyond the supersize supercomputers of yesteryear, those involved in IT are thinking big about how they can put that...
5 Nov 2013
At this time of the year our thoughts turn to our year end appraisals. An appraisal meeting is a great opportunity to have an in depth discussion, with your manager, about your job and your performance.
Today I am sharing with you some hints and techniques as to how to maximise the benefits of the appraisal meeting. As with so many things in life, you are...
28 Oct 2013
If you work in UK general insurance, you would have had to be living in Siberian with no contact with the outside world not to pick up on the fact that the Financial Conduct Authority mean business. A quick look at headlines since its formation shows ‘they ain’t messing’. Rhetoric from Martin Wheatley like ‘Shoot first, ask questions...
23 Sep 2013
Mid-September saw the great and good of the international reinsurance market converge on the Cote D’Azur for the annual Monte Carlo Reinsurance Rendez Vous, the greatest networking event of the year and one where the champagne industry receives a significant boost to its yearly turnover.
Yours truly was there, and I thought it might be interesting to reflect on...
9 Sep 2013
I am going to talk about Aviva but the sentiments I express could apply to any of our major insurers.
I have watched intently as Aviva has been criticised in the press for the manner in which the current senior management have been acting.
As an insurance broker I would like to think that it is a positive thing that one of my major suppliers of insurance...
30 Aug 2013
It is commonly argued that a major driver of the financial crisis was an over-reliance on ratings; that the blind acceptance of rating agency views by investors and bankers proved to be unhealthy.
It would seem that a similar pattern exists in the insurance markets - ratings trigger clauses are now commonplace, there are many sectors where having a rating is a...
27 Aug 2013
So there we were, one of seven insurance brokers invited to pitch for the insurance broking appointment of a leading asset management company. The company had been with the same insurance broker for donkeys’ years and were, by their own admission, ‘looking to see what was out there’. We didn’t think they were terribly serious.
Our...
13 Aug 2013
I write this sitting in a café in Montreuil sur mer, a lovely medieval walled town in Northern France. The ‘sur mer’ bit is wishful thinking as the sea receded centuries ago. Still, it’s a nice thought. Why do I mention this? Well, look at the UK insurance market, a world where the sea no longer gently laps at the shoreline. The tide has long since...
29 Jul 2013
The question, to some extent, is no longer, shall we get on board with the use of social media, the social media train has left the station, the world has gone social. The rise in popularity of social media amongst insurance broking employees is testament to this. They are not alone; customers, prospects and people in the world at large are using...
23 Jul 2013
At a breakfast seminar at the Old Lloyd’s Library on the use of Social Media in the general insurance last week, the first presenter asked the 100 or so delegates assembled…
‘Can I have a show of hands please, how many people in the audience are on LinkedIn?’
All hands duly shot up skyward.
This unanimous show of support...
16 Jul 2013
Go on, I challenge you, off the top of your head, quickly remember a joke that includes the subject of mugging that is ‘humorous’.
If nothing springs to mind you could always take a look at The Law Society’s latest campaign for inspiration ‘Don’t get mugged by an insurer use a solicitor’. According to the blurb on their...
8 Jul 2013
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ("DPA") have been used in the United States for many years. DPAs allow companies to take certain steps (either by way of reparation or ensuring that certain offences are not repeated) during a supervisory period and the trade off is that the company and/or the directors will not be prosecuted. Following the expiry...
1 Jul 2013
From time to time certain industries sectors go through a tough patch with public opinion. Imagine being at an Al Murray’s Pub Landlord show and being asked the question ‘what’s your name mate and what, do you do?’ Even the bravest amongst us if we worked in banking would probably think twice about admitting it, unless we wanted to endure 2...
22 Jun 2013
What recent parliamentary Act has “the potential to be the most significant piece of legislation for health and safety law in 40 years”?
In an article I recently read by Helen Grimberg of law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer, it's the recently adopted Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.
According to Grimberg, the act "Once implemented, it will allow for...
21 Jun 2013
In the insurance world I often read the line ‘we are very pleased to announce.’ It is usually followed by something else that is of little interest to me but is of great importance to the seller.
Maybe they are delighted or even thrilled – but why should I be? I’m selfish like that but then we all are. That is because we want to know ‘what’s in it for me’? ...