Insurance People March 2016 by Insurance People

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Terry Wellard See page 8 Insurance People inside include:

Stuart Bennett Paul Brandish Reg Brown Malcolm Henke Emma Simkins Roger Snook Spencer Wyer

rance â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Insu ith ew Magazin tyâ&#x20AC;? Personali

Cover artwork: Carol Newman

issue 61 March 2016

Late News Ageas reports profitable year espite weather losses, Ageas UK reports a net profit for 2015 of £21.4 million, compared with an underlying profit of £61.7m in 2014. The estimated severe weather impact in December is £46.1m, in line with market share. In the combined ratio of 102.0% (99.8%) the severe weather impact was 4.2%. Ageas says that total income reflected low prices across the market for most of the year. Total income was £1,930.1m (£1,986.7m), with non-life GWP £1,783.2m (£1,822.0m) and total inflows from retail business £146.9m (£164.7m). Chief executive Andy Watson comments, “Reflecting on 2015, underlying profit was in a good place, but just as our

Andy Watson

geas has also announced that it is extending its long-standing partnership with SSP's Keychoice distribution business, with a new deal on data capabilities across a range of personal and commercial products. Ageas expects to benefit from a continuous flow of information on the trading performance of insurance products “ ... to enable competitive fine-tuning of pricing, which in turn provides brokers with more competitive products for their customers”. The new deal, which will also see Ageas continue on the Keychoice commercial lines panel, follows some new personnel appointments at Keychoice and a growing number of complementary strategic partnerships. Adrian Coupland, managing director, data and distribution, at SSP comments, “We have worked closely with the Ageas team for over 20 years and are delighted to be beginning this new phase of our partnership. Together, we’ll focus on using our data and insight to uncover new opportunities for growth.”

customers were not immune from the storms and floods at the end of the year, neither were we. The estimated impact of the December severe weather was significant, but in line with our market share. “Income was down slightly year-on-year where we’ve taken deliberate pricing action against competitive market conditions. Following an upward trend in motor prices across the market seen towards the end of the year, we’ve increased the number of motor policies we insure to 3.8 million. The home market remains very competitive, but rates are showing signs of going up and we will monitor the impact in response to the weather events. The true premium increases are obscured by the IPT change. “We secured some new and extended some existing partnerships in 2015, further evidence that we are a preferred partner of choice for brokers and affinity brands. Our longstanding reputation for excellent customer service was also further evidenced by being named Which? recommended provider for car and home insurance for our RIAS brand at the end of the year.”

Zurich schemes on Transactor T ransactor Global Solutions has announced the launch of Zurich's open market rated private motor schemes on the Transactor software platform. The new products are now available to new and existing Transactor clients following the completion of the development phase in February. Zurich’s range of open market household

schemes are also due to go live very shortly. Nichola Thomson, director of personal lines broker, Zurich says, “At Zurich we are committed to the broker channel and launching home and motor on Transactor brings us closer to a diverse range of brokers and personal lines specialists. We are excited about the opportunity to work with TGSL and broker partners in

2016 and look forward to developing long term relationships together." Simon Macray, director of insurer relations, TGSL, adds, “The Zurich products are a fantastic addition to our OMR panel and we believe they will prove valuable to many of our clients. We look forward to developing our relationship with Zurich further over the coming years.”

Contents - March 2016 insurancepeople

A war that cannot be won?

Market talk

The Insurance Act revisited Georgina Squire, Rosling King LLP

We now pronounce… Terry Wellard

The odds really stack up in the ‘whiplash’ battle -

Whiplash claims Roger Snook

surely merely a skirmish in a much wider war. The serried ranks of vested interest remain

Reg Brown

On the move Who’s going where?

The Postcard Emporium

determined to fight tooth and nail to maintain the gravy train.

News Review

On the Road Those cold callers from hell

In his article on page 10 this month, claims consultant Roger Snook makes clear that, even if whiplash is curbed, the attackers will simply move to another page in the medical dictionary. They are not fools, and are very adept at seeking advantage.

The enemy within Incredibly, although insurers themselves are no

Paul Brandish puts rogue CMCs under the spotlight

Georgina Squire revisits the new Insurance Act

Stuart Bennett reckons SMEs face a “double whammy”

longer permitted to take referral fees from lawyers, that’s not to say other pecuniary arrangements do not exist. There surely cannot be a better example of insurers “feeding the mouth that bites them” when they outsource their FNOL or AD claims facilities to accident management companies.

www.insurancepeople.uk.com

Roger Snook believes the focus on whiplash injury is illogical

Editorial

Design & Production

Commercial Director

insurancepeople

Andrew Newman FCII, Dip.M e: andrewnewman@talk21.com t: 01892 730539

Adrian Susman e: adrian@insurancepeople.uk.com t: 07981 993974

Jeni Hall e: jeni@insurancepeople.uk.com t: 07969 510172

PO Box 537 Tonbridge Kent TN12 9WG t 01562 862990 m 07981 993974 e info@insurancepeople.uk.com

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Market talk Andrew Newman, Editor

Rogue claims farmers into the spotlight T he existence of ‘rotten apples’ within the claims farming fraternity ﬂashes into focus with the recent award of costs to Allianz when the court found that false witness evidence had been disclosed by claimant solicitors. The judge ordered them to pay all of the defendant’s legal costs amounting to £27,000 (see page 23).

The degree of high pressure salesmanship was revealed last year in the case when model Amy Laban, who blamed “a string of nuisance calls from firms specialising in compensation claims” was found guilty of falsifying injuries. That case was handled by insurance industry law firm Horwich Farrelly, and I spoke with partner Paul Brandish. “Insurers; the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); consumer groups; and, indeed ourselves, have made a noticeable drive to tackle this growing issue. The publicity around cases such as the imprisonment of model Amy Laban has no doubt helped raise awareness of rogue claims management companies (CMC) amongst the public. “With one such firm recently handed a £850,000 fine after making millions of nuisance calls, the ICO is making the right noises. However, with the results of the CMR review due to be published in the first quarter of 2016 we would hope this is just the start.

Driverless cars: 1 I

t was back in October 2014 that the topic of driverless cars appeared in these pages. The Editor chewed the fat with Gary Humphreys, group underwriting director at Markerstudy. The overall view was that this would be a boon for congested cities for economic and environmental reasons, and also some long motorway journeys, but a real nonstarter for the basic human desire for independence and travel. But we also naturally knuckled down to the insurance-related angles, particularly the issue of liability. For instance would a driver under the influence of alcohol or sleeping in a driverless car be capable of being ‘in control’ - a basic requirement of road safety. We thought that would be unlikely to

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“Horwich Farrelly would welcome increased restrictions of CMC marketing techniques, a tightening of rules around referral fees, and restricting the ‘fees’ paid by their clients particularly for ﬁnancial loss claims such as PPI.”

Paul sees a new type of Paul Brandish ‘fundamental dishonesty’ decision arising. In 2015 Horwich Farrelly secured 79 ﬁndings of fundamental dishonesty under Civil Procedure Rules 44.16. “In 2016 we'll start to see the ﬁrst cases relying on Section 57 of CJCA 2015 come to trial. Under this legislation where a claim (issued after 13 April 2015) is found to be fundamentally dishonest the court must dismiss the whole claim, including any genuine part, unless doing so would cause the claimant to suffer ‘substantial injustice’. “We can therefore also expect to see the ‘substantial injustice’ clause of the CJCA tested. In the absence of any guidance on what may amount to "substantial injustice", appeals are inevitable.”

change. But would the manufacturer of a driverless car be liable in an avoidable incident? Malcolm Henke, head of large loss at insurance industry law firm Horwich Farrelly agrees that strictures on the ‘joys of motoring’ could be a significant element, and a politically difficult set of laws for a government to introduce against the safety factor. “There will also inevitably be failures of technology,” says Malcolm. “Responsibility for such events must lie with the manufacturers, or those responsible for maintenance. But how easy will that be to prove?” There’s more from Malcolm Henke on page 6.

Market talk

in association with:

On the Bus n his interview this month on page 8, Terry Wellard talks about his current (mainly unpaid) advisory role. I got an inkling of the scope of this philanthropic work at ﬁrst-hand a couple of years ago when bumping into Terry at a seminar in the City.

Discovering that we were both scheduled to move on to the next meeting in the West End, we decided to travel together. No, not in a taxi, but to the bus stop in Eastcheap. (We both qualify for a free bus pass these days!). We boarded the number 15 bus, and commandeered the rather comfortable long seat at the back of the top deck. The vehicle wasn’t crowded, so we could talk normally. And talk we did, the only interruption being a succession of incoming calls on Terry’s mobile. And by the time the bus reached Aldwych there had been quite a few of them. It was an insurance Who’s Who! The great and the good some very well known and voluble, and others more famous for their exclusivity. All with the same quest – to seek some (free) Wellard advice! part from Terry Wellard’s very ﬁrst career appointment (reproduced here) one topic that space prevented from inclusion in this month’s interview on page 8 was the 1990s occasion when the bottom fell out of the Lloyd's broking guarantee market.

Lloyd's rules previously prevented non-Lloyd's brokers dealing directly with Lloyd's syndicates, but they could do so via a Lloyd's guaranteeing broker. The loss of some commission in this process wasn’t too worrying for regional brokers because Lloyd's commission tended to be higher anyway. But the Wellard career sailed through that crisis. “Yes, the changes in the direct dealing rules allowed carriers to collect premiums direct, without going through a

Terry Wellard’s very first career appointment (See page 8)

guaranteeing broker,” explains Terry. “But it’s not always solely about numbers and cash. It happened that most syndicates preferred to retain our services, so despite the rule changes our business was still very viable. And the reason for that was principally because of our network of provincial UK personal lines brokers. It was – without doubt - the best around. And all those relationships were cultivated over many years.” Insurance is indeed a ‘people’ business Q.E.D.

New hires at Colmore ictured left to right are Mike Hemp, (formerly with Towergate); Georgia Porter, (Colmore’s ﬁrst apprentice, who joins the commercial team); Charles Taylor (formerly with Thomas Carroll); and Leon Fung (previously an account executive at Bollington for two years and before that with Circle and Towergate).

The new recruits join Birmingham-based privately owned business Colmore Insurance Brokers which commenced trading in January 2015.

Market talk

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 3

Market talk “SMEs face ‘double whammy’”

Remember Plain English?

Firms hit hard by flooding T he frequency of ﬂood incidents in recent times (and more relevantly the lengthy aftermaths of such incidents) keeps consumers’ bush telegraph buzzing.

signiﬁcantly different ways depending on ownership.

No, this item’s focus lies not on the consumer, but on ﬁrms. Stuart Bennett, a director of online insurance broker Quote Dave believes businesses must not be “forgotten” as the clear-up operation from this winter’s ﬂoods continues in many parts of the UK.

“The second issue concerns wet winters and the fear that they will become the UK norm, and impact the long-term viability of the most at-risk Stuart Bennett communities. Local authorities in some parts of Wales, including the seaside town of Fairbourne, are believed to be preparing for a managed retreat at some point in the future.

“Companies face a potential ‘double whammy’ as a result of the devastation wrought in many towns and cities,” says Stuart. “The ﬁrst issue concerns Flood Re. In place for 25 years with the aim to make ﬂood cover affordable to households at the highest risk, it has not been extended to the business community.

“There are also serious longer-term issues facing businesses in the areas most prone to ﬂooding, including many of our most historic Northern towns and cities. The number of businesses insurers who will not cover, or apply prohibitive term, is going to increase.

“Flood Re is long overdue for domestic properties, but the exclusion of businesses is a kick in the teeth to the owners of SMEs, desperately trying to get back on their feet after the sustained ﬂooding of recent months.

“The flood issue is going to be high on the agenda of businesses and the insurance industry for many years to come, and firms in flood risk areas face years of uncertainty unless insurers are willing to provide the cover they require, or the country’s flood defences are significantly improved. Businesses must not be the forgotten victims of the flood crisis.”

A ﬂood victim returnee living in temporary accommodation since Christmas 2014(!) told me he has no grudge to bear against his insurer. His ire is directed at the loss adjuster. “She never came to see the property, and it’s been hassle and haggling all the way!” (Another story, for another day perhaps).

“This exclusion also applies to landlords, meaning there is every possibility in the future that two neighbouring properties could be treated in

Allianz relaunches clear policy wording I confess I had to check the calendar when receiving the Allianz Insurance news item that appears on page 13 this month. Could it really be happening in 2016? – the news that a private car policy is being rewritten to make itself easier for policyholders to read and understand?

Surely this task took place nearly two decades ago? Whatever happened to Plain English? And all those new policy layouts when many motor policies went from portrait to landscape style, and adopted multicolours? Some even had cartoon illustrations!

4 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

To be fair to Allianz, their press release does make it clear that this is a relaunch! As an underwriter, turned business developer, turned marketing bod in the late 1990s, I found myself thrown headlong into this revolution. A lot of it was outsourced of course, and The Plain English Society became involved. But there was one document I had been itching to do something about, and I immediately took it under my wing. It was the private car proposal form.

Market talk

in association with:

Brokers question insurers’ use of data

How’s that big data going? W hen I moved across to my current day job from working for an insurer sixteen years ago, it was already apparent that the number of risk categories in personal lines was expanding almost as fast as the Universe itself. Every home risk was different, while in motor there were already more individual risk demarcations than there were cars on the planet, let alone in the UK. The main worry around year 2000 wasn’t so much as to how all this data was going to be stored (surely IT could take care of that) but how could it possibly be manipulated by insurers to effective commercial impact for brokers in the battle against direct writing to the consumer? And the jury still seems to be out on that one, according to recent research among insurance brokers by information management specialist EDM Group under the title “Brokers highlight poor quality data held by insurers”. When asked to describe the effectiveness of insurers to use their information and data to reduce risks, enhance relationships with clients and other key stakeholders, and improve profitability, the research found that 67% of respondents said ‘poor’ or ‘average’. Only 18% of brokers gave a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ nod. But the vast majority of brokers clearly believe insurers are aware of the challenges they face, with the expectation that insurers’ skills will improve over the next

This document has since been lost to history of course, but there was a time when it was the most important piece of paper in the new business process. It had to be completed in writing by every new customer – and then deciphered by an underwriter. Little or no thought was given at that time by insurers to the customer-facing aspects. In fact, some market proposal forms were appalling. Certain Lloyd's motor syndicates’ creations were the worst offenders, looking like they had been produced using a popular children’s toy of the time – the John Bull printing set! I determined that the form would be in a light pastel shade, but with white boxes where proposers needed to write, with plenty of space and clarity. I

Market talk

three to ﬁve years. Only 6% expect a deterioration. Brokers pinpoint some of the reasons. A majority (63%) blame insurers’ legacy systems and poor IT infrastructure. One in three cite the result of insurers struggling to cope with the proliferation in the number of channels customers now use to communicate.

Spencer Wyer

Around 14% say it’s due to too much paper still being around. Group chief technology officer at EDM Spencer Wyer adds, “There is significant room for improvement in the quality of information and data insurers hold, and an awareness as to how it should be used. Success will increasingly be based around digitised information, and we are seeing a growing interest in insurers looking to invest in this area and develop an edge over their competitors.” Spencer cites examples where the adaption and improvement of processes within communication management, coupled with an end-to-end technologybased approach have helped to streamline operations and boost efficiency while simultaneously improving the quality of customer service.

got hold of one of the new-fangled portable personal computers of the time, and a piece of (then) state-ofthe-art software that allowed me to build the thing up line by line, box by box, word by word. It took some time to complete, but the joy on the faces of the motor team made it all worthwhile. You have to remember that previous mock-ups of this kind had - from time immemorial - consisted of cut & paste jobs. You had to wait for a proof from the printer. Yet here it was, ready to roll. And - I say it myself – it really was a work of art. The accolades came not just from the motor people, but from IT as well. It showed what a PC could do long before the packages came along that could do the whole job inside a day. And yes, even brokers gave it the nod.

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 5

Market talk “Earn while you learn”

in association with:

Driverless cars - lethal weapons?

Henderson recruit three new apprentices

Jamie West also becomes an apprentice broker and joins after leaving Egglescliffe School. Jamie says Hendersons “has a fantastic reputation as a leader in its field. I feel onthe-job training is the best option for me as I will gain the necessary skills for the working world.” Harry Wood from Stockton has secured an apprenticeship in the Henderson’s claims department after leaving St Patrick’s Catholic College, Thornaby. “I chose an apprenticeship because it is a fantastic way to get hands-on practical experience while gaining qualifications at the same time. Having been recruited by Henderson, I hope to build a successful career at the firm.”

ictured left to right are Tiegan Taylor-Helm, Jamie West, and Harry Wood, a trio of apprentices taken on by Henderson Insurance Brokers at their Teesside ofﬁce.

Apprentice broker Tiegan Taylor-Helm lives in Ingleby Barwick, and previously achieved a Level 3 Business Studies qualiﬁcation from Middlesbrough College. She opted for an apprenticeship rather than university. “I feel it bridges the gap between business and education, and you get the best of both worlds. I will continue my education, but also gain experience within a successful business.”

Driverless cars: 2 M

alcolm Henke at Horwich Farrelly expands on the driverless car theme (see page 2).

“

The issue of driverless cars has been bubbling away, but suddenly seems to be coming to the boil with the spotlight firmly on liability. Google recently published a letter from the US traffic safety administration (NHTSA) stating the driverless system could be given the same legal definition Malcolm Henke

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Emma Simkins, a director at Henderson believes apprenticeships are the perfect way for young people to earn while they learn. “We provide them with real world business experience as well as allowing them to continue their education. By joining Henderson they gain both practical and theoretical experience, and will have an advantage over their peers who haven’t yet experienced working in a busy ofﬁce environment. Tiegan, Jamie, and Harry are proving themselves to be hardworking intelligent young people with a strong future at the ﬁrm, who will help to shape the future of the next Emma Simkins generation of workers.”

as a real human driver. The document said, ‘If no human occupant of the vehicle can actually drive the vehicle, it is more reasonable to identify the driver as whatever (as opposed to whoever) is doing the driving.’ The driverless car is a lethal weapon, but by putting control of it into the ‘hands’ of a computer, are we removing the real source of risk? The answer must surely be that once the technology has been tested, and is proved to be sufﬁciently robust, we will all be safer if the human factor is removed. Clearly there’s much work that still needs to be done before we see driverless cars on normal roads. But this may be a good time to buy up any disused airﬁelds, or similar parcels of land on the market. At some time in the future there could be a huge opportunity to offer people the chance to enjoy the ancient pastime of ‘real driving’. And Chris Evans will probably be out of a job!

”

Market talk

Georgina Squire Head of Dispute Resolution, Rosling King LLP

“Wave goodbye to the historic avoidance culture” Exactly one year ago on this page Georgina Squire posed a ‘friend or foe?’ welcome to the Insurance Act 2015 which supersedes existing legislation first enacted in 1906! Since then, the small print of the new Act has been examined forensically and has triggered much commentary and debate, with the introduction of a “duty of fair presentation” or many of us, the Insurance Act of 2015 has felt like a new best friend (or foe, depending on your point of view) and it has not even come into full effect yet.

longer rely on a passive approach to disclosure.

That particular milestone will be passed on 12 August 2016, but whether it is another Glorious 12th remains to be seen.

It’s therefore essential for both parties to review their disclosure processes and - before insurers underwrite risks - engage more fully in relation to disclosure and establish systems and processes to assess the need for further enquiries.

The Act was the biggest change to insurance legislation for more than a century and not before time. Its objective to modernise the law and rights and remedies whilst providing a framework for an effective, competitive and trusted business insurance market is one that merits support across the insurance industry. In many ways, the UK is ﬁnally coming into line with the rest of the EU in waving goodbye to the historic avoidance culture. The new system is designed to be fairer, and who can reasonably argue with the idea that insurance policies pay out when a claim is made? he importance of the changes should not be underestimated. The opportunities to avoid paying claims will be dramatically reduced. Both insurer and insured can no

insurance act 2015

The Act foresees the introduction of a “duty of fair presentation” of risk on the part of the insured entity, in place of the previous duty to disclose all material facts. There are now far more proportionate remedies for unintentional breach of this requirement. The new law is the default position, and any parties wishing to opt out may do so and negotiate their own different commercial terms. This is likely to be attractive to commercial policyholders, though the underlying change in principle should prevail. There are also signiﬁcant changes in terms of warranties. Breach of warranty by the insured will not mean that the insurer's liability is discharged. Instead, it suspends the claim which will be valid at a later date if a previous breach is then

remedied by the insured. Insurers cannot rely on non compliance with a warranty as means of avoiding a liability in its entirety. Gone too are 'basis of contract' clauses. These potentially damaging clauses which turned the insured’s representations on risk into warranties can no longer be contracted out of, and this is also good news for policyholders. The Act takes steps to address the issue of fraud and an insurer will now not be liable to pay any part of a claim where fraud has been committed. The insurer can also terminate a policy and refuse to pay for losses after a fraud has occurred.

“

A seismic change in insurance legislation

”

It is inevitable that such a seismic change in the insurance legislation landscape will take time to settle down. There are important issues for both policyholders and insurers which require new approaches to insurance renewals and policy inception which will need to be clariﬁed in the coming months. Overall, we now have a fairer system, and we are a world away from the Marine Insurance Act of 1906, the predecessor of the new Insurance Act. The result should help reduce the phalanx of claims and disputes that have in recent years inhibited the competitiveness of the UK insurance industry and put it back at the forefront of the world’s insurance markets.

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 7

In association with:

We now pronounce you...

Insurance wasn’t always on the radar for everyone seeking a career. But once on board, many of us not only survived the ordeal, but thrived on the opportunities. Result: A marriage for life. Wedded bliss. For better or worse. In association with Markerstudy Group, Insurance People presents a series of interviews featuring some of the insurance people happy to have pledged their troth to this industry

Terry Wellard An unbelievable 60+ years in the City, promoting the Lloyd's and London markets. The longest serving chairman of the LIBC Motor Executive Committee. Longest serving Captain of the BROMUS golf society in Lloyd's. And when the Lloyd's Motor Underwriters Association celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005, Terry Wellard found himself having worked in Lloyd's for a full half of that centennial period! A Lloyd's broker, company chairman, children's charity fund raiser, unpaid consultant willing to lend an ear to any sensible proposal, raconteur, the market’s voice of conscience on questionable short-term practices… who also finds time to pen his regular press articles in these very pages. What more can be said…? AN: An insurance career never blipped on the radar at school for many people who later went on to wed the industry, but I believe your path towards a potential career was steered by your school? TW: Yes, that’s right. At age 15 I left Peckham Secondary Modern – otherwise known as William Penn which was one of the first “comprehensive” schools in the country. I was a prefect at the time, and the school wanted me to stay on as Head Prefect. Like many 15 year olds, that suited me perfectly. I wasn’t lazy, but that role sounded like a good thing.

AN: As an early school leaver myself (and incidentally inspired by similar parental pressure) I found there were a good number of insurance companies in London willing to take on 15/16 year olds, but I never saw any such jobs in Lloyd's advertised?

AN: But your mother didn’t agree?

TW: Ah, that’s where my school came in. They had a wonderful connection in Red Star and sent all their bright boys along there. I was interviewed by the Chairman of the Red Star Insurance Association himself, Johnny Johnson and was taken on, not as a filing clerk, but as a ‘Query Clerk’ at the princely sum of three pounds, two shillings, and six pennies per week (see page 3 - Ed.).

TW: No! “Get out and get a career.” So it was mother’s influence – and she was right!

So I enjoyed an ‘elevated’ role right from the start, thanks to a very good school report. You see, a humble

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filing clerk merely put the files away – a Query Clerk got them out! And my files went straight to Miss Wass – I’ll never forget her. AN: So you started learning the business. At what point did you realise that you didn’t necessarily want to be carrying files for the rest of your life? TW: It didn’t take too long, but it was part of the Red Star policy to move people on, and I eventually went through the whole spectrum of motor with Red Star. But then I discovered there is a much wider world out there, and that’s when I began to seek out new and better opportunities and getting more interviews. AN: Interviews were very different then, weren’t they? I remember exams, sport, hobbies and pastimes

we now pronounce you...

AN: So today Terry, you are certainly not retired. You no longer hold down a regular day job. And yet you seem busier than ever? TW: Basically it’s because work-wise I have - as far as the City is concerned - been there longer than most. While a lot of my contemporaries are now retired, I’m still actively involved - but not financially. AN: You seem prepared to help people out for no direct recompense?

were important, but what employers really wanted to know was what your father did for a living. TW: That’s very true. To go off at a slight tangent, years later in friendly conversation with a Lloyd's broker the conversation went like this:LLOYD'S BROKER: We get on well, don’t we? ME: Yes we do. In fact, I nearly worked for you, but I failed the interview.

TW: Well, most of the new ideas and projects don’t necessarily make money from the outset. For me, it’s more a case of, “when you make some money, by all means pay me should you feel my contribution justifies reward”. I am not the type of person who seeks the greater trappings of success as I prefer a healthy existence, in good company, and for which I am eternally grateful. I look to continue with a long and enjoyable life. No business ties with anyone; no paperwork. I work with a good number of enterprises on the advice and development front, and I’m still in contact with reinsurers and others. AN: I know you don’t like the ‘C’ word. TW: No. I have been a consultant in the past, but these days I avoid that word if I can.

LLOYD'S BROKER: How on earth did we let you slip through the net?

AN: You also have strong feelings on the role of non-execs?

ME: The interviewer asked me what my father’s political leanings were. I said he voted Labour. And he did so, because his father had always voted Labour.

TW: I have great respect for a lot of non-executives, but most these days are – as far as I can see - expected to toe the line when it comes to compliance. My particular skill-set does not lend itself to being a very good non-exec.

Note that he never asked me what I was going to vote when I became old enough. There was an assumption that what your father did, you did. Note also that he never asked me what my mother voted – she always voted Conservative! That’s the way it was in those days. AN: So you became a broker, working in Lloyd's for Thomas Stephens Poole. How much extra perspective did that provide? TW: Stepping outside the insurer sector enabled you to increase your insight between the various organisations in Lloyd's. And of course you pick up openings much quicker. I learned that David Holman was looking for someone to go out into the provinces to open up Lloyd's motor to regional brokers. So I became Direct Motor Executive in 1970, and began driving (and flying – David Holman was a keen pilot) up and down the country meeting brokers. AN: And that programme was highly successful I believe?

we now pronounce you...

As a vibrant species, used to devoting my experience to developing and cultivating markets for the greater good of the insurance industry, I cannot perform to the best of my ability in a controlled environment. If something needs to be said, you can bet I will say it. It is the privilege of anyone to disagree, but at least they know where I stand.

TW: Yes, the account grew from £2m to £20m in five years, helped initially by the failure of the likes of the Vehicle & General and Alpha as brokers sought greater security. AN: It’s an unfortunate fact that while many of those who pledged their troth to our industry moved on from time to time to better themselves, some partings were triggered by broken promises. TW: Well, that certainly happened to me at Holmans. But one door closes and another opens, and Edgar Hamilton and Wellard was born in October 1975. AN: So you ‘became your own boss’ at EHW (part of Edgar Hamilton). As a guaranteeing broker, you helped build what must surely have been

one of the largest networks of motor brokers in the country, which was subsequently acquired by Singer & Friedlander, and later Sterling Hamilton Wright, itself later purchased by Towergate. And then Markerstudy came into being where you were chairman in its early years. TW: Within EHW there existed Hamilton & Wellard Underwriting. That continued under SHW where Kevin [Spencer] worked. Gary Humphreys came to work for us as a motor specialist. An arrangement came about whereby Kevin and Gary left SHW taking H&W Underwriting with them. It was of no great significance at the time, but the two of them turned it into the business it is today. The rest is history, as they say. MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 9

Roger Snook Claims Consultant

Whiplash and the - a Government p Recent moves to tackle the fraud and compensation culture in UK motor insurance by restricting the right to compensation for minor whiplash injuries appears to be in response to campaigns for these injuries to be replaced by a right to payment for treatment only. Roger Snook has doubts, and wonders if the overall concept is valid. Do the suggested changes stand a chance against the sheer volume of vested interest? n the Autumn spending review presented on 25 November 2015, the Chancellor announced the intention to tackle the ongoing “fraud and compensation culture in motor insurance” by removing ‘cash’ compensation (general damages) for minor whiplash injuries, although the right to special damages would be retained, and the financial limit for cases to be heard by the Small Claims Court increased from £1,000 to £5,000. These changes being expected to enable insurers to reduce premiums by £40 - £50.

This announcement appears to have been in response to campaigning by some insurers for the right to compensation in respect of whiplash to be replaced by a right to payment for treatment only, although it could well be that the Government had taken note of the debate in the House of Lords in 2014 on the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill, when it was proposed that a right to compensation should not arise where the injury affected physical function by less than 15%. Interestingly the announcement does not, despite the context, limit the proposed changes to motor 10 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

claims alone and that, of course, is logical. However, is the overall concept sensible and will the suggested changes have the desired effect? t’s apparent that the claims portal arrangements for compensating ‘small’ personal injury claims are not working. Indeed, there is a view that this process is a licence for fraud. Certainly one gets the impression that it is now impossible to have a road accident, involving whatever mechanism, without a whiplash injury!

“

Is it now impossible to have a road accident without a whiplash injury?

”

It is rather sad that a system constructed with the best of intentions (and which has

undoubtedly reduced the unit cost of small injury settlements) seems to have had the unintended consequence of increasing claims farming, and hence the frequency of such claims, resulting in greater costs overall. Further, despite the simplified procedure and contrary to expectations, settlement times have increased. This appears to be the claimants’ choice as the process whilst setting strict timelines for the defendant - imposes none on the claimant. One might be excused from thinking that the ensuing delays are to ensure the maximum benefit from claims inflation. The creation of MedCo, to discourage the use of medical experts with financial links to the claimant lawyer, has had some impact, but is yet to become properly effective. (Matters may improve with the mandatory accreditation of medical experts as from 1 February 2016, depending on the effectiveness of the process). So far, the impact is imperceptible as it has been easy for the claimant lawyer to continue to select their desired expert, with the expected results.

whiplash claims

“The focus on whiplash is illogical”

Compensation Culture roposal o, will the proposed revisions result in a better outcome? Consider the following:-

• The focus on whiplash is illogical. Yes, it’s the most common injury claimed for, but why would anyone imagine that if whiplash injury (however defined) is not to be compensated, it would not be promptly replaced by another injury, equally difficult to diagnose or treat? Would we see an upsurge in psychological injury, or complex pain syndrome, for example? Surely, the focus must be on all injuries? • Increasing the Small Claims Limit to £5,000 looks sensible and has been mooted before. However, will the effect be to increase minimum damages for any small injury claim to £5,000? Look what happened with the existing limit, where minimum damages quickly reached £1,000. • How will a minor (whiplash) injury be defined? Will there not be pressure on medical experts to build up the consequences to enable a claim to be made in excess of £5,000 under the Fast Track? If a definition is to be based on the duration or extent of medical investigation and/or treatment, will this encourage extensive investigations with an inevitable impact on the NHS? However, whilst some may be directed to the NHS, it is in the claimant lawyers’

whiplash claims

interests to ensure that the claimant receives private treatment, supplied by their in-house or retained doctors, thereby increasing the special damages. • Would insurers find themselves constrained to supply extensive private treatments under the Rehabilitation Code? • There would almost certainly be an increase in the costs of private treatment (special damages) for whiplash and other injuries, together with other special damages. It is noticeable that at present portal claims involving small whiplash injuries rarely include claims for loss of earnings, but there has been a steady increase in claims for physiotherapy, CBT and other therapies, sourced by claimant lawyers.

What about other consequences? For better or ill, the handling of injury compensation claims has resulted in the employment of a great many people with insurers’ claims departments, outsource agencies, claimant lawyers, accident management companies, rehabilitation companies, expert witnesses, court staff, etc. A successful reduction in the number of claims is bound to result in job losses, something that no-one will be happy to accept willingly. It seems reasonable to anticipate that the claimant lawyers and their

representatives will protest loud and long over what could be seen as a direct attack on what is bread and butter business. We will hear a great deal about the unfairness of thrusting unrepresented claimants into the Small Claims Court, the impossibility of achieving justice without a lawyer, the loss of Human Rights (sic), as well as the possible future exploitation of the uninformed by accident management companies, who may well see a golden opportunity. Insurers, outsource agencies (and indeed brokers) will have to prepare for a reduction in claims, as well as revisiting systems to ensure absolute fairness in dealing with unrepresented claimants. Would insurers be able to achieve the premium reductions demanded? Doubtless BTE and ATE insurers will also see a loss of revenue, although some direct marketing to claimants could be considered. The Portal Company would need to adapt systems to facilitate usage by unrepresented claimants, and MedCo would presumably see some loss of revenue as demand for accreditation of medical experts declined. Obviously, much of this and more will be aired when the Government issues its consultation paper, but the question now is whether this has been the usual political headline grabbing, or whether any sensible result for all involved is intended or achievable? MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 11

Reg Brown’s Postcard Emporium Another uncertainty is the year. The rear of the card is blank, so we’re left with that calendar on the mantelpiece. We’ve seen these calendars before in this series, and while they show the date and the month (in this case 24th August) frustratingly they don’t show the year. The day of the week can be used to narrow things down, but it’s too indistinct in the photo.

return this month to the pre-1914 Edwardian sepia postcard era with this card from the Reg Brown collection. Sepia – the word derives from the cuttlefish and its inky secretions – was a widely used method of enhancing the contrast and preservative qualities of monochrome images at the processing stage. Today, there are digital options available to reproduce these images to give an “historical feel” but which never seem to quite match the originals. Here we see a room in a typical Edwardian insurance office, complete with gas lighting, a mantelpiece over the fireplace with traditional clock, calendar and bookends. There’s also a coal scuttle and a fireguard to prevent hot coals ruining the carpet (which seems to have enjoyed better days). One thing for sure is that this is not a board room, or a director’s dining room. It looks like a meeting room. Not exactly tatty, but well-used. There’s a definite ‘them & us’ feel to the layout. The big cheese sits in a throne-like chair on the right, flanked by two lieutenants, while the minions sit facing this triumvirate with armless chairs. No doubt

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Victorian, the backs of these chairs facing the camera seem to have been patched with “sticky back” paper long before the more familiar branded plastic version appeared. A puzzle is that plumb line hanging from the ceiling, centre-card. A gadget to control the gas lighting perhaps?

What about the location? The helpful framed poster on the wall on the left declares this to be the Liverpool London & Globe, but if that wasn’t there the domed building in the picture on the right clearly reveals the London LL&G ediﬁce – still there today at Bank. The Liverpool London & Globe roots go back as far as 1803 with Globe Insurance operating in London from premises in Cornhill and Pall Mall. A merger took place in 1864 with Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance when LL&G came into being. Royal Insurance acquired LL&G in 1919 – at that time the biggest merger the British insurance industry had ever seen. The rest of the history is more recent with Royal and Sun Alliance undertaking a protracted merger in 1996 to form Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Group, then to become known as Royal & SunAlliance*, and ultimately in 2008 as simply RSA . * At the time it amused the market to speculate how many pounds in consultancy fees the RSA Group had to pay to close that gap twixt ‘Sun’ and ‘Alliance’. The Editor

Reg Brown’s Postcard Emporium

News Review Pioneer writing environmental liability

ioneer Underwriters announces that Pioneer Special Risk (PSR) has commenced underwriting environmental liability, led by Jessica HuhnKenzik, vice president, via its newly established division in Exton, Pennsylvania. PSR has been approved as a

coverholder at Lloyd’s for environmental liability with licences to transact business in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The team will provide property owners, developers and contractors with pollution and professional coverage, including site pollution liability.

Allianz re-launches “Clear” wording A llianz Insurance has relaunched its personal lines policy wording for its Clear private car product. The refreshed design aims to make the policy easier for customers to read and understand. Allianz personal lines product manager (motor and home), Alan Gairns, comments, “The majority of customers who don't read all of their policy documents, or terms and conditions, do so because they are simply too confusing. However, it's hugely important that customers know what is and isn’t covered within their insurance policy. "We've addressed this by enhancing the design and layout of the policy wording, using new

news review

colour-coding and Allianz icons to highlight important information such as what is and isn’t covered. We’ve also made the document more portable by reducing the size from A4 to A5." Customers can also benefit from the following covers: accidental mis-fuelling cover and any damage to the engine as a consequence; luggage trailer cover up to £250; personal belongings cover up to £200; no excess charges or NCD reductions if a customer ’s car is hit by an uninsured driver; replacement locks up to £500; nonmanufacturer audio cover up to £750; and legal advice helpline provided as standard. (The Editor comments on page 4)

In association with

Another COBRA acquisition OBRA Holdings has announced the acquisition of Robert Edward Southern Ltd. (RES) an independent commercial insurance broker based in Croydon, Surrey. Established in July 1988, RES will continue to trade under its existing trading style and continue to provide a range of insurance products and services for all types of business. COBRA CEO Steve Burrows says, “As previously stated, part of COBRA’s long-term strategic plan is to expand and strengthen its retail business through a planned acquisition programme of selected insurance brokers across the UK. I’m pleased to announce that we have completed the acquisition of Robert Edward Southern. I believe they will be a great asset to the growing retail arm of COBRA. “We continue to look for further like-minded brokers to add to COBRA and we are confident that we will be able to announce more acquisitions over the next few months.”

Steve Burrows

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 13

News Review SSP supports Calderdale flood relief S upport from SSP has resulted in a total of £20,000 going towards efforts to help local businesses and people affected by the recent flooding in Calderdale. With its head office based in Dean Clough in Halifax, many SSP employees have been directly impacted by the recent floods, and Laurence Walker, chief executive, was keen to find ways to support them and other local people as well as local businesses. He comments, “When a local tragedy like this happens it affects everyone who lives and works here. Many people have been flooded out of their homes or

businesses, and we can all help and support the amazing work of local groups who are working hard to put right the damage.” Altogether, the Community Foundation for Calderdale received a £10,000 donation, which included £5,000 government match-funding; the Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team received £5,000 to purchase new equipment; and the further £5,000 has been allocated to donate to a local business support fund. Several SSP staff have been granted fully paid time off to volunteer with some of the many local flood response groups.

SSP chief executive Laurence Walker presents a cheque for £5000 to CVSRT members Mick Smith and Richard Smith.

FCA appoints new chief executive T he Treasury has announced the appointment of Andrew Bailey as the new permanent chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He is currently the deputy governor for prudential regulation at the Bank of England and chief executive officer of the Prudential

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Regulation Authority. He is expected to take up the role in July 2016. Four new non-executive members of the FCA board have also been announced – Bradley Fried, Baroness (Sarah) Hogg, Ruth Kelly and Tom Wright. Their appointments take effect from 1 April.

Broker Network unveils first member scheme roker Network has launched its first member scheme; Unoccupied Property. The scheme which is available to the Network’s Premier and Advantage members only, offers three levels of cover from FLEA to full perils. Quotations are exclusive to Network members and cover can be provided for unoccupied commercial or residential risks. Backed by ProSight Specialty Underwriting, syndicate 1110 at Lloyds, the scheme is administered by Property Protector, which has been a Broker Network member since 2002 and specialises in property insurance. Commenting on the launch of the scheme, Adam Thomson, Broker Network scheme development director, says, “We have piloted the scheme successfully over the past couple of months and it has already written a number of cases. “This is the first in a number of exclusive schemes we plan to launch this year and unlike other networks, we will use the expertise and experience of our members to administer them.” Sean Neal at Property Protector adds, “Having the help of Broker Network meant we were able to secure competitive rates, a comprehensive wording and Lloyd's rated capacity. Unoccupied Property is just the first of many property related schemes we are looking to develop with Broker Network.”

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In association with

National Windscreens £1m ADAS investment N ational Windscreens is investing £1 million to ensure it is equipped to meet the growing demand for camera and sensor calibration (CSC) for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) throughout the UK. ADAS utilises multi-functional windscreen mounted cameras in safety features, including lane departure warning systems, autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. National Windscreens says, “In the event of a replacement windscreen being fitted the ADAS camera and sensor should be

Ten new members for Compass ompass, the UK networks division of Arthur J. Gallagher, has enjoyed a good start to 2016, with 10 new members joining since the turn of the year and annual growth taking total gross written premium controlled by its independent broker members to £660 million. Compass's network proposition, “Select”, designed for larger brokers generating more than £3 million GWP, has proved particularly successful with six of the 10 new members joining it, and membership hitting 50 three years after the partnership offering was launched. The four other brokers have joined Westinsure, Compass’ UK national alliance for smaller brokers. Among the latest broker members to join Select are Hampshire and Somerset-based Oliver & Sanders and Spencer Hayes Insurance, located in Lancashire. Oliver & Sanders joins from Broker Network, while Spencer Hayes was previously with Willis Networks.

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calibrated to ensure the technology works as intended. This current recommendation affects the whole windscreen replacement industry. National Windscreens is taking a market leading role by maintaining a truly national network of 108 fitting centres that can provide the workshop conditions required for accurate calibration of the vast majority of camera sensors at the time of a windscreen replacement.” The company has invested in bespoke equipment to enable it to carry out calibrations to camera mounted systems from early 2016 throughout the whole of the UK.

An in-house training programme has been in place for several months and Tim Camm has been appointed as technical manager. He comments, “ADAS is developing very quickly. Unsurprisingly, luxury models were the first to adopt the latest technologies, but we are now seeing it trickle down to practically all makes and model of vehicle. It is anticipated that by 2020 more than 40% of new vehicles will have at least two types of driver assistance system – driven by the desirable Euro NCAP 5 star rating.”

Police solve 12% of burglary crimes P olice solved 12.2 per cent of burglary crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2014 but there was significant variation between forces, according to new analysis from Churchill Home Insurance. In Wiltshire, just 8.3 in every 100 burglary crimes was solved, meaning the perpetrator was caught and a formal punishment such as being charged, fined, or cautioned was issued. This makes it the police force authority with the lowest rate of solved burglaries over that period. In contrast, more than three times that proportion (28.7 per cent) of burglary crimes were solved in Dyfed-Powys police authority, which has the highest solved rate across England and Wales. Churchill’s analysis also looked at the overall rate of burglaries in England and Wales for the year ending March 2015. Dyfed-Powys police has the lowest incidence

of burglaries with 2.5 in every 1,000 people falling victim to burglary every year. This is in contrast to Humberside police force authority and West Yorkshire police force authority, where 10.8 in every 1000 fall victim to this type of crime. For England and Wales as a whole, 7.2 people per 1000 of the population fall victim to burglary.

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 15

News Review Apprenticeship award for Be Wiser

Left to right: Sue Husband, director of the National Apprenticeship Service; Richard Harcourt, executive vice-president, supply chain, at Rolls Royce; and Crescens George and Nadhim Zahawi.

e Wiser Insurance has been named as one of the country’s leading employers of apprentices after picking up one of the top accolades at the National Apprenticeship Awards. The Hampshire-based company was awarded the “Newcomer – Large Employer of the Year” at an awards ceremony in London which

recognised top apprentices and leading employers from around the country. Be Wiser currently employs more than 700 people and has more than 250 apprentices – most of whom have trained with the company in the last five years. Crescens George, director of training and development at Be

Wiser says, “Apprenticeships have enriched and improved our business in many ways. Introducing apprenticeships to the business has enabled us to invest in our staff and turn `jobs` into `careers`. For many of our employees an apprenticeship scheme has given them an opportunity to re-engage in education and has enabled them to become valuable and professionally qualified members of staff.” Nadhim Zahawi, the Prime Minister’s apprenticeship adviser, who presented the awards, said, “There are many examples of excellent apprenticeships and apprentices in England and these winners are the best of the best. It’s an honour to have been part of these awards.” The awards, now in their 12th year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas -businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices; and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

Century achieves Lloyd's coverholder ommercial managing general agent Century Underwriting has been granted Lloyd’s coverholder status, which it regards as “ … an important development in the firm’s five year diversification plan to become a multi-specialist lines MGA”. The first product to be underwritten via this new arrangement will be its Property Owners facility, which will be supported by Canopius Managing Agents. Century says it has “a broad appetite” for property owner risks, including vacant, listed and nonstandard construction. Property Owners is the first of a number of new lines planned to make use of the Lloyd’s platform.

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Guy Fraser, managing director of Century Underwriting, comments, “This move demonstrates our commitment to considered growth without compromising on expertise. By combining access to an experienced underwriting team with robust capacity and efficient technology, we are in a strong position to deliver on our long-term planned growth.” Century reports that it will maintain its specialist focus on commercial motor, but in addition to property will be looking to broaden its appetite further into additional complementary commercial lines.

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In association with

Quote and buy online from Invicta I n response to demand from tradesmen, business owners and landlords, Invicta Insurance Services has launched a new quote and buy online facility. It allows businesses to input brief details online at www.invictabusiness.co.uk and compare quotes from a range of underwriters and insurance providers. Quotes can be compared and cover purchased online for: l Tradesmen’s liability, from

Canopius re-brands as Sompo Canopius

anopius is now operating under the brand Sompo Canopius following its acquisition by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa in 2014 and its subsequent integration into the Sompo Holdings group. Sompo Canopius is one of the top ten insurers in the Lloyd's insurance market, writing premiums in excess of £1 billion and also operates through company platforms in Europe and the US, as well as other overseas offices. Stuart Davies, Sompo Canopius CEO, commented, “Today is an exciting moment in our story as we adopt a new brand and visual identity that reflect our ownership. We have the secure backing of Sompo Holdings’ financial strength and global reach. But that isn’t all. Sompo Canopius is also packed with talented people; from actuarial to claims to underwriting. It is these factors together that offer confidence and assurance to our brokers and clients in a changing and volatile world. ”

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l l l

architects to builders, electricians to plumbers Retail – shop premises, stock, money and liabilities Offices – buildings, contents, computers and liabilities Surgeries - buildings, contents, equipment, medicines and liabilities Landlords - Commercial or residential let properties Hotels and guesthouses Restaurants and public houses

Steve Gamage, managing director, says, “We take great pride in providing a first class insurance broking service to business owners and property investors. We listen to their concerns and recognise that they are busy people whose time is at a premium, so we wanted to offer them a facility to quickly and easily arrange great value for money insurance for their businesses and properties at a time to suit them”.

CII Apprenticeship guide launched L aunched at a conference addressed by the Prime Minister ’s apprenticeship ambassador Nadhim Zahawi MP, the new employer apprenticeship guide is the latest initiative in the CII's drive to support firms wanting to take on apprentices. Unveiled at the Apprenticeships in Financial Services conference, the guide provides step-by-step information on running an apprenticeship scheme in the wake of the new changes to the framework, along with offering advice and tips for employers on how to implement a successful apprenticeship. Furthermore it covers the upcoming apprenticeship levy, due for implementation in April 2017, and the new trailblazer apprenticeships. Dr Sandy Scott, chief executive officer at the CII, says, “Apprenticeships are a key component of our profession’s drive to develop existing and future talent. Our profession has a long history of committing to vocational routes and apprenticeships are a natural fit with that tradition. More and more employers are discovering the benefits they can bring, with

employer awareness and technical apprenticeship starts both at record highs. "The apprenticeship landscape is undergoing a lot of change with the introduction of trailblazers and, in 2017, the levy. It is important that employers are able to navigate this new world. The CII is committed to supporting firms across insurance and financial services, with the publication of our employers’ guide and the creation of our Apprenticeship Unit.”

Sandy Scott MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 17

News Review FCA fines five he FCA has fined five individuals and two firms a total of £15.5m, in addition to banning four of those individuals, for “significant integrity and competence failings” in relation to solicitors' PI and other insurance scheme failures. The FCA found that Shay Reches performed the CF1 (director (AR)) controlled function at Coverall Worldwide Limited, with responsibility for a managing general agent, Aderia UK Limited, and conducted regulated activities, which were central to setting up and operating these insurance schemes, despite not being approved by the FCA to do so. In doing so, Mr Reches recklessly directed payments of insurance premiums to parties other than the insurers and reinsurers responsible for paying claims, increasing the risk that policyholders’ claims would not be paid. This misconduct contributed to the failure of several insurance schemes as well as to three insurers

going into administration. As a result, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme has had to pay claims totalling £12.7m as at the end of 2015. The FCA has fined Mr Reches £1,050,000. Mr Reches has also agreed to pay a sum of £13,130,000 to the three insurers, which will make a substantial contribution towards the liabilities to the FSCS and UK policyholders. He has also been prohibited by the FCA from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity. Action was also taken against Colin McIntosh, Millburn Insurance Company Limited, Coverall, Robert Bygrave, Andrea Sadler, Wayne Redgrave and Bar Professions Limited. * * * * Michael Ruck, a senior financial services enforcement lawyer at Pinsent Masons and formerly with the Financial Conduct Authority comments: “The final notices published

today reflect the FCA’s ongoing interest in not only regulated activities undertaken by unauthorised firms but also the roles and responsibilities of those within the regulatory chain, for example intermediaries and brokers. Whilst each regulated firm has its own regulatory responsibilities the FCA has illustrated an ongoing willingness to consider where these responsibilities may overlap between firms and push the boundaries of who has previously been held responsible. “Insurers, brokers, intermediaries and others are being held increasingly accountable for activities they may have previously considered the remit of someone else in the regulatory process. For example, not only should due diligence be undertaken regarding the entities with whom a regulated firm is doing business but firms will increasingly look to clearly define who in the chain has responsibility for which actions, e.g. product creation, product sign off and the sales process.”

Allianz to raise £1m for Air Ambulance E mployees from Allianz UK have set themselves the target of raising over £1million for new charity partner Association of Air Ambulances Charity (AAAC). The partnership will initially last three years with each Allianz branch organising fundraising activities at a local level to support their regional air ambulance service. To signify the start of the partnership Jon Dye, CEO, Allianz UK, presented Liz Campbell, chairman of the AAAC with a cheque for £100,000 (as pictured). He commented: “We are very pleased to be supporting the vital work that air ambulances do. As the world’s largest motor insurer, road safety is a major issue for us as road trafﬁc incidents can have a devastating effect on people’s lives.”

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news review

In association with

LV= Broker enhances ABC Home L V= Broker is improving its ABC Home buildings and contents product, offering increased enhancements for customers who take out contents cover over the £75,000 threshold. LV= Broker has also increased the single article limit within both contents (for valuables) and personal possessions (away from the home) to £3,000 and increased the following beneﬁts: l l l l l

Title deeds cover up to £1,000; Plants in the garden cover up to £1,000; Freezer cover up to the contents sum insured; Theft from outbuildings cover up to £5,000; Business equipment cover up to £10,000.

LV= Broker is also improving its Standard ABC Home and increased

its title deeds cover to £1,000, and extended loss and theft of keys cover to £1,000 on both buildings and contents. It has also introduced new cover for visitors’ effects of up to £1,000. Alternative accommodation cover has increased to £50,000 on buildings and £25,000 on contents where, in the event of a claim, the property is uninhabitable. Michael Lawrence, personal lines director, says,“Brokers are at the heart of what we do so it’s key we make it as easy as possible for them and their customers - to do business with us. The latest enhancements to our ABC Home product range, including our over £75,000 contents threshold, have been developed to help brokers write more business in a growing, more diverse market, offering a quality product that’s competitive and ﬂexible for their customers.”

HomeServe creates over 160 engineer jobs ome assistance provider HomeServe is creating more than 160 new jobs for engineers across the UK through its recently acquired Home Energy Service specialist gas division, as well as HomeServe's plumbing and water supply engineer network. Martin Bennett, CEO, HomeServe, says, “With the acquisition of Home Energy Services last year, we created a 600-strong network of directlyemployed plumbing, drainage and heating engineers, and now we are looking to grow that network with over 160 jobs available to increase our engineer coverage across the UK and support our goal of delivering truly effortless service to our customers.”

No.1 in the handling and disposing of motor vehicles The handling and disposing of motor vehicle salvage is a constant drain on financial and administrative resources. HBC reduce this by providing an unrivalled service. We are prompt, efficient and fully in accordance with current industry guidelines and environmental legislation. We also require only minimum administration to collect and dispose of your vehicle salvage. With continued investment and systems development we are able to set the standards that others struggle to achieve. We are the safest hands in salvage. HBC Vehicle Services, HBC House, Charfleets Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0PQ

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www.hbc.co.uk 01268 696444 Fax: 01268 510087 Email: info@hbc.co.uk BRITISH VEHICLE SALVAGE FEDERATION

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 19

News Review New website for BIBA B IBA has launched its new website, www.biba.org.uk, which reflects its 2016 conference theme of ‘The Go To Place’ - where members, consumers, businesses and politicians can visit to get the latest information about insurance broking issues and the benefits of BIBA membership. Announced as BIBA hosted its 2016 Parliamentary reception manifesto launch, the website aims to provide a central resource for a wide variety of audiences through a new ‘issues’ section which sets out BIBA’s campaigns for any interested party to discover. With new, easier navigation, the site also includes the Find-A-Broker service, which currently helps more than 250,000 people a year and under BIBA's agreement with Government on age and insurance has signposted in excess of 200,000

older customers to suitable motor and travel insurance. Steve White, BIBA’s chief executive, says, “We wanted to deliver a resource that will be useful to all of our stakeholders yet that will still provide our members with exclusive access to valuable online resources on regulation, compliance and other technical matters. Members can also access the latest BIBA publications, keep up to date with regional and technical committee information as well as book onto events and training through our ‘broker ASSESS’ online facility." The website was designed by Brandformula with input from BIBA’s Website Working Group. Alex Guerin, from Marsh Ltd and a member of the working group, says, “The new website is a great step forward and will hopefully

New consortium to work on CAVs he government has selected the Flourish consortium as a winner of its multi-million pound research grant to fuel development in user-centric autonomous vehicle technology and connected transport systems. The new programme, co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, will focus on the core themes of connectivity, autonomy and customer interaction. The three year project, worth £5.5 million, seeks to develop products and services that maximise the beneﬁts of Connected and Autonomous vehicles (CAVs) for users and transport authorities. Flourish will address vulnerabilities in the technology powering CAVs, with a focus on the critical areas of cyber security and wireless communications. The consortium will aim to develop tools that enable vehicle manufacturers and transport

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authorities to create a safe and secure CAV network. David Williams, head of underwriting, AXA UK says, “I am delighted that Flourish has been chosen by Innovate UK in their latest round of funding dedicated to connected and autonomous vehicles. “This project will enable AXA to enhance its burgeoning reputation for innovation in this area but also allow us to tackle an issue of public trust in the emerging technology, namely the cyber security risk. Building on our experience with the Venturer and UK Autodrive projects, we will work with Burges Salmon LLP to examine the insurance and legal questions that connected and autonomous vehicles pose. “I look forward to working with the wider consortium partners to enable these vehicles to make a positive societal impact.”

Steve White improve the ease of access for members. It was particularly pleasing to be involved in the development of a dedicated Young Broker section which will help younger members of the broking community engage with BIBA on the issues they face, contact their Young Broker Ambassador or find out more about the events happening in their region.”

Chaucer re-brands as Geoffrey Insurance arkerstudy has announced that Chaucer Direct will be re-branded as Geoffrey Insurance Services from March 2016. Markerstudy says, “In keeping with its historical lineage, which paid homage to the medieval English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, the move follows the acquisition of Chaucer’s UK motor business in July 2015.” Markerstudy Group underwriting director, Gary Humphreys, says, “Geoffrey Insurance Services will sit alongside Markerstudy’s Zenith Direct brand, ensuring we have a strong presence on aggregators and in direct sales. We have high hopes that Geoffrey will position us to be even more attractive to new and existing customers.”

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In association with

Covéa goes direct with Provident ovéa Insurance has launched its direct motor insurance offering, under the company’s Provident Insurance brand, launched initially with Confused.com. Carol Geldard, retail distribution director says, “Ever increasing numbers of consumers are choosing to research and buy their motor insurance online and our proposition has been specifically tailored for that market. Our investment in creating a direct business is about ensuring that we maintain our position as a successful motor insurer. “Having a direct route to market will materially add to our access to data and insight, which will ultimately enhance our overall motor proposition across all our distribution channels”.

Pioneer product for property investment managers P ioneer Underwriters has announced the launch of its comprehensive ﬁnancial lines product aimed at property investment managers. The product is designed not only to cover investment management activities and be compliant with the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive, but also to provide property manager cover on an ‘any one claim’ basis. The property manager cover also complies with the UK’s Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (‘RICS’) insurance requirements. The product is designed to be suitable for all operational elements of investment in property portfolios, including tenancy management, rent collection, maintenance or other services. Richard Coello, head of ﬁnancial institutions underwriting comments,

“Pioneer has championed product innovation relevant to our specialist investment management broker and client community. By accessing the depth of its skill and market knowledge, Pioneer has been able to develop a truly comprehensive solution, speciﬁc to the needs of this substantial but underserved segment of the investment management sector.”

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visit www.teninsurance.co.ukk for more informaation news review

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 21

News Review Cyber warning for small businesses mall businesses in the financial services industry are underestimating the impact a cyber attack could have on their reputation and must take steps to protect it, according to the findings of the Small Business Reputation and the Cyber Risk report, launched by the Government’s Cyber Streetwise campaign and KPMG. Despite the majority (91%) of small financial services businesses surveyed thinking about their company’s reputation frequently or all the time, they aren’t considering how a breach could affect it. In fact just 33% of those surveyed that haven’t experienced a breach say the potential damage a cyber breach could cause is an “important” consideration. However 83% of consumers

CEOs' concern at over-regulation A ccording to PwC's 19th “Annual Global CEO Survey”, 94% of insurance CEOs are concerned about over-regulation in the sector impacting growth; 65% see new market entrants as a threat to growth; 84% are conﬁdent they will increase revenues in the next 12 months (this rises to 95% when asked about the next three years); and 70% plan to implement a cost reduction initiative in the next 12 months. Insurance is one of the top three most disrupted sectors, according to the survey. Only the entertainment and media sector is facing potentially greater disruption. PwC says, “Individuals and businesses across the globe are looking to insurance companies to help them manage the increasing risks they face in what is a complex 22 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

and uncertain business and geopolitical landscape. Insurers are uniquely placed to ﬁnd an opportunity to provide improved risk analysis, advice and protective coverage in this wider business environment. As such, 64% of insurers are looking to change the way they deﬁne and manage risks in response to changing stakeholder expectations.” Stephen O’Hearn, global insurance leader at PwC, comments, "Other industries will be looking to insurers to help manage increasingly complex and uncertain business and geopolitical risks. To capitalise on these opportunities, insurers need to embrace new ways of working, novel ways of interacting with customers, and alternatives to traditional products and services."

surveyed are now concerned about which businesses have access to their data and whether it’s safe, and over half (58%) say that a cyber breach would discourage them from using a business in the future. George Quigley, a partner in KPMG’s cyber security practice, comments, “Small businesses know that their reputation is critical to their success but it seems that many haven’t considered quite how many factors can affect it. Every piece of data in a business can be of interest to a cyber criminal – even if the business itself may not realise it – and with SMEs a key target for this very reason it’s vital to take steps to protect your data, and with it the trust of your customers and ultimately your reputation.”

Norwegian Hull Club opens in London he Norwegian Hull Club (NHC) is to open its first office outside Norway, in the City of London’s EC3 district, close to the Lloyd’s market. Currently, the club operates from three locations in Norway while its Marine Benefits medical insurance business is based in the Philippines. The new office is expected to be operational this year. At launch, the office will be staffed by a team of three, two of whom will be underwriters, although this is expected to rise during the first year. NHC ranks as one of the world's largest pure marine underwriters and insures more than 10,000 unique vessels and units. It already has offices in Bergen, Oslo and Kristiansand.

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Applied expands Ageas product range A pplied Systems has announced that Ageas will distribute its Shop & Office product through Applied TAM, with access to this specialist Ageas product offering via the iMarket system now available to all Applied TAM UK users. Applied comments, “The addition of Ageas to Applied TAM commercial lines panel further demonstrates Applied’s significant investment in expanding the number of insurers and products available for UK brokers to drive

business growth and profitability through eTrading.” Allison Hughes, commercial digital trading manager at Ageas, comments, “Ageas is highly focused on brokers’ digital journey in order to provide an enhanced user experience and simplified sales process. By partnering with Applied, we can further expand our SME Digital Trading initiative to streamline broker inquiries, saving time and cost to drive collective profitable growth and provide the right solutions to customers.”

Medicash takes issue with Chancellor M edicash, the UK healthcare cash plan provider, has hit back at claims by the Chancellor George Osborne that his hike in insurance premium tax on healthcare insurances only brings the UK into line with Europe. The company says that in fact out of 29 EU countries 12 exempt healthcare of IPT and a further three don't apply it at all. Only six have IPT on healthcare above 6%: Belgium (9.25%), France (9%), Greece (10%), Slovenia (6.5%), Slovakia (9.5%) and the UK (9.5%).

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Sue Weir, chief executive of Medicash says, “Businesses in the UK need to realise that this tax puts them at a disadvantage in terms of growth and profits and the health and wellbeing of their employees if they are unable to cover the rise in providing health insurance for those employees. “By putting the UK at a tax disadvantage to Europe the high level of IPT will impact negatively on UK business productivity and both the physical and mental health of our employees.”

Allianz wins personal injury case personal injury claim has been struck out by a court, following an investigation by Allianz and risk law specialist BLM, which found that false witness evidence had been disclosed by a claimant solicitors. The claimant, Mrs Higgins, was said to have sustained minor burns when using a sunbed at an Allianz customer’s beauty salon. However, the defendant had no record of Mrs Higgins’ treatment card, neither was her name on the list of those who had received any such treatments. Liability was disputed in full. On exchanging witness evidence, BLM had cause to question whether the signature on the claimant’s witness statement was genuine. At Allianz’s request, the statement was sent for detailed forensic analysis which concluded that the signature was indeed a photocopy of the claimant’s signature lifted from an earlier court document. The trial judge stated: “It is crystal clear to me from the evidence of the expert, which is unimpeachable in my view, that these two documents which were sent to the defendant’s solicitor were not, in fact, statements which the claimant herself had signed”. The judge also found that the claimant’s real witness statement had still not been served. Thus, the documents sent to the defendant were not witness statements within the meaning of the Civil Procedure rules. The court found that the claimant’s solicitors conduct in this case had been “improper” and the claim was struck out as an abuse of process.

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 23

News Review Swinton appoints CDL for software winton has appointed CDL as its new insurance software supplier. CDL was appointed following a detailed review and will provide Swinton with a single IT platform that will replace several legacy systems. The software provider was chosen “ … due to its track record of implementing proven IT systems in the broker market”. Swinton and CDL will begin the roll-out this year and plan to replace all legacy systems with the new platform by the end of 2017. The ongoing contract and relationship with SSP will continue for the foreseeable future. Gilles Normand, chief executive of Swinton Insurance, says, “The investment in a new IT platform is part of our strategy to simplify our operations and remove complexity from everything we do in order to make things easier for our customers. “Given the ever-changing requirements of customers, some of our legacy IT systems were no longer fit for purpose. The new system will enhance the way we interact with customers across our branch, telephony and online channels.”

Amlin acquisition complete A mlin has announced completion of the acquisition by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, following regulatory and legal approvals. Mitsui Sumitomo has acquired the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Amlin. Charles Philipps, chief executive of Amlin, will lead the business, which will be called MS Amlin. It is intended that MS Amlin will comprise the historic Amlin businesses, together with MSI’s London and Bermuda-

based businesses. Amlin and MSI are at an advanced stage of planning the integration of these businesses which will, subject to further regulatory approvals, involve the merger of Amlin’s and MSI’s Lloyd’s syndicates and reinsurance subsidiaries. Charles Philipps comments, “Our combination with MSI is incredibly positive for our business, our employees and our clients. I am very much looking forward to working with the MSI teams in London, Bermuda and elsewhere to unlock our full potential as part of MSI.”

AA Underwriting launch T he AA has launched AA Underwriting Insurance Ltd. Its director, Craig Staniland, says, “Our primary target audience is AA members who have not previously had an insurance relationship with the business. AA is primarily a roadside business with an insurance offering and we expect to be able to offer competitive car insurance quotes to customers – going some way to reward their loyalty.” The underwriter will exclusively be quoting on the AA’s

panel and is initially confined to new telephone business. By the end of February, new business will in addition originate both online and from price comparison sites. In March, quotes will also be provided for members who are already AA insurance customers and are seeking to renew their policies. Mr Staniland says he expects to write 250,000 policies over the next few years, subject to profitability. The company plans to add home insurance later this year.

IIP silver for Hood A ffinity insurance provider Hood Group has been awarded silver status by Investors in People. Hood Group head of HR, Karen Otton, comments, “We achieved our first IIP accreditation 10 years ago and have continued to be assessed against the core standard. However, as a company we made the decision to strive for the advanced level last year. This

24 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

meant that we needed to meet an additional 76 evidence requirements proving our commitment to our people across a range of criteria from communications and training to career development and strategy. Achieving silver status has demonstrated that Hood Group puts its people at the heart of everything we do and we are delighted with this achievement.”

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In association with

Guernsey – “best captive domicile” G uernsey has been voted European domicile of the year for the fourth successive year in the UK Captive Services Awards, hosted by Captive Review. Guernsey was shortlisted alongside Dublin, Gibraltar, Luxembourg and Malta in the best European domicile category. The award was collected by Adele Gale of Aon Risk Solutions. Dominic Wheatley, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, said: “Guernsey’s captive insurance offering continues to evolve and I am delighted that the Island has received this award for the fourth year in a row. It is recognition of our leading international insurance expertise and a great way to begin 2016.” The UK Captive Services

Awards 2016 took place at Plaisterers’ Hall, London on 11 February and formed part of the

Adele Gale (centre) of Aon Risk Solutions collects the best European domicile award at the UK Captive Services Awards. Pictured with her are awards presenter Andrew Ryan and Sophie Thompson of “Captive Review”.

More advice on cyber security from The Bureau T he Bureau has set up a partnership with specialists in cyber security and system vulnerability assessment and testing, with a view to addressing the growing threats to small to medium sized businesses. The result has been a series of presentations and courses to demonstrate hackers' software and how these tools are being used to break into online and office databases, damage website servers, and steal personal commercial information. The Bureau is offering clients and other firms the chance to see a typical “hack” of an office system and demonstration of how quickly its administration can be changed, files and folders moved and data

stolen. This is followed by an explanation of the key steps professional ﬁrms should take to protect themselves.

For more details email: enquiries@the-bureau.co.uk with the subject - Cyber Security. Or by phone to 01342 301325.

news review

UK Captive Owners Summit which took place the same day at Clothworkers’ Hall, London.

Chase Templeton acquires Independent Health hase Templeton has completed the acquisition of Independent Health Insurance Services Ltd, its third acquisition this year, bringing in a further 540 clients and over £1.5 million annual premium income, of which about 60% comes in Chase Templeton's target SME segment. “Independent Health Insurance Services managed a strong portfolio of SME clients, to which, we think, by virtue of our size and broad spectrum expertise, we can bring added value,” commented Chase Templeton’s mergers and acquisitions director, Jeff Tate. “The book is an excellent ﬁt in terms of our relatively short-term ambition to become market leader in the SME space, whilst the 400 individual clients who are joining us further balance our portfolio.”

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 25

On the move Cunningham Lindsey

Jennifer Martin

Pen Underwriting Pen Underwriting promote Jennifer Martin to managing director of financial lines. With over 25 years’ experience, she joined Pen in January 2015 as MD of international delegated solutions (then trading as OIM Underwriting). She joined from Dual International, which she joined in 2010 and where she was latterly director of underwriting — Europe. Prior to that she spent nine years at Brit Insurance, latterly as divisional director responsible for PI and D&O in global markets. Gareth Crosbie is promoted to claims director. He joined in October 2014 from Fusion Insurance. Having begun his insurance career with General Accident in 1989 specialising in commercial property and liability claims, he joined Fusion in 2004 where he was UK claims manager.

David Pigot rejoins Cunningham Lindsey as CEO for UK, international and major and complex loss operations. With over 30 years’ experience in claims, he previously spent 14 years there working in London and the USA, where he also covered Caribbean and Latin America claims. Prior to this, he worked as a loss adjuster and in management positions with Toplis & Harding. He most recently headed Marsh’s global claims practice. Phil McNeilage, who was UK CEO for ten years steps down to take a consultancy role in the group focusing on client relationships. Mark Thompson returns to Australia to lead the South African operations, develop MCL operations and will continue to head the global forensic advisory services.

Clive Nathan

Primary Group Clive Nathan joins Primary Group to lead investment in specialist underwriting and distribution across the UK and Europe. Previously he was CEO of Towergate Underwriting, the last of many senior roles he held in Towergate between 2003 and his departure in 2015. Prior to Towergate, he was a regional director of AXA Insurance in the UK from 1999-2003.

Oak

Sara Smith

Oak Underwriting appoints David Rowntree as head of underwriting and pricing. He joins from Zurich where he spent four years in Dubai leading the technical underwriting functions development across all markets including HNW. Prior to this he was head of personal lines underwriting (non motor).

Carole Nash

Gareth Crosbie

26 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

Carole Nash appoints Sara Smith as head of compliance and risk. She joins from Home Retail Group, where she was senior compliance manager for nine years. With over 20 years’ experience her expertise developed in FCA rules, consumer credit regulations, data protection, anti-money laundering and advertising standards. She also spent ten years working for the Information Commissioner’s Office as a regulator.

David Rowntree

appointments

Who’s going where? Horizon

ArgoGlobal

High value homes specialist Horizon (UW) Ltd appoints Pip Cameron as an underwriter. With 13 years’ industry experience to her new role, she joins from Oak Underwriting, where she served as a household underwriter. She has also worked for Towergate and RSA. Heather Green is appointed as an underwriter. She joins from Coventry Building Society where she was a mortgage underwriter, and previously worked for Endsleigh Insurance.

ArgoGlobal appoint Matthew Foote as head of exposure management. He joins from MSIG at Lloyd’s where he was head of exposure management and catastrophe risk. He also served as senior director, natural catastrophe and portfolio solutions at Risk Management Solutions. He has a PhD in physical geography research from Birkbeck College at the University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Rob Barrett

Horwich Farrelly Insurance law firm Horwich Farrelly elects Rob Barrett as new managing partner. He has been a partner over 20 years specialising in high value road traffic claims for insurers. Philip O'Hagan completes his two-year term.

James Barnard

Towergate Towergate appoints James Barnard as chief transformation and change director. He joins from Aviva, where he was IT integration director leading the integration of Friends Life IT into Aviva. Over sixteen years he held senior roles including Ireland transformation director and shared service director. Andy Baughan joins as chief underwriting officer from RSA where he was product and pricing director for UK personal lines since 2013. He also worked for Tesco Underwriting, Zurich Financial Services, Churchill Insurance, and Hiscox. Paul Jewell, chief underwriting officer at Towergate since October 2013 has left to pursue his career elsewhere.

Allianz Allianz Commercial promotes Jon Santer to motor trade manager. Joining the corporate management trainee scheme in 2010, he served in Allianz UK and ACIS India. He was a commercial motor account underwriter, and later became distribution manager at Allianz’s Southampton branch.

appointments

Andy Baughan

Eugene O’Callaghan

Covéa Covéa Insurance appoints Eugene O’Callaghan as e-trade (broker) development manager as part of its small business proposition. He joins from QBE where he was small business broker account manager. Covéa Insurance promotes both Dave Jowett and Steve Cowley as senior key account managers within its personal lines distribution team. Both joined the insurer ’s graduate programme in 2000, later joining the team as key account managers. Both have 20 year ’s insurance experience. Dave started his career working for an independent motor engineer. Steve’s first role after graduating in 1997 was with Aon. MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 27

On the move

Who’s going where?

TMK

Richard Pexton

Beaufort Richard Pexton joins Munich Re subsidiary Beaufort Underwriting Agency as a nonexecutive director, succeeding Richard Carter as chairman in June 2016 when the latter retires. Founder and chairman of specialist mid and high net worth underwriting agency Horizon and coverholder for Brit Global Specialty Syndicate 2987, he brings 37 years’ experience. Prior to Horizon, he served as CEO of Omega Insurance Holdings and was instrumental in its sale to Canopius in 2012. Starting his career as a trainee at Lloyd’s in 1976, he later became active underwriter and board member of Cox PLC. In 2002 he became CEO of Heritage Managing Agency, leading its flotation in 2006. He was also responsible for its sale to Argo Group in 2008.

Marketform Specialist Lloyd's underwriter Marketform appoint Roberto Murru as an underwriter. Fluent in Italian, he began his career in 1985 at Generali, and following time at both Syndicate 702 (RE Brown) and Brit, he joined AmTrust at Lloyd’s in 2011, where he was employed by AG Dore. 28 insurancepeople MARCH 2016

Tokio Marine Kiln appoints Owen Shelley as a property underwriter based in the Birmingham ofﬁce with a remit to develop existing broker panels within the Midlands and help cross sell products to regional clients. He joins from Aviva and brings over 20 years’ experience, 15 of which were spent underwriting the property class. Mark Bradshaw joins as a senior liability underwriter, also based in Birmingham. With 30 years’ experience he joins from Zurich where he was a senior liability underwriter. He joined them as a liability underwriter in 1994, and started his career in 1987 as a commercial underwriting assistant at Norwich Union.

Phil Harris

BLP BLP Insurance appoints Phil Harris as head of sales. With over 20 years’ sales experience he joins from construction intelligence organisation Glenigan Ltd where he served for 22 years as head of key accounts, sales manager and most recently, strategic account director.

Barbican

Tony Coram

DAS DAS UK appoints Tony Coram as group director of customer operations and IT. Joining from Brightside Group, where he was group chief operating officer, his 26 years’ experience includes roles at RSA Group and More Than.

Barbican Protect appoint Sam Brown as head of property and package. She joins from Fusion/XP where she was London market relationship and development director having joined as an underwriting manager. Before that she was a senior property underwriter at HDI-Gerling Insurance. Other roles have included senior property underwriter at AXA Insurance, property underwriter at AXA Corporate Solutions, and underwriter at Guardian Insurance, where she began her insurance career in 1987.

Hiscox Lorraine Mackey joins the Hiscox London market energy team as an energy underwriter. Previously at AXIS Capital, she has six years’ underwriting experience, the last three focused on offshore energy.

Sam Brown

appointments

by Andrew Newman

in association with:

The call centre choir from hell e’re all sick and tired of call centres and cold calling. The phone rings, but will it be someone we actually know? Let it go to voicemail and reply later? Or take a chance?

Let’s take a chance. You voice your normal zippy, welcoming salutation, immediately confirming to the caller that they have rung the intended number. Wallop! No answer. No-one there. (Now this is the moment to ring off if you are quick enough. Doing so will save a lot of time and unpleasantness). But we’re not quick enough. Some unknown force urges us to linger. After all, Granny may have simply dropped the phone. There’s a click! But still no voice, but suddenly the dread sound we have all learned to fear – a cacophony of voices all gabbling simultaneously. Readers with longer memories will recall being unnerved the first time they heard the racket of the massive typing pool of yore, but this is something new. If ever there was a human version of the battery hen farm, this is it. The call centre choir from hell. Suddenly there’s a voice. Having already identified yourself, it’s somewhat irritating to realise your cheery response has fallen on deaf ears. Sometimes the new voice asks you to repeat that information, other times it asks for the householder. It might ask “How are you doing today?” but

then lurches forward with its sales pitch, having already assured you that it is not trying to sell anything. old calls are one thing, of course, but how many times do we baulk at making an outgoing call to an organisation where we are already a customer, or wish to become one? Especially if we believe we will have to speak to one of the choristers from hell?

A recent survey declares that nearly one in three (29%) Britons say they would rather scrub their toilet, fill out their annual tax return, or sit in a traffic jam on a hot day with no air con than have to deal with their service provider’s customer service team. This survey into retail banking and broadband (phew! insurance is off the hook this time) was conducted by Pegasystems and Redshift Research to find out if British service-oriented industries are doing enough to understand their customers and their needs. The research surveyed over 1,000 UK customers and 100 business decision makers. Almost half of the consumer respondents identified their wish to find a customer service team that listens to them and understands their needs as one of their top three considerations when dealing with a service provider. The top irritation was being offered irrelevant product or service recommendations. Amen to that one.

t’s St Valentine’s Day. Press deadlines loom, and there’s some good footy and rugger on the box. I’ve been shackled to two of today’s teams since birth, through thick and thin, good times and not so good times.

the euphorically good times, but they have avoided all those hours of frustration when your team doesn’t quite measure up to expectation. The cumulative effect of those trying times is that I now tend to watch my teams “from behind the sofa”.

I sometimes envy those people for whom sport is a no-go area. The common denominator is that they have never participated themselves. They are to be pitied of course. Never to have known the sheer joy as that ball drops just nicely for a head-down, instep driven low drive at goal, or the thrill as that floating corner swirls into the goalmouth.

The call of the deadline helps here. Work can continue with the TV on, listening but not watching, only halting to play back specific incidents. Which leads to running matches in arrears. And this Valentine’s Day I really cracked it – the TV running five minutes in arrears; the real time score displayed on tablet on the desk. A few yells as befits a que sera, sera result, mingled with overall calm and serenity, and this column completed on time!

On the other hand… well that’s where the envy comes in. They may never have been swept up in

on the road

MARCH 2016 insurancepeople 29

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