Insurance People April 2016

insurancepeople

Mark Longford President at the Insurance Institute of Sussex

CII changes on the South Coast - See pages 3 and 6 Insurance People inside include:

Reg Brown

Simon Hancox

Graeme Trudgill

Andy Hawkes

Chris Williamson

rance “The Insu ith ew Magazin ty�

Personali

Cover artwork: Carol Newman

issue 62 April 2016

Contents - April 2016 insurancepeople

Could gender return as a vital underwriting factor?

2

Late News

3

Market talk

6

Take Five Mark Longford

Enterprise Bill and digitisation

8

Chris Williamson, PHS Data Solutions

K insurers once successfully argued against the EU’s hamstringing removal of gender as a legitimate underwriting factor with reason and explanation. The EU listened on that occasion, but as we know a new directive was later bulldozed through.

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New safety management standard

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Andy Hawkes, Cardinus

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Storm Surge planning

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Bradford-Pennine remembered

Simon Hancox, CET Property Assurance

In the light of a potential Brexit vote, it’s interesting to speculate as to whether the insurance industry would seek to get back to ‘real’ underwriting by pressing for repeal of the EU directive, and reinstating underwriters’ ability to use gender as a legitimate rating tool.

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Reg Brown

11

On the move Who’s going where?

The Postcard Emporium

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News Review

11

Gone but not forgotten

On the Road

Certainly the personal lines side of the industry successfully adapted to this imposed change with a lot of help from the development of telematics.

So well in fact, that further tinkering may no longer be required. l

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Graeme Trudgill on telematics and CMC regulation

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Andy Hawkes says the new management safety standard is no mere bolt-on

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Bad news and good news. A lot of insurancerelated excitement in this year’s Budget affecting a good number of sectors, as illustrated on page 2.

Chris Williamson explains how better digitisation can smooth the path through the Enterprise Bill

BIBA may have been ‘astonished’ by the further IPT increase, but at the same time were ‘delighted’ by the Chancellor’s decision to bring in a tougher regime for claims management companies - see page 5.

www.insurancepeople.uk.com

10

Simon Hancox on storm surge planning and mobilisation

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

Cover artwork: Carol Newman Printers Pensord Magazines & Periodicals, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith,Blackwood NP12 2YA Editor and Publisher

Consultant Editor

Commercial Director

Production Director

Andrew Newman

Brian Susman

Jeni Hall

Adrian Susman

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ISSN 2043-9202 Insurance People is published monthly by Buttermere Wedge Publishing Limited.

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Late News Never go to press on Budget Day! Except if there’s an available page ready and waiting!

BIBA “astonished” at further IPT increase IBA states its astonishment that the Chancellor decided that a further increase in IPT is required to strengthen the nation's flood defences. It points out that the increase in IPT means that, year on year, insurance buyers face an increase in tax of 66.6% since March 2015.

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Steve White, BIBA CEO says, “Whilst we support additional spending on flood defences, we believe this could have been funded by the projected £1.5bn annual funds paid to the exchequer following the increase in IPT only last November.”

Steve White

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lex Balcombe, director at loss assessor and ins urance claims consultants Harris Bal combe says: “Flooding has brought misery and financial loss to thousands of bu sinesses and families in Britain this year. We welcome the additional , and much needed investment in flood def ences, but we also qu estion if it is too little and too late? We believ e Britain needs to mi rror the USA where there is a centralised system to manage flo od mitigation to coordinate emergency dis aster response, and fun ding rebuilding efforts and relief funds lliott Silk, h ead of emp for infrastructure.” loyee benefi says, “The ts at Sanlam worrying th win for the ing is that it governmen is an easy t, as the ge just not fam or neral public iliar with IP oney says, “F are T. We will h D of Boring M increase in M y, ka ac y, M av da ly r this tax in a e seen a 66 ol othe % very short yet if VAT stay to fight an period of ti were increa now, pensions al the private me, de es sed by this do s w would be an y’s ne percentage blow. In outcry.” although toda , there l longer-term iders a painfu d brand, te in ta a pension prov n nsions remai pe ns s, A IS to K st st. U pensio contra ity and mistru dmund King OBE, AA president says, “The Chancellor , m oo ed in complex dr ud ar ro bo sh e in th has listened to our campaign against a 3% hike in IPT ill be huddled is means for companies w sting what th flood ge di d an up and 0.5% increase is better than expected. Using it for beaten g in el fe ng e pension.” defences is helpful but it simply replaces past spendi the future of th cuts and in effect targeting motorists to pay for flood alleviation is robbing Peter to pay Paul. We would have ohn Garrard, managing for director of Fish liked the Chancellor to abolish IPT for young drivers Insurance says, “IPT is car.” first their g a regressive tax because insurin the first year when it disproportionately imp acts those on lower incom , “The ys sa es, x Bo e and , Th as the DWP already conced at Insure es, a substantially harlotte Halkett, focus on higher proportion of fam put a very clear s ha ilies with a disabled t en m rn ve go to s ha t me bu mb , er live in poverty. Any inc ople into work rease in the IPT rate n car to get hits them har getting young pe der. It’s unfair and, in the ed to use their ow ne y an m at th reality of its recognise application, discrimina tory.” to work.”

r, anaging directo ark Holweger, m ys, sa l ra ne Ge gal & partnerships, Le er the last rate aft on so so T IP e in “Another increas stomer. Insurers ly impact the cu hike will ultimate cost on to e but to pass this will have no choic consumers.”

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en Flockton, insurance tax partner at PwC says, "Whilst arguably modes t if viewed in isolation, this latest rate rise equate s to an additional IPT cos t of over £17 on the averag e motor insurance premium and around £13 on buildings and conten ts policies. It remains to be seen the extent to which this is passed on throug h higher premiums.”

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at r, FS tax team hancellor wn, directo C ro B he n “T , he p te s says firm Mazar for losses % 50 to accountancy n io rict insurers ed loss rest an issue for has announc is could be th e d ar ar s R rw CE brought fo ls. Insurers have on the detai d some will an depending 2 cy en lv So least er at , nd d u ght forwar reversing losses brou on g in ly re been e.” ting that issu partly, offset

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late news

Market talk

in association with:

Andrew Newman, Editor

CII - ‘Brighton’ becomes ‘Sussex’

All change on the South Coast uring the interview that appears this month on page 6 about the ‘modernisation’ of the Insurance Institute of Sussex, I asked president Mark Longford about the longstanding charity initiatives that CII institutes are renowned for. “The introduction of a corporate social responsibility team pulled together our charity work and outreach into the community,” says Mark. “In coming months we will be embarking on a community project - perhaps clearing a local waterway and working as mentors with a school or college. Our Annual Quiz now supports local charities and in November raised funds for the community affected by the Shoreham Air Disaster.”

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Like the majority of us, insurance wasn’t what he had in mind when he left school. “In 1975 I joined a ships chandlers in London as a management trainee. I loved flying (gliders) and planned to study at night school to gain ‘A’ levels to be an air traffic controller. But the opportunity came to jump ship to enjoy the generous study support offered by Hill Samuel Life Assurance in Croydon, and I soon realised I enjoyed the team spirit and customer services.”

Mark became the company’s youngest team leader at 18, and committed to his insurance studies, gaining his ACII in 1981. “For the next thirteen years I moved around the company rather like a graduate trainee might today, and gained my FCII in 1992. I worked closely with actuaries, technicians, and marketers and when Hill Samuel was absorbed into Lloyds TSB, I became a senior manager responsible for 150 staff. This was a particularly exciting time as we absorbed Target Life as part of Lloyds TSB. I took redundancy when a further merger was announced with Lloyds Abbey Life based in Bournemouth.

“This was the turning point in my career. I joined Brian Johnston in Redhill heading up the financial services subsidiary. It was while I was there that I had my first experience of general insurance, and in my early 40s I joined Zurich, first leading their Sutton engineering team, and then embedding the engineering offering into the London real estate market.

“My final move was in 2007 when I was appointed operations manager for Navigators & General in Brighton, overseeing three office moves; the introduction of a new web platform; and the day-to-day support of this remote Zurich office. This year I have taken early retirement and I plan to offer freelance support whilst pursuing family, CII and charity interests.”

A day in a proof reader’s life The IP proof reading team is a formidable force. Boldly un-splitting infinitives, cleaning up in the mysterious world of the apostrophe, and spotting every typo (well, almost).

One shock/horror discrepancy spotted in last month’s issue was an error amounting to 2/6d in old money between the starting salary of one Mr T. Wellard as shown in the reproduction of his 1956 appointment letter, and the amount stated in the narrative.

But even proof readers can take the occasional editorial initiative. Should the weekly wage text be altered to three pound five for pure accuracy’s sake, or left at three pounds, two shillings, and six pennies? The decision was made to leave well alone, on the grounds that the latter sounded funnier! And would anyone even notice?

But notice they did. Sad isn’t? (And it wasn’t Mr W, either – he won’t have seen those words yet what with holiday sunshine and Cheltenham).

I sympathise with our proof readers’ dilemma. Some words are funnier than others. The members of a US comedy writing team, including Mel Brooks, once spent time getting a comedienne to adopt a ‘waitress in a diner’ voice and wring a laugh when squeaking an apartment number starting from “one, two.. three.. etc” She got her laugh when she reached “Thirdee tooo”.

Sian Fisher and Mark Longford at Aldermanbury

Market talk

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 3

Market talk Where is telematics leading us?

BIBA tick “black box” box recent BIBA report suggests the growth of motor policies using hard-wired ‘black boxes’ in policyholders’ cars has increased by 40%. BIBA surveyed 30 telematics brands in the UK to reveal a significant increase of 132,000 compared with the same time last year. There are now almost 455,000 live policies compared to 323,000 in December 2014.

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I asked Graeme Trudgill, executive director at BIBA about this trend and he tells me he is delighted to see these figures increasing. “The benefits of a greater take-up of telematics technology are many. Primarily it is more affordable premiums, but additional benefits include a 40% drop in crash risk when a new driver has a telematics policy. Telematics equipment also helps reduce theft claims, many doubling as vehicle tracker devices. Plus safer roads, reduced uninsured driving and increased personal safely because some even operate as breakdown locator.”

I agreed with Graeme that these benefits are important, but I can’t help thinking that it’s the cheaper premium that most drivers are after. Claims are (quite rightly)

being thrown out when the digital data doesn’t match the incident as reported. Other more innocent drivers may be aware that their every driving move is being recorded, but not that their claim data may be passed on to a claims management company for cash, and the police informed.

Graeme Trudgill

Graeme Trudgill adds, “Telematics is becoming the motor insurance solution of choice among young drivers as they can take control of their own premiums by electing to have their driving behaviour monitored.”

Sounds good. Drivers can take control of their own premiums.

But who is going to take control of them?

Who else might want to “take control”?

I n this telematics review, I must be wary of straying into any Orwellian forebodings. The singular feature of the rise of telematics devices in vehicles has to be the willingness (some might say desperation) of drivers to have their every move logged, simply to get a cheaper motor insurance premium.

There are other benefits of course, as pointed out by Graeme Trudgill (and to which I would add the insurance industry’s success in implementing the EU Gender Directive).

But on the consumer front there’s a hell of a lot of ‘eyes wide shut’, not to say ignorance. There are continuous examples from… shall we say… the fringes of intellect where downfall stems from inability to understand that anything committed to digital media is going to be seen by others.

Not falling within the above ignorance category of course, but the young lady driver who skidded through my garden hedge a year or so ago

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pondered on whether she wanted to tell her insurer.

When I informed her that they already knew thanks to the black box fitted somewhere in her car, she recollected this fact, having forgotten its implications.

So while she was untangling herself from the debris of what was left of my hedge early on that Sunday morning (and I remained fast asleep having a lie-in upstairs having heard nothing) her insurer already ‘knew’. And the automation passed on that data to the police, and to claims management organisations (several of them, judging by the number of telephone cold calls I received over the ensuing six(!) months). Why leave it so long?

The odd thing was that no call was received on the health & safety front. No “Does anyone need an ambulance”.

And that is odd because that is one of the benefits cited in favour of telematics. Promotional blurbs never mention the police – they favour the “authorities & emergency services” instead.

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he real unknown potential behind telematics technology (if it’s perceived there is nothing wrong

Market talk

in association with:

Consumers happy to reveal personal data for a cheaper premium

Scope record consumer shift toward telematics nother survey, this time carried out by telematics provider Scope Technologies, reveals a considerable shift in consumer mentality towards these devices. The survey confirms 75% of UK drivers are willing to sacrifice personal information in exchange for a lower premium.

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Scope VP of Asia & EMEA Pravar Gautam says, “It was previously assumed that personal data analysis was considered intrusive, but these findings clearly demonstrate that consumers are actually keen for such technology to be implemented. They believe it will provide them with a fairer premium. In an age of market saturation for insurers, this offers up a genuine point of differentiation for those that adopt telematics.”

Pravar Gautam

in the passing on of data by insurers for cash) is the security of the data itself. Data breaches are reported almost daily, and when such information falls into unscrupulous hands it presents the vision of an allembracing car thieves’ and house breakers’ charter.

But then who can say what counter changes the future may offer? The lessons of history prove that certain trappings that threaten to retard change can vanish when the time is ripe. At the dawn of the motor age – “the car for everyman will never happen because there would never be enough chauffeurs”.

Futuristic space ships in 1950s’ science fiction had to have a radio operator. Secretaries (with due apologies to all secretaries for using the words ‘trappings’) and typists would always be needed “because no one else could type. Today’s space stations look nothing like Kubrick’s wheel in the film 2001. No office would be able to afford the cost of placing “a colour television set on every desk”.

When times change, redundancy hits both people and practices.

The Editor

Market talk

The survey was based on responses from 500 UKbased drivers, with 64% confirming they would prefer their insurance premium to be based on their individual driving behaviour. Around 87% of respondents confirmed they would prefer their current premium to be based on analysis of their individual driving history.

BIBA claim Manifesto success in Budget 2016 s if on cue, given concerns voiced across the page about certain claims management activities (which in turn were prompted by Graeme Trudgill and his enthusiasm for telematics) he has on this very press day expressed similar delight with the Chancellor’s decision to bring in a new tougher regime for claims management companies (CMCs) and that the FCA will take responsibility for their regulation. “For too long some rogue companies have been able to hassle customers, possibly generating fraudulent claims that ultimately are paid for by innocent customers,” says Graeme. “This is a wise move by Government and one that will be welcomed by the insurance industry and consumers alike.”

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And BIBA can undoubtedly take some credit for this move, featured as it is in its 2016 Manifesto Fairness for all. Despairing at the tactics of some CMCs, BIBA called for a level playing field in terms of their regulation, and for the insurance industry regulator to be their regulating body.

BIBA adds that it is estimated that fraudulent whiplash claims add 20% on to motor premiums, and the absence of sufficient, effective regulation of CMCs has fuelled exaggerated claims. Last year’s Insurance Fraud Task Force recommended a coherent regulatory strategy to clamp down on nuisance calls and texts to reduce the number of honest customers being coerced into making spurious claims.

Graeme Trudgill concludes, “This decision is a giant step forward in reducing fraud, and creating a fair approach to regulation, and we look forward to seeing the publication of the detailed plans.”

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 5

Mark Longford FCII, Cert PFS Chartered Manager, President at the Insurance Institute of Sussex

Take Five It didn’t take long for Mark Longford and the Editor to find the common ground in this chat about future planning, succession, and new blood AN: In your President’s address at the annual dinner in January you spoke freely about adapting to change, encouraging new blood, and planning for succession. That’s a topic not solely restricted to CII Institutes. In fact it applies to practically all organisations with a record of longevity – even insurance trade press magazines! How did that recognition come about?

ML: We took our first steps towards change after our Centenary in 2012.

We knew that without new blood Brighton CII (as we were then) would struggle to survive for ten years. Several of us looked at one another, and reluctantly agreed we were ageing, with the inevitable association of being perceived collectively… well as male, pale, middle-aged and retired. In short, not a group of people necessarily interesting enough to spend time with after work.

So we decided to find out. We engaged with a number of local employers who nominated their young professionals to join us for an evening workshop. Bravely we asked them what needed to change in order for them to join in.

AN: A bold step, and an unselfish one. The big ego is the main obstacle towards succession planning. (One such insurer CEO once threw a blue fit when asked about his organisation’s succession plans, treating it as a highly personal insult!)

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ML: Well, we were honest and so were they. Collectively the young professionals did indeed see us as we had imagined.

AN: Ouch! Did that hurt?

ML: It didn’t hurt at all – it stimulated action. Their honest response was a wake-up call, and the collective aim to attract the next generation of insurance professionals came into being. We had lost connection with members, their workplaces, and where they lived.

AN: Yes, CII regional membership moved with you from employer to employer, so that my own contact took place in Aldermanbury, then Chelmsford. By the time I was transferred to Brighton in the 1990s I had completed all my exams, lived in Kent, and spent most of my work time out on the road liaising with brokers up and down the country.

rebranding project. So we became ‘Sussex’ last May. The name change presented the opportunity to streamline our structure. We now hold fewer, shorter, council meetings in professional surroundings with clear agendas, and ownership of actions. We introduced conference calls to enable greater participation in team meetings.

And by April we will have held events in Brighton, Crawley, Eastbourne, Haywards Heath, Horsham, Lewes and Worthing. Next year our footprint will extend further afield.

AN: How important is the support of employers?

ML: Thanks go to all our supporting employers. In return for that support our aim is to complement their work to recruit and train multi-skilled professionals for their respective businesses.

ML: Yes, to most people the CII had little relevance beyond exams. The team urged us to scratch below the surface and deliver a plan to modernise, and have greater appeal to students and qualified members.

They recommended becoming a networking group that went beyond our ongoing education remit.

AN: So how is the rest of the journey going?

AN: The annual dinner was both a celebration of your modernisation and the change of name. What prompted the latter?

Many of that original group were there on the night in support of that aim in January 2016 at the annual dinner.

ML: ‘Brighton’ was seen as exclusive, and this drove us to a

Our focus as the primary insurance and financial services professional

ML: We are midway along our journey towards the year 2020. Many of the original young professionals went on to become founder members of our ‘2020 Vision’ initiative and together we wrote the blueprint for change.

take five

educational body is unchanged. This year we have hosted an average of one event every two weeks and cohosted a regional conference with our colleagues from North Downs.

Feedback from attendees is consistently well above 90%.

As well as a secretariat, the programme team is flanked by two new teams. The first, membership engagement connects us with members and employers. Within this team is our new group of company champions representing and promoting our institute in nearly 20 companies. They work closely with our ‘2020’ graduates.

Our institute has helped people to develop and explore new avenues within a supportive framework. Last year one of our 2020 team addressed a large conference for the first time.

And did it brilliantly! Another who showed leadership potential, but had little opportunity at work to put it into practice led a successful team for us. Others took on social media, negotiation, and event management.

Gaining confidence and discovering untapped talent benefits everyone.

But it's not all about the young! Our blueprint recommended that we become more inclusive, and during this year we have gained from mixing people at every stage of their professional lives and outside interests.

An institute like ours is indebted to those who continue to contribute after retirement and without whose help we would struggle. Our council now represents the mix found in successful companies. I'm thrilled that the energy around our council table is balanced male, female, young and those with more experience.

In summary, I encourage other institutes to look at our model as it provides an opportunity for new members to join and become involved quickly.

take five

“Male, pale, middle-aged and retired…”

AN: Mark, taking up this group definition that you succinctly describe.

It resonates (somewhat alarmingly, I would add) with the pattern of IP’s contributory voices. If it is accepted that the 'middle-aged-to-aged male' bracket is where the majority of practical experience lies, and that a lot of talented fresh minds and innovative thought lie outside that group, what do you have to do to entice those new voices to shares their views?

For instance, IP welcomes input from female voices. More would be welcome, and the lack is not for the want of trying. In some cases – dare to say it – there’s a lack of confidence. As to younger candidates, there is of course more to the commitment than simply having your photo published. Younger candidates are perhaps reluctant to air their views because of their relative lack of experience, although it’s certain that more would come forward with the blessing of their employers, who sometimes press the veto button due to the real fear of their young asset being predated away.

How did you overcome any reluctance in those areas?

ML: Looking back over the year we used the name change to signal that we were listening and committed to change. Becoming ‘Sussex’ was a challenge laid down by our young professionals. It took time and effort to change first with the CII and then internally with our constitution, website and bank account. In short it was a cornerstone from which we built outwards, acknowledging those who had contributed. It was their plan and they had a stake in making it a success!

We had been given the opportunity to question everything we did - and every idea from all sections was seen as an opportunity, not a threat.

New voices came to the fore and we encouraged ideas… and this led to more.

Recognition is important and we don’t have the financial rewards used by companies. We say thank you both personally and in print. Each week we publish our newsletter ‘Simply Sussex’ to recognise individual performances and now use LinkedIn and Twitter to spread the word.

Those in more junior positions can be sure that their efforts are seen by their managers and senior industry leaders. This is a virtuous circle and encourages greater engagement.

We are developing a new generation of professionals in a safe but challenging environment, adding to their skills and accelerating their professional development.

Both men and women are gaining the confidence to speak and write on topics that we all need to understand. And the reality is that this new generation view their careers as portable. They will migrate to those employers who will listen, help them grow and in turn this will help their businesses. Managers who fail to see this change and adapt will become dinosaurs in our industry. This can only be good for our customers!

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 7

Chris Williamson Strategy Development Director, PHS Data Solutions

Enterprise Bill Part 5 Part 5 of the Enterprise Bill heralds another potential legal slugfest for the insurance industry. Currently progressing through Parliament, it relates specifically to insurance under the heading Late Payment of Insurance Claims. The uncertainty of the catch-all proviso “within a reasonable time” presents new legal obligations and Chris Williamson explains how better digitisation can help t the heart of the new legislation is a move by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to force insurers to pay up within a reasonable time.

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Policyholders gain a legal remedy, and an opportunity to claim additional damages as a result of unreasonable delays in payment. So far, the definition of ‘reasonable time’ and additional damages has not been fully quantified so it will ultimately be down to the courts to decide.

BIS cites slow payment on flooding or fire damage, but delays can also be caused by the need to find insurance records, which for long established entities were originally prepared in paper format. And insurance brokers could also be in the firing line if the courts take a tough interpretation. he legislation is also a potential treasure trove for the ‘no-winno-fee’ legal claims industry which could challenge both broker and insurer.

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The best safeguard is instant desktop access to digital records.

The different strands of UK insurance possess differing levels of digitisation. Some sectors are 8 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

already heavily digitised - such as motor and household. For others such as Lloyd’s underwriters or life policy providers - it will be a much bigger challenge.

However, even for those with some digital infrastructure already in place for capturing, scanning, and retrieving documents there may be a need to upgrade.

Such upgrades would then allow for electronic mailroom and email processing centres to automatically detect and understand what customers require, and then take action to ensure they get it quickly.

For those not already fully digitised, this is likely to see an increased investment flurry, with brokers and underwriters either outsourcing data capture, storage and retrieval, or managing the process in-house by having a provider install a digital network that allows them to also interact and talk with customers.

Irrespective of the planned legislation, customer service excellence is the utopia, and more regular policyholder contact through digital connectivity allows insurers to mitigate loss through early intervention. For instance, using telemetrics to understand the state of a building. Or how a car is

being driven, or getting in touch with households to offer basic assistance such as in flood warnings.

There may also be other benefits for insurance providers, such as using generic digital data to identify risk locations to reduce market exposure in certain areas. ome of this might sound fanciful, but the more progressive parts of the insurance sector are already starting to offer this type of engagement. Long term, this higher level of customer service may also have unexpected but beneficial consequences, such as deterring policyholders browsing the internet looking for cheaper deals at renewal.

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The danger is that pressure placed by this new legislation could see payments being made on invalid or fraudulent applications. But this could be avoided altogether through increased digital data management solutions.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter whether the insurance sector goes down the route of using a third party digital capture, retrieval and archive provider, or increased in-house investment - suppliers like PHS can offer both.

To ignore this new legislation is not an option for brokers or insurance companies because in the future providers will be under increased scrutiny to pay out insurance claims quicker. Ultimately, there is no need to wait for legislation to get the benefits of digitisation, and therefore action now will protect the insurance businesses most at risk from Part 5 of the Enterprise Bill.

late claims payments

Andy Hawkes CEO, Cardinus Risk Management

ISO 45001 – the new safety management standard ISO 45001 is described as the definitive new International Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard to which global and national corporations will aspire. It is the standard replacing BS OHSAS 18001 from which transition will be necessary and achievable.

Andy Hawkes outlines three distinct and important changes the new standard will bring into force later this year, or early 2017. These changes include a new organisational clause; the need for building in health and safety - not merely bolting it on; and a new annex SL structure to ease correlation between different management systems ithin the next 12 months ISO 45001 will replace the existing BSS OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management systems requirements.

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The current standard has been around for a number of years and has been the way many firms have evidenced compliance with Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Health and safety arrangements – Regulation 5 5.(1) Every employer shall make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures 5.(2) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record the arrangements referred to in paragraph (1)

Whilst this regulation does not mention a safety management system (SMS), it does require planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review; key elements of any SMS, including 18001.

So what are the key changes under ISO 45001?

A review of the series of drafts (the final version is due later this year, or early 2017) sets out three distinct and important changes:1. The new organisational clause. In order to meet the new standard, managers need to link the safety management system (SMS) to their organisation’s wider context to ensure it is fit for purpose.

new safety standards

This means firms must consider all stakeholders, including employees, and take account of dependencies and other relationships with third parties. A good example will be outsourced services, but can include other firms on a business park that could create hazards and risks. All suppliers of goods and services must be considered.

2. Senior managers should build in health and safety, not bolt it on. The new standard places much more emphasis on leadership, and on aligning health and safety with other corporate objectives.

Health and safety policies and procedures will need to be compatible with the firm’s strategic direction, and should be embodied in the overall management system, and not be an added extra. In essence, health and safety must be integral to, and no different from, managing all other functions within the business.

3. New annex SL structure. ISO 45001 will follow “Annex SL” - the new Standard Structure for ISO Management System Standards. The main benefit will be easier read-across between different management systems. For example, quality 9001, and, especially environment 14001.

This common core structure should save money, resources and time and ensure different standards do not conflict with business objectives such as cost control, quality control, and productivity initiatives.

When creating a safety management system (SMS), the recommendation is to choose the simplest system that still meets the individual firm’s legal requirements.

Systems should be matched to an organisation’s size, complexity, hazards and risks. So, for a small, low risk business a simple document of a few pages will probably suffice, whereas larger, more complex businesses will need more elaborate procedures.

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 9

Simon Hancox

Preparing for storm surge

Managing Director, CET Property Assurance

Flood at the sharp end During Storm Desmond, outsourced claims services provider CET received over 900 claim calls over a two-day period – an increase of 60% on a normal December weekend.

Simon Hancox explains how effective storm surge planning and mobilisation enabled all those home emergency claims to be completed within six days, to the benefit of both policyholders and insurers alike hile events like Boscastle, Cockermouth, and the heavy flooding recently associated with Storms Desmond and Eva dominate the headlines, the truth is that each year between four and six storm ‘surge’ events take place.

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These may not all make the national news, but they nevertheless place significant demands upon the response teams that deal with the aftermath – from the emergency services to property insurance and repair specialists.

While storm surge events typically occur over the winter months due to ground saturation, they may still occur over wet summers as demonstrated by the 2004 Boscastle flooding. A robust surge plan must therefore be in place for deployment year-round by the home emergency response teams contracted to home and business insurers.

During the course of Storm Desmond, CET very quickly reached surge levels – defined as the point at which claim volume is 40% above claims forecast.

Due to forecasting however, the home emergency team were able to assemble a task force consisting 10 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

of more than 50 suppliers in Cumbria drawn from across the country, which gave potential access to over 300 individual trades people. To assist the clients’ building network, we called in electricians to install temporary power for pumping and drying equipment; gas engineers to inspect boilers and cookers as well as providing heat for homeowners who elected not to move out; and a team tasked with stripping out properties prior to drying and repair.

Monitoring calls and forecasts throughout the day, the home emergency team were able to map incoming calls to predict the worst affected areas, and therefore where further calls were likely to occur, while the forecast was also closely tracked as the risk of a second stage of heavy rainfall grew.

Working closely with clients’ loss adjusters, forecasters, and relevant government agencies is essential when a second or subsequent flooding event threatens to affect the same area - as was the case in Cumbria. If a property is likely to reflood, a home emergency response team’s priority will be making the building safe in terms of electricity and gas supply.

uring surge response, communication becomes more critical. All service level agreements (SLAs) are relaxed, but reporting is ramped up, with daily conference calls between an insurer and its home emergency response provider as well as updates on claim volumes, call waiting times, and claim completions submitted every two hours.

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While claims increased by 60%, the actual volume of calls more than doubled, due to the flood occurring over the weekend when many insurers’ claims offices were closed.

For insurance customers who had no emergency cover with CET, we were still the first port of call due to our inclusion in policy booklets.

Many insurers, on identifying the surge, actually opened their offices to support both their policyholders and ourselves in managing this additional volume. ur custom-built smartphone app was instrumental in managing this latest surge period, and maintaining open communication links at all stages.

The most significant benefit of the app was its ability to free up call handlers to liaise directly with customers, as all supplier communication is achieved through the app. Saving an average of six minutes per claim, the app also provided valuable real-time data on how claims were progressing.

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Over the last three years we have only had to implement a surge task force on four occasions. However, the speed at which we were able to redeploy personnel and move into full surge processes is testament to the importance of robust planning and preparedness.

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Reg Brown’s Postcard Emporium T

his 1915 postcard from the Reg Brown collection has been turned into a Christmas greeting, presumably by the man posing in the photo. A. A. Arnold is sending greetings to Frank [?], no doubt a local friend judging by the abbreviated address within the small township of Prairie City, in Jasper County not far from Des Moines in Iowa.

He is an agent of the Springfield Insurance Company according to the plaque on the wall, and there is an A. A. Arnold on a list of farmers in that community back in 1901.

The postcard has been posted in a hurry on Christmas Eve judging by the placing of the sticker and the stamp. What else can the card tell us about Mr Arnold? Note the crutches behind his chair. With what looks like a glass in hand, he looks quite relaxed about the photographer’s intrusion and unconcerned as to the untidy state of the office.

Apart from the papers and books on the desk, there’s a baseball, and what looks like a hole punch. There are tomes on the wall that probably haven’t been opened for years, a pile of old newspapers, and a well-worn swivel chair.

But what’s that cabinet on the right resembling a conjurers’ disappearing cabinet? There’s a pull-out expandable microphone, which doesn’t fit the telephones of the period. It could be a 1915 state-of-the-art office dictating machine with storage for the cylinders. It’s certainly the newest item of furniture in the whole office.

If that clue was tough, what about that tin or bucket? Why is it leaning over, and why is A. A. Arnold kicking it?

What’s the untidiest office you ever saw? See page 29

Reg Brown’s Postcard Emporium

News Review MSL breakdown cover includes dual control SL have launched specialist breakdown cover including dual control vehicles, taxis, classic cars, motorcycles, motorhomes and driving schools.

MSL Rescue Dual-3 is designed for brokers who specialise in insuring driving instructors and includes three days of replacement dual control vehicle hire.

Drawing on 17 years’ experience of supplying driving instructors with replacement dual control vehicles when they have been in a non-fault road traffic accident, this new product enhances the products and services MSL offer to advanced driving instructors.

Cover for private motorists and small fleets is also available with MSL Rescue, Rescue Plus and Rescue Premier representing three levels of cover to suit individual needs up to and including European cover.

All variants of MSL Rescue are available to buy on MSL’s click and buy portal, MSL Connect.

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Andrew Agnew chairman of LIIBA A

rthur J. Gallagher confirms that Andrew Agnew, managing director of specialty and a member of the executive committee, has been appointed as chairman of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA). He succeeds Andrew Agnew Steve Hearn of CGSC and takes up the position with immediate effect. He has served as deputy chairman of the association for the past two years.

Andrew Agnew says, “I am delighted to take up the position of chairman; it is a privilege to lead this important association and to build on the accomplishments achieved so far. Further change is necessary for the London market to succeed and prevail among fast maturing global competition. I look forward to working closely with our members and other market bodies to champion modernisation initiatives that support our members during this pivotal time in the market’s history.”

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 11

News Review Review slams claims management companies he final report following the fundamental review of the regulation of claims management companies (CMCs) commissioned

by HM Treasury and the Ministry of Justice was published on 16 March 2015. Carol Brady, a non-executive member of the Claims Management Regulation Board (CMRU) and Chair of the Trading Standards Institute, led the review.

The report’s recommendations include:-

settlement/conclusion of a claim – whichever comes later

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All CMC firms should be reauthorised under a robust new process, and seek permissions for each of the activities they carry out Persons wishing to perform controlled functions for a firm regulated by the CMRU should be required to pass a fit and proper persons test, which will consider honesty, integrity and reputation, but also competence and capability, and financial soundness; and be personally accountable for rule breaches for which they are responsible The regulator should develop a concise standardised disclosure document to help consumers compare services and fee structures. A separate disclosure document should be signed by the consumer for each claim where the key product features differ (such as commission structure) CMCs should signpost consumers to alternative claim resolution channels (e.g. direct to the firm/ombudsman) at the appropriate times when communicating with consumers Client communication records (including phone calls) to be retained for 12 months following contact with clients or

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Further use of regulatory roadshows, workshops, and training support to encourage compliance rather than enforcement

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Enforcement against unauthorised activity in a more effective manner

Common CMC conduct issues identified by this review include:l

poor value for money services offered by CMCs – caused by information asymmetries

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mis-representation of service offered to consumers – advertising focused on enhancements to value of compensation claims, rather than 'convenience/time' benefits

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nuisance calls and text messages sent to consumers – caused by unenforced breaches of data regulations, and legitimate exploitation of consent provision by unwitting consumers

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progression of inappropriate (i.e. speculative and/or fraudulent) claims by CMCs – caused by different factors in different sectors

The report concludes that in light of the evidence seen it is clear

that the existing regulatory regime requires strengthening in several areas.

Also provided is widespread evidence of non-compliance by CMCs. In 2014-15 296 warnings were issued to CMCs, and 105 authorisations were cancelled by the regulator. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) also expressed concern over the amount of resource it dedicates to advising CMCs on compliance issues.

Both of these factors suggested that the authorisation process for CMCs should be made more robust, both in terms of acting as a barrier to unscrupulous firms, and ensuring firms understand the rules.

“Phoenixing” Another concern is the frequency and ease with which CMCs re-emerge as a new firm following liquidation or insolvency, with some or all of the directors remaining in place “phoenixing”.

Citizen’s Advice research in 2014 found that 39% of people who had used a CMC to make a claim didn’t know that they could have made the claim themselves, and

Cha nce Opti llor goe on 2 s for – regu late FCA to see p CMCs – age 2

The Report offers five options for the future regulation of CMCs:l

Option 1: Strengthen and restructure the existing CMRU regime

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Option 3: Establish a new independent regulatory body

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Option 4: Dual regulation between FCA and MoJ

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Option 5: Transfer of responsibility of CMCs to the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA)

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In association with

almost half said that if they had been aware of the free alternatives, then they would not have used a CMC. The Claims Management Regulation Unit (CMRU) was established within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in April 2007 following civil justice reforms to allow ‘no-win no-fee’ arrangements and regulation was required to tackle unscrupulous marketing and trading practices in the personal injury sector, and in some cases fraudulent activity.

Despite incremental reforms and improvements to the regulator’s powers and rules since its creation, the report concludes there is a widely held perception among stakeholders and government that there is widespread misconduct among claims management companies.

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European Court decision could mean higher tax costs T

he European Court of Justice has released its decision in the ‘Aspiro’ case, which was considering whether claims handling services should be subject to VAT under European law.

Specifically, the decision found that claims handling was not within the scope of the VAT exemption for insurance related services and therefore should be subject to VAT. Richard Insole, indirect tax partner at Deloitte, comments, “The decision in this case highlights the clear difference between the expected VAT treatment of claims handling in UK and EU law. If HMRC are required to reassess their VAT position in this area, it could result in significantly increased operating costs for UK insurers and an impact on policy premiums as a result.

“The outcome of the case will be viewed by many as unsurprising given previous judgements of the European Court in this area dating back as far as 2005. Until now, HM Revenue and Customs have resisted changing the UK’s treatment of such services on the basis that the European Commission has been undertaking a wider review of the VAT treatment of VAT and financial services.

However, this exercise was recently abandoned, leaving a question mark over whether the UK can continue to support its current treatment.

“Exactly what HMRC intend to do next is not yet known, but our expectation is that following this decision, HM Revenue and Customs will come under increased pressure from the European Commission to change UK law.”

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Bradford-Pennine press ad circa 1996 his old press ad found in the archive harks back to the days when there were considerably more insurance companies around than there are now, particularly in motor. It was the same in Lloyd's where at one time there were 40 or so motor syndicates.

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Bradford-Pennine operated in the non-composite market, and my recollection was that it was a peer leader in that sector alongside the National Insurance & Guarantee Corporation (NIG).

Based in Halifax, the list of past presidents of the incumbent CII Institute reveals the part it played in that locality. A former Lion Insurance CEO I later worked for, George Albert Wright served in 1962-63 although at that time the company was just called Pennine. Ken Weir was 1976-77; Maurice Keenan 198283; and Barry Bedford 1991-92.

For the growing number of IP readers for whom the initials EDI may not be familiar, it stood for Electronic Data Interchange – another story (or rather saga) for another time.

The Editor

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 13

News Review Sharing data key to reducing fraud t a recent British Insurance Law Association lecture, held at Lloyd’s, David Hertzell, president of BILA and chairman of the Insurance Task Force, said that more effective use and sharing of data was going to be key in helping reduce insurance fraud.

“No one knows the full extent of insurance fraud; however we do know that over £200m is spent by the UK insurance industry on fraud prevention. By its nature fraud is not generally disclosed, and it is impossible to account for things such as additional taxpayer costs of unnecessary visits to a doctor for a false medical complaint.”

The Insurance Task Force involved a large number of organisations including ABI, Citizens Advice, BIBA, the

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CGSG rating upgraded ooper Gay Swett & Crawford has announced that S&P has upgraded its rating from Bto B with stable outlook, while Moody's has confirmed the rating as B3, with stable outlook.

Steve Hearn, group CEO, says, “I am very pleased that, following the agreement of the sale of Swett & Crawford, both Moody’s and S&P have acknowledged the positive impact this will have on our business going forward. We now have the financial resources, in conjunction with the specialist expertise and a clear growth strategy, which will become increasingly apparent over the coming months, that will allow us to realise our group’s potential.”

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Financial Services Consumer Panel, the IFB, and the Financial Ombudsman Service. HM Treasury and Ministry of Justice officials also supported the task force and attended its meetings.

David Hertzell concluded

“Lots can be done against fraud with effective use of data. Much of this data is in silo’s or held inhouse for competitive advantage.

However in combatting insurance fraud, sharing of data is going to be key.”

Customer service award for Ageas A geas Insurance has won the Best Customer Service Cocreation/ Collaboration award at the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Awards 2016.

The awards highlight the efforts made by organisations across a range of sectors and industries, such as retail, energy and water services, insurance, banking, transport and logistics, regulatory and many more, to continue to improve their operations and services for the benefit of their customers.

During the awards ceremony at the Hilton Park Lane in London, Ageas was recognised for its “ … unique and innovative ways of managing its customers’ home insurance claims”.

Rob Smale, claims director at Ageas, says “For the brief period of a claim that insurers ‘interfere’ in the lives of their customers, we

should try to ensure that this is minimised and as helpful as possible. We believe the household supply chain at Ageas achieves that objective and provides a model that we hope will set a benchmark for the rest of the sector.

“I am extremely proud that this concept and practice has been recognised by the Institute of Customer Service at this year’s UK Customer Satisfaction Awards as it highlights our commitment to delivering the highest standard of customer service to our customers.

At a time when the industry’s is suffering a poor reputation, it was great to see a number of insurers either winning or nominated at the awards against some highly trusted consumer brands. This is evidence that as an industry, we have the customer at the heart and proving that we are doing our best to rebuild customers’ trust.”

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ECIC recognised for service excellence E CIC, the specialist insurer for the construction sector, has been accredited by the National Skills Academy for Financial Services for its service excellence. This accreditation comes after the “Excellent Customer Outcomes” training ECIC delivered last year and gives ECIC an external recognition of the quality of its service, which lasts for two years.

The Skills Academy accreditation uses the Financial Conduct Authority’s requirements around treating customers fairly and, in particular, their cultural framework as a point of reference.

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Phil Scarrett, sales and marketing director at ECIC, says, “At ECIC we put customer care at the heart of everything we do, ensuring we give the construction sector the support they need through quality insurance cover that meets the challenges faced by this sector.

“This accreditation is a great achievement, not only because it recognises ECIC’s commitment to meeting the needs of its customers, but also because this is a very special time as the business celebrates its 40th year. We are enormously proud of all employees that have helped to make this accreditation possible.”

Novae GWP up to £787m ovae Group reports GWP of £787m for the year to end of December 2015 (£618.5m). The claims ratio was 48.3% (49.1%) and the combined ratio 90.8% (91.0%).

Pre-tax profit was £54.9m (£52.4m).

Matthew Fosh, chief executive officer, comments, “I am delighted with the performance of the group this year and the high quality returns we have produced. The progress we have made strategically and operationally has manifested itself in another strong set of results. Market conditions remain undoubtedly difficult, however the business is now better placed than it has ever been to deal with the challenges ahead.”

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News Review Award for Markerstudy F or the fourth year, Markerstudy has been voted among the top 30 “Best companies to work for in Britain” in the Sunday Times awards. At a ceremony at Battersea Evolution, its position in the midsized company category was confirmed, along with three stars – the highest range.

One of just three mid-sized insurance businesses to gain an award, Markerstudy reports that surveys found that 82% of those questioned regarded it as run on strong principles and 81% said that the group CEO, Kevin

Spencer, is an inspirational leader.

Gary Humphreys, group underwriting director commented: “To once again be a ‘Best Company to Work For ’ in Britain is a testament to our tireless commitment to our employees and the great industry we work in. We’re passionate about maintaining our strong sense of fun, and rewarding and recognising our staff in equal measure. We match dedication to our company values with an extraordinary sense of vision and enthusiasm.”

Pictured left to right: Jonathan Austin, Best Companies CEO; Tanya Gerrard-White and Gary Humphreys of Markerstudy.

FCA to publish claims scorecards he FCA is to pilot the publication of general insurance ‘scorecards’ on a small number of products.

It will collect data from firms and publish it in an easily accessible format on its website.

Any interested parties, including consumer groups, will be able to use the information to compare both products and firms.

Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, says, “We believe that

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publishing a range of information will help to boost competition between firms, encouraging them to focus on improving the value and performance of their products, whilst giving stakeholders and consumers more insight into the value they offer.”

The changes aim to demonstrate how often consumers are likely to claim on a product, how likely those claims are to be accepted and the average claims pay-out.

Ageas backs The Bike Experience geas has provided an automatic motorcycle to The Bike Experience charity, which teaches disabled motorcyclists how to ride again after an accident.

The charity was started in April 2011, and in the past five years has taught over 170 disabled motorcyclists how to ride again. The charity does not charge any of the participants to attend the day’s training, so therefore relies on companies' support, such as the automated motorcycle that Ageas has gifted.

The charity also helps educate the riders on how to buy their own bike, adapt it and ride back on the road or on track days independently and safely. ASM Auto Recycling, vehicle salvage agents and parts recyclers, which is part of Ageas’s supplier network, also supported this initiative by collecting, cleaning and detailing the bike prior to collection.

Rob Clark, niche schemes underwriting manager at Ageas, says, “We are very proud to be able to provide a new adapted motorcycle to support The Bike Experience. As the second largest motorcycle insurer in the UK and a specialist in providing nonstandard motor cover, we recognise the fantastic work the charity does in evolving attitudes in the motorcycling world, so that disabled motorcycle riding is seen as possible, feasible and acceptable.”

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PwC comments on FCA heritage review F ollowing the FCA announcement on the fair treatment of longstanding customers in the life insurance sector, Matt Browne, director at PwC, comments: "After a long wait, and a couple of false starts, the FCA has published the results of its review into the treatment of long-standing customers. The regulator isn't pulling any punches - and looks set to take action across the life industry based on these findings.

“Key issues they've highlighted include: l Product Review Failings - The

FCA identified wide-spread failures in product review processes - often caused by a narrow focus on contractual obligations at the expense of customer outcomes.

l Poor Customer Comms -

Standards of communications generally found to be poor especially at key points in the lifecycle of products (e.g. surrender, maturity etc.).

l Poor disclosure of exit charges -

Evidence found of customers not being given adequate details when charged exit fees. l Excessive paid up charges - The

FCA has also identified cases where ‘the level of charges resulted in a poor customer outcome’ citing paid up charges as a concern - especially where the charge outweighed any future fund growth.

"The findings are based on a sample of 11 firms, all of which will now be busily reviewing their own

specific feedback. In an unusual move for the FCA, other firms, those not in the sample, won't be let off the hook. The FCA has said it will be engaging with these firms through their day-to-day supervisors on possible follow-up work.

"So it's clear, the review is going to have a big impact on life assurers.

That's to be expected - but these firms are already shouldering a weight of regulatory and legislative change, not least of which are the pensions reforms, which could include a cap on charges.

"PwC has been focused on this review for some time - helping clients prepare for FCA visits, hosting client events, and providing support in anticipation of today's results. In light of today's findings, we will be ramping up our efforts."

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

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 17

News Review Carole Nash recruitment drive nsurance brokers Carole Nash have announced plans to hire 169 new employees for their offices located in Altrincham and Dublin. The new recruits will predominantly be based in Cheshire, working across sales and customer services departments.

David Newman, CEO, says, "As we continue to grow at a fast pace, providing more and more motorcycle and specialist car owners with our insurance solutions, we need to boost our workforce to cope with the additional demand and ensure that we can consistently deliver an excellent service to our customers, which is one of the things Carole Nash is famed for.

"We've actually increased our overall headcount by 43 people compared to this time last year, representing an additional £1 million investment for our business."

Carole Nash is working closely with recruitment agencies to identify and evaluate suitable candidates.

The company is also offering a 'recommend-a-friend' incentive, whilst a series of dedicated adverts is running on local radio stations.

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Commercial Express backs children's hospital ictoria Cooper, a finance administrator at managing general agent, Commercial Express, recently abseiled down a Birmingham office complex to raise money for the city’s Children's Hospital.

The event, which took place at One Snowhill, saw Victoria abseil 150 ft. down 11 floors to raise £384 for the charity, which has been chosen as Commercial Express’s charity partner of the year.

The abseil is just one of a number of fundraising activities set to take place this year as part of the business’s ongoing commitment and efforts to help raise funds for the cause. The hospital first opened its doors in 1862 and now has a nationwide reputation for ground-breaking research and care, treating over 250,000 children each year.

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“Bleisure” trips leaving travellers without cover A lmost three quarters (72%) of business travellers bolt-on additional leisure days to their trips, but new research reveals that many may be doing so without the protection of their firm. The study, commissioned by Collinson Group, highlights that, despite 89% of companies allowing this so called ‘bleisure’ travel, almost a third (31%) do not extend the protection offered by their corporate travel risk policy, to cover these additional days.

With the average corporate traveller saying they extend their business trips by five days overall

a year, the findings raise concerns that employers may not be fulfilling their duty of care obligations to employees. It also means staffers could be spending added time abroad under the misguided belief that they are protected.

Collinson Group is urging employers to ensure the matter of leisure stays is addressed within the organisation’s corporate travel policy and to understand from their insurer or broker what exactly is, or is not backed by the terms and conditions of their company insurance policy.

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In association with

DWF and Octagon beat fraudsters A driver and three passengers were found to have deliberately caused a crash with an innocent van driver and have each been ordered to pay £10,000 to the victim. They have also been ordered to pay legal costs.

Insurer Octagon and law firm DWF are describing the judgement as very significant in that all four claimants have been ordered to pay the equivalent costs the innocent driver would have incurred, had their fraudulent claim succeeded. The award is believed to be one of the largest of its kind made against so called ‘crash for cash’ fraudsters in the UK. His Honour Judge Gregory dismissed the claimants’ version of the accident on Mother’s Day in 2014, and the claimants’ subsequent personal injury claims. The court heard that there were significant

inconsistencies in the statements provided by the driver Afzaal Bin Alam, his brother Asaad and the two other passengers, Naqib Mohamammed and Elias Ali. These included the fact that none of the four claimants knew the address of the family member they said they were visiting, the extent of their injuries, the number of previous personal injury claims made, the amount of time they had taken off work and the medical attention they received.

Peter Goodright, Octagon claims director, says, “We’re pleased to see the successful outcome of this case and the court supporting our view that the claims submitted were fraudulent. The awarding of exemplary damages against the claimants allows us to protect the interests of all Octagon customers.”

Citadel takes majority stake in Bermuda company itadel Risk has announced the purchase of a controlling share of Cedar Management Limited, the Bermuda-based insurance and captive manager, and US-based Cedar Consulting LLC, the captive insurance consulting firm.

The existing management team of Tom McMahon, Mick Larkin and Dennis Silvia will remain as substantial shareholders. Both companies will continue to trade under their current names.

Tony Weller (group CEO Citadel Risk) comments, “We have worked with Cedar for many years and have always been impressed with them. We are absolutely delighted that we can now bring the organisation into the Citadel Risk Group and begin to develop the synergies which naturally exist.

The spirit and cooperation during the due diligence and negotiation process between both parties was exceptional, but at the same time unsurprising”.

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HSB backs energy efficiency H SB Engineering Insurance, part of Munich Re, is providing its expertise to the Sustainable Energy Asset Evaluation and Optimisation Framework (SEAF) - a €1.7 million project funded by the European Commission to enable SMEs, providing energy efficiency and other energy-related services, to gain access to project finance.

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The overall objective of the SEAF tool is to support millions in energy efficiency investments for European SMEs, job growth and increased energy and CO2 savings. This will be done through a streamlined software platform that enables independent project valuation, insurance and design standardisation.

Paul Cullum, product

development manager at HSB Engineering Insurance, comments, “This is a great opportunity to bring energy efficiency projects and investors together. By providing access to asset performance insurances, we will be looking to enhance the credit worthiness of projects and improve investor confidence.”

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 19

News Review esure GWP up 6.3% T he preliminary 2015 results for esure Group show GWP up 6.3% to £550.3m (£517.8m). Other highlights: in-force policies up 2.8% to 2.001 million (2014: 1.946 million); combined operating ratio 5.9ppts higher at 97.8% (2014: 91.9%); profit before tax up 29.7% to £134.0m (2014: £103.3m); underlying profit before tax down 22.7% to £82.9m (2014: £107.2m).

Peter Wood, esure Group chairman, says, “The management team made good progress on our strategic plans in 2015. The group continued its disciplined approach and is in a strong position to capitalise on growth opportunities. The motor rating environment is now conducive for this and we are also looking at opportunities in Home.

Furthermore, I am delighted that we completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Gocompare.com and under our strategic direction we are already seeing benefits as we reinvigorate

the brand, increase the product range and invest for the future.”

Stuart Vann, chief executive officer, adds, “Our underlying profit before tax of £82.9 million is a good achievement in a highly competitive market. During 2015 we grew both our customer base and premiums in motor in a controlled and measured way through the delivery of our underwriting initiatives. We saw positive movements in the motor rating environment throughout the year and are well positioned to take advantage of this.

“In home, market conditions continue to be competitive, but we remained disciplined in our rating decisions and maintained premium and customer numbers during the year. In December, we incurred around £4m of claims costs from the exceptional weather events and while our focus was on our customers at this time, through our focused and disciplined approach to underwriting our claims costs were significantly less than our market share.”

Acromas appoints Arc Legal cromas Insurance has appointed Arc Legal Assistance to provide a managing agent service for the personal legal expenses policies it underwrites for brands including Saga. The deal will see Arc Legal effectively double income growth from its managing agent services.

Richard Finan, director of Arc Legal, comments, “The growth of our managing agent business demonstrates insurers' continued requirement for specialist organisations like ourselves to manage their policyholders' LEI claims, particularly where they are participating in the underwriting risk themselves.

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Richard Finan

“AICL benefits from our independent position within the process, and the flexibility of our business model that enables the insurer to ‘plug in’ their own preferred legal services partner or ABS.”

CDL to provide data for RAC

DL has signed a three-year deal to provide full vehicle provenance and valuation data to the RAC for motor trade, vehicle breakdown, and insurance customers. The partnership will also provide vehicle provenance information for consumers through the RAC Passport product and vehicle look-up data to support RAC's breakdown service, call centre operations and RAC Cars.

The data will be supplied by CDL's Vehicle Information Services entity, which is a licensed provider of major vehicle data sources such as the DVLA, the Police National Computer, the SMMT, Insurance Database Services Limited, and major finance houses.

Robert Diamond, managing director of RAC Data Services, comments, “Reliable vehicle information is vital to overcoming the challenges of buying, selling, and valuing a car. We were impressed by the extent of data fields CDL is able to provide, and by the quality of their data and services. Our partnership allows the RAC to offer consumers the most comprehensive checks in the UK and gives trade customers and motorists confidence to buy and sell a car with peace of mind."

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In association with

Confused.com launches LV= “buy now” C onfused.com has become the first comparison site to launch LV= QuickCover ‘buy now’ life insurance exclusively to its customers. By adding this to its life insurance comparison service, the price comparison website now offers three ‘buy now’ life insurance products: LV=, Aviva and Admiral.

LV= QuickCover is a level term product aimed at people who are comfortable and familiar with buying products online. Exclusive to Confused.com, LV= QuickCover is designed to provide a one-off cash payment of up to £300,000 in the event of a policyholder’s death or diagnosis of a terminal illness during the policy term.

Customers will need to answer a few additional underwriting questions when they get a quote.

The customer’s responses will then

be matched against the underwriting criteria of LV=’s QuickCover insurance product to see if they are eligible to purchase their life insurance policy instantly.

Jessica Willock, head of life insurance at Confused.com says: “We are really excited to be the first and only comparison website to offer LV=’s QuickCover exclusively to our customers. We really want to make buying life insurance as hassle-free as possible, and giving the customer the option to purchase cover instantly enables us to do just that.

“By adding LV=’s QuickCover product to our panel we are giving customers more choice, and helping customers find the right life insurance policy and the right provider for their individual needs.”

New product recall cover from CFC pecialist lines underwriting agency CFC has announced the launch of its new suite of insurance products for the product recall market. This follows the appointment last year of Natasha Catchpole as the crisis management practice leader and the subsequent recruitment of George Beattie from Willis.

CFC’s suite of products is aimed at a wide variety of industries, from food and beverage, through to automotive component parts and consumer product industries.

Features of CFC’s product suite include cover against recall events stemming from the hacking of automotive products, malicious product tampering caused by an electronic attack, and failure of food and beverage products to meet religious specifications. Insureds will also benefit from access to CFC’s range of crisis consultants available to provide specialist support depending on the individual recall situation.

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APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 21

News Review ARO Underwriting launches online quotes A RO Underwriting, the London and Kent based MGA focused on property and liability lines, has launched its new online quotation platform for key broker partners as part of the company’s rebrand and new website launch.

Members of ARO’s senior management team have embarked on a tour of the UK to meet with key broker partners to reinforce their value to ARO and explain the benefits of the new system, in a series of presentations.

James Bright, managing director at ARO says, “These are exciting times for ARO. We have been up and running for five years and have over 40,000 policyholders, most of whom buy online through brokers. So the time is right to deliver on our commitment to brokers to keep

James Bright

enhancing our services to them and their clients.

“Our bold new brand and online system is a statement of intent and commitment to our strategy to increase our online offering to a loyal panel of brokers alongside our existing schemes approach.”

Details at http://www.aro-underwriting.com/

QBE now on Applied TAM commercial panel A pplied Systems has announced the expansion of Applied TAM Commercial Lines panel to include QBE products. Through this agreement, all Applied TAM users will have access to QBE Tradesman, a flexible per capita insurance product suitable for tradespeople, contractors and professionals, via the iMarket system.

QBE Tradesman has been designed to cater to firms with a turnover of up to £2.5 million and 25 employees. For tradespeople needing a lower level of cover, public and products liability limits of indemnity start from £1 million, with limits of £2 million, £5 million and £10 million also available.

22 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

Quotes are available for more than 700 trades.

Dave Greaves, head of SME, QBE, says, “QBE is an expert in business insurance, and we have ambitious plans for the SME market. Widening our eTtrade capabilities out to multiple distribution channels is an important part of our strategy, and we are very pleased that our partnership with Applied Systems will provide even more brokers with an easy avenue to trade with QBE. Tradesman is just the first of several products that we are planning to launch on Applied TAM, all of which are backed up by an empowered underwriting team.”

New accountability regime he Senior Managers Regime for the banking sector and the Senior Insurance Managers Regime both came into force on March 7. The new regimes will hold individuals working at all levels within relevant firms to appropriate standards of conduct and ensure that senior managers are held to account for misconduct that falls within their area of responsibility.

As previously announced, the PRA and FCA will apply key principles of the Senior Managers Regime to senior members of staff in both regulators. The PRA and FCA have published an explanation of how they will be applying the regime internally. This includes a description of the core responsibilities of those carrying out senior management functions.

Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive at the FCA, says, “Today marks the beginning of a new era of increased individual accountability. The Senior Managers regime is not designed to re-invent the way that firms organise themselves but to reflect and ensure clarity about how this operates in practice.

“We are determined to embed a culture of personal responsibility within the banking sector. We hold ourselves to the highest professional standards and so we have decided to apply the fundamental principles of the regime to our senior staff.

“By building on our existing framework of accountability, we will further bolster the transparency with which we are run, and reinforce the standards to which we hold ourselves.”

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news review

In association with

Financial advice reforms recommended R ecommendations from the Financial Advice Market Review are aimed at giving consumers “ … better access to affordable financial advice and guidance that meets their needs at every stage of their lives”.

Co-chaired by Charles Roxburgh, director general, financial services at HM Treasury, and Tracey McDermott, acting chief executive of the FCA, the review has found that there is “ … a clear need for intervention by the regulator and the government to help both consumers and industry benefit from new and more cost-effective ways of delivering high quality advice and guidance”.

The FAMR recommendations aim to address current concerns about the affordability and accessibility of financial advice and guidance, particularly regarding the ‘advice gap’. FAMR builds on improvements made to the financial advice industry brought about by the

retail distribution review (RDR) which raised the standards of professionalism across the financial advice market.

FAMR outlines practical ways to enable consumers to engage with and access advice and guidance, urges changes to how financial advice is defined and suggests a new advice framework to help firms best meet the needs of consumers. The report makes a range of recommendations aimed at ensuring firms are able to provide more affordable advice for more consumers.

To make financial advice and guidance more affordable for consumers, FAMR calls for the government to consult on changes to legislation to narrow the definition of regulated advice so that it is based on a personal recommendation. This would create a single definition for regulated financial advice and remove some of the barriers that

exist for firms wishing to offer guidance services.

The report recommends a number of measures for the FCA to take forward which are aimed at giving firms the confidence to deliver streamlined advisory services focusing on specific consumer needs.

It should also consult on measures to support firms developing guidance services that help consumers make their own investment decisions.

FAMR also highlights the increasing role that technology can play in creating a more engaging, cost-effective advice market. It recommends that the FCA extend the work of Project Innovate and establish a unit to help firms develop their automated advice models.

To make financial advice more accessible, FAMR has called on the government to allow consumers to access a small part of their pension pot to redeem against the cost of preretirement advice.

Aon aims to help on flight cancellations A on Benfield has launched an insurance product that aims to help the charter aircraft industry avoid the financial losses associated with the cancellation of flights.

Structured in partnership with Mountfitchet Risk Solutions, the Aircraft On Ground (AOG) Protect product indemnifies aircraft operators for the financial loss incurred when their aircraft cannot be utilised by flight operators for a contracted charter flight, leaving the operator to sub-charter or reposition a replacement aircraft.

Traditionally, aircraft operators have had to replace the aircraft at their own cost, or have had to refund the flight, leaving passengers without an aircraft and affecting the operators’ profits and revenue.

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However, with AOG Protect, operators receive an insurance payout when a flight is cancelled for reasons including mechanical breakdown, accidental damage, crew sickness or even mid-flight

diversions following mechanical fault.

AOG Protect will be offered to aircraft owners and operators through Mountfitchet Risk Solutions.

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 23

News Review New investigative service C oventBridge Group Ltd, a UK holding company with separate UK and U.S. operating subsidiaries, has been launched following the merger of GlobalOptions with U.S. full service investigative firm, ICS Merrill. The company is led by non-executive chairman, Roger Day, former ACE, AIG and Zurich Insurance executive and CEO, Dave Merrill, former ICS Merrill CEO. The merger is claimed to position CoventBridge as “ ...the premier provider of investigative services to the worldwide insurance market in terms of revenue, technology, privacy security and physical resources, with over 1,000 employees and affiliates across the globe.”

Chairman Roger Day comments: “CoventBridge is ready to raise the bar on the customer service experienced by UK

Roger Day

insurers and reset market expectations of supplier investigative standards. The recent Insurance Fraud Taskforce report painted the landscape ahead for UK insurers and CoventBridge is committed to supporting the market with bespoke support, fit for purpose in today’s evolving counter fraud environment.”

Apprenticeships up 50% N ew figures from the CII show a 50% increase in technical insurance apprenticeship starts since 2013.

The Institute says it is continuing to support the profession in its desire to take on more apprentices through the creation of the ‘CII Apprenticeships Unit’ and the

Sian Fisher 24 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

promotion of insurance careers through the Discover Risk initiative.

Sian Fisher, CEO of the CII, says, "It is hugely encouraging that more and more employers are realising the benefits insurance apprenticeships can bring to their business, and to the profession as a whole. What is most pleasing is that we have seen this increase ahead of the 2017 apprenticeship levy. As firms wrestle with the introduction of trailblazers and the levy, many have just got on with it and started their own schemes.

“The CII, as recognised experts in supporting and promoting insurance apprenticeships, continues to work hard to ensure that our profession makes the most of what apprenticeships have to offer.”

TMK launches 2016 graduate scheme okio Marine Kiln has launched its underwriting graduate training programme for 2016 applications.

The scheme, open to graduates from all disciplines, will see TMK take on up to four trainees who will embark on a two-year underwriting programme in its London office.

The scheme operates on threemonth divisional rotations, giving graduates the opportunity to experience disciplines within underwriting, claims, underwriting management and operations.

Graduates combine their specialist on-the-job learning with training and fully funded professional qualifications. They are also afforded the opportunity to undertake a one-month placement in one of TMK’s international offices, which are located in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Italy and Brazil.

Commenting on the launch of the 2016 scheme Charles Franks, group chief executive officer, Tokio Marine Kiln, says,“One of the most important things for us as a company is our employees. We aim to stay ahead of our competitors by having the brightest and best who will help to drive our company forward.

“What makes this scheme especially valued is the staying power our graduates have.

When I look at the senior management team at TMK I see many successful graduates from the past who have risen right to the top of the organisation. This ambition and hunger for success is what we are looking for in those who make it on to the programme. I hope that entrants to this year’s scheme will be amongst tomorrow’s senior management at TMK.”

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news review

In association with

Product recalls up 26% T he number of product recalls in the UK jumped by 26% to a new high of 310 in 2014/15 from 245 in 2013/14, according to RPC, the City law firm. Product recalls are issued after a health and safety risk or a major design or production flaw has been discovered in a product.

RPC says the number of vehicle recalls rose dramatically in the last year after several high profile incidents within the

motor industry. In the last year the UK has seen 39 different motor vehicle recalls, a 30% increase from the 30 recalled in 2013/14.

Gavin Reese, partner at RPC, comments: “Sometimes it can take a huge scandal to break for an industry to sit up, take notice and ensure their products are watertight. Certainly the automotive industry is now very sensitive to accusations of being

slow to recall faulty or noncompliant products.

“Car manufacturers are looking for irregularities more closely, as well as facing increased pressure from regulators and, therefore, it’s likely that 2016 will also see a high level of vehicle recalls.”

RPC adds that the number of recalls relating to food and drink has also significantly increased, by 50% this year from 56 to 84.

Ageas launches Darwinsure Pool Re increases reinsurance for small businesses P A geas has strengthened its strategic partnership with insurance brokers Darwin Clayton (UK), by developing ‘Darwinsure’, a bespoke online product for the small business sector. “This facility will complement the existing scheme arrangements by providing a more effective way for smaller businesses to trade online,” says Ageas.

The Darwinsure scheme provides specialist cover for small businesses in the cleaning, security equipment installation, electrical, interior fit-out and IT professional sectors, including a broader range of tradesmen solutions. Darwinsure is available through Darwin Clayton’s e-trading platform and offers an

news review

online solution for customers to obtain their insurance cover across mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop devices.

Simon Henderson, managing director of Darwin Clayton (UK), says, “The launch of Darwinsure builds on our strategic vision to be the market leading provider of niche insurance products. Our combined experience and expertise with Ageas means that together we will continue to be a powerful force in this sector.

By targeting the small business sector and offering access to customers via an e-trading portal, we are continuing to provide real value and a credible alternative option for small businesses nationwide.”

ool Re has renewed the reinsurance cover purchased in 2015, for a further three years. The renewed cover, which now includes an additional layer, provides £1.95bn of commercial reinsurance compared with £1.8bn previously.

The two-layer programme, placed with a panel of reinsurers (which includes global re-insurers as well as its members) led by Munich Re and brokered by Guy Carpenter, mirrors the cover currently provided to Pool Re members, including chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear risks.

Steve Coates, chief underwriting officer of Pool Re, says, “ This is an important step which reflects an increasing appetite in the reinsurance market for UK terrorism risk and brings us closer to our continued goal of re-engaging global capacity in the provision of terrorism cover in Great Britain. It also further diminishes the UK Government’s exposure and distances the UK taxpayers from any potential liability.

“We will continue to examine ways to secure more capacity from insurers and re-insurers, so as to increase the scheme’s resilience and to ensure that Pool Re only provides capacity that the market is unable to.”

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 25

On the move

Elke Vagenende

Allianz Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty appoints Elke Vagenende as head of market management UK to lead key account management and broker distribution. For the past two years she has been head of financial institutions in the UK, having joined AGCS in 2012. She has over 18 years’ experience in various roles in risk management, underwriting, and broking in BP and Siemens.

BGL BGL Group appoint Dominic Platt as chief financial officer. He spent five years at Darty from 20102015, where he was group finance director and managing director of international businesses. Prior to that he spent 18 years at Cable and Wireless, which he joined as a graduate trainee, culminating in his role as group financial controller from 2005 until 2009.

HCML

AEGIS

HCML appoints Zoe Machin as its first sales director for the corporate and public sector. She previously held sales positions at AXA PPP Healthcare, Capita Health and Wellbeing, Aviva Occupational Health, CIGNA Healthcare and BUPA Wellness.

Sarah Halls-Hutchings takes up a new role as head of customer relationships and market development. She joins from Nuffield Health, where she was regional business manager for primary and preventive health, and managed physiotherapy centres and physiologist teams.

Tom Thornton re-joins HCML as head of Innotrex, the national treatment and diagnostics network.

Previously a clinical supervisor in HCML’s intensive team, he joins from Innovate, following a period spent with The Treatment Network.

Christian Gib has taken up a new role of marketing and design manager having previously held case management and commercial roles at Argent.

Andy Pepler is promoted to head clinical operations and expand serious, catastrophic and telephonic case management capabilities, responsible for clinical outcomes for personal injury, income protection, corporate and NHS assessments and for ongoing case management and line management.

AEGIS London appoints Kevin Miller to the newly-created role of chief operating officer. He joins from Aspen where he was director of UK operations. He was also CEO of Aspen’s internal service company and a director of Placing Platform. His 26 year experience includes initial roles with EY, NatWest and ING Group before he joined Beazley Specialty Lines as global chief operating officer in 2005 and later roles including underwriting and claims improvement programme manager at Liberty Syndicates, and joined Aspen in 2011.

Alesco

Dominic Platt 26 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

Alesco Risk Management Services appoints Adam Bragg as head of the organisation’s Latin America property facultative team based in London. With 25 years’ experience he joins from Lockton, where was vice president of property, focusing on Latin America. Prior to this he was a principal at Integro Insurance Brokers and spent two years in the property division at Heath Lambert.

Matt Taylor

CFC Specialist lines underwriting agency CFC appoints Matt Taylor as head of emerging risk. A qualified actuary, he joins from Montpelier at Lloyd’s where he held the position of active underwriter and head of nonmarine.

ArgoGlobal ArgoGlobal appoints Kieran Wilson as onshore energy underwriter, joining from StarStone Syndicate 1301 at Lloyd’s where he was onshore energy (midstream and downstream) underwriter. He joined them in 2008 and also gained expertise in the bloodstock and livestock sector.

appointments

Who’s going where?

RSA

Pioneer

RSA Insurance appoints Martin Strobel as a non-executive board director from May 2016. He will also join the audit, investment and remuneration committees. He brings 23 years’ experience, most recently as chief executive officer of Baloise Group, a position he held for seven years to 2015. He joined them in 1999 as the head of IT at Basler Switzerland, within Baloise Group. From 2003 to 2008 he was a member of the corporate executive committee and from 1993 to 1999 he performed various roles at Boston Consulting Group, Düsseldorf, advising businesses in the banking and the insurance sectors.

Pioneer Underwriters appoints two new operational power underwriters. Tom Wilson joins with over 30 years’ experience in international energy from Inter Hannover where as engineering manager for global operational power he led the in-house risk evaluation and rating assessment processes.

Stuart Brazier has 20 years’ experience and most recently headed the global power portfolio at Inter Hannover. He previously held senior roles at JLT Risk Solutions and Marubeni Corporation, having started his career at Norwich Union.

David Foster joins as group chief financial officer, having held senior roles at XL Catlin, most recently as deputy corporate controller. Prior to this he was CFO of Catlin Group’s Bermuda operation and Catlin group financial controller.

Marketform Specialist Lloyd's underwriter Marketform announces that Darren Lednor, formerly the active underwriter of Ariel Syndicate 1910 and 6117, has joined as chief underwriting officer. He has worked for 20 years across both the London and Bermuda markets encompassing underwriting, broking, risk and actuarial.

He began his insurance career in 1995 in the actuarial team at Sphere Drake before joining the London branch of Assicurazioni Generali and then spent eight years with broker Benfield in both London and Bermuda.

Darren Lednor

appointments

Imtyaz Vakil

QuanTemplate QuanTemplate Technologies appoints Imtyaz Vakil as finance director. He has 25 years’ experience in the insurance and financial services industries and joins from Hiscox, where he was technical accountant, group finance.

Prior to this he was chief financial officer of Direct Asia Insurance Group Entities headquartered in Singapore and moved to Hiscox in 2014. Other previous employers include Whittington Insurance Markets and Axiom Consulting.

Sompo Canopius Sompo Canopius AG appoint Mike Southgate as global head of marine, energy and engineering. He was previously joint active underwriter at Montpelier Syndicate 5151, with over thirty years’ experience underwriting and broking marine business within both Lloyd's and the London company market. He began at Sturge Marine Syndicate 206 on the marine hull side, working there for a decade before joining Leslie and Godwin (Aon) as divisional director with responsibility for marine facultative reinsurance. In 1999 he joined Employers Re as senior hull and liability underwriter, becoming head of marine insurance when it was bought by Swiss Re. In 2009 he was appointed joint active underwriter and head of marine at Montpelier at Lloyd’s.

ALPS Ben Lemmon joins Auto Legal Protection Services as business development manager.

He joins from Gallagher Bassett where he was client account manager and previously worked at Motorplus T/A ULR Norwich from 2000-2013, latterly as account manager.

Ben Lemmon

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 27

On the move

Who’s going where?

Towergate

Rob Preston

Pen Underwriting Pen Underwriting appoints Rob Preston to the newly created role of head of crisis management, developing capabilities in terrorism and war, kidnap & ransom and piracy, product recall and malicious product tampering, and credit and political risks, both in the UK and internationally. A former captain in the British Army, prior to a move into the re/insurance industry, he spent over nine years in the crisis management insurance arena, having been Novae’s lead terrorism underwriter after spending three years at Aon as a terrorism risk consultant.

Pat Butler joins the Towergate board as a non-executive director.

He is a non-executive director at Bank of Ireland, Hikma, and Business Bank Investments. He is also a partner of The Resolution Group, The Resolution Foundation think tank, and Prospect Magazine.

Prior to Resolution, he spent 26 years at McKinsey, where he led the firm's UK Financial Services Practice and its EMEA Retail Banking Practice, advising banks, insurance companies and asset managers.

Michael Burle

Liberty

CDL Insurance software house, CDL appoint Rob Houghton as cloud architect. Previously technology solutions consultant, he joined CDL 16 years ago, and will now facilitate the development of new proof of concepts and delivering cloud solutions.

Liberty Specialty Markets promotes Michael Burle as head of marine for Liberty Syndicate.

Previously LSM’s underwriting manager – war & terrorism, fine art & specie, he replaces Simon Clapham who takes on the new role of head of underwriting performance management across LSM.

Dale Underwriting

Rob Houghton 28 insurancepeople APRIL 2016

Dale Underwriting Partners appoint medical malpractice underwriter Andrew Hornsblow to its casualty underwriting team based in London. He joins from Marketform with over 30 years’ experience and previously held senior underwriting roles with Barbican Syndicate 1955 and Chaucer Syndicate 1084.

James Gerry

MGAA The Managing General Agents’ Association elects James Gerry as chairman. He is chairman of GB Underwriting and has over 30 years' experience and spent the past 12 years running MGAs. His career began as an underwriter with Chubb in New York, later joining Brockbank at Lloyd's to establish the non-marine underwriting practice and served as chief underwriting officer. In 2003 he became CEO of DUAL International, and in 2008 James was recruited by JTL to establish Thistle, the group's underwriting agency. In 2011 he became a strategic investor and chairman of GB Underwriting and succeeds Reg Brown, a founder of the association and its first chair, who retired in February.

Aon Aon Hewitt appoints Michael Walker to its risk settlement group as a principal consultant. He rejoins after working at Legal & General’s pension risk transfer business. He was initially director of commercial underwriting, and later became international development manager in L&G’s start-up US pension risk transfer business. Before moving to L&G in 2013, he spent 12 years as a consultant in Aon Hewitt’s retirement practice.

appointments

by Andrew Newman

in association with:

“Most cluttered office Award” he old 1915 postcard depicted on page 11 this month prompts this question – what was the most cluttered insurance office you ever saw? My vote goes back to early days on the road as a very junior business development “inspector”, handling a patch of Essex for Cornhill Insurance, of blessed memory.

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The broker office in question had a shop front, and the door opened straight into the office of the one-man-band owner. He stood behind an old desk covered in files, some open, but with others stacked on top. He stood because he had no choice - his own chair was also piled high. As was the visitor’s chair, and every inch of floor space - save for a thin channel from front door to desk, as if cleared by an icebreaking ship.

The broker’s welcome was enthusiastic, and the visitor chair and his own were eventually cleared by piling their clutter on top of the existing stacks on the floor.

Most of the owner’s conversation centred not on his current business, but on his days as a cruise ship steward, and the ruses he developed to ensure the unfortunate passengers allocated to his care caused him minimal disruption.

I can remember thinking that if (no matter how fantastical it might have sounded at that time) a statutory theme like ‘treating customers fairly’ ever breeched the world of insurance, this practitioner wouldn’t pass the test. Although my brain hasn’t logged the name and place, I’ll never forget the state of that office! he above episode took place as part of one of those “all hands to the pumps” panics that occur in most businesses from time to time. In their wisdom, the powers that be at Cornhill decided more office space was needed, and a suitable property in Leatherhead was acquired. But that acquisition also embraced the incumbent occupiers – the Trafalgar Insurance Company (no connection I believe with the present day Trafalgar which formed much later).

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And that’s where I, and my fellow development ‘inspectors’ came in. With our respective Ford Escort company car boots filled with boxes of new cover note books, underwriting guides, and other promotional literature we fanned out into our territories to ‘convert’ the erstwhile Trafalgar agents into Cornhill brokers. It took three days altogether to recover all the obsolete material.

on the road

Most of the Trafalgar agents were of good quality, but at (shall we call it), the bottom end of the one-man-band spectrum… well, the immortal words ‘bucket shop’ hove into view.

One colleague engaged in the same exercise closer to London’s East End found himself discussing the whys & wherefores of the rule about NOT backdating motor covernotes. This happened while sitting across the desk from a dead ringer for the actor George Cole enacting his immortal fictional character Arthur Daley, and flanked by two overweight minders who remained standing ‘at alert’ throughout the interview!

Cold call remedies and ruses

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o complaints so far following last month’s rant on this page about the “choristers from hell” at cold call centres. But plenty of endorsement, and it’s clear the receiving end of this curse is a domestic thing. They don’t ring business numbers, so anyone working from home is a prime target.

Readers’ retaliatory remedies and ruses being deployed include:l

Asking cold callers to tell “those people making a noise in the background to be quiet so you can hear properly. Remind them you are trying to speak on the telephone”. It completely throws them!

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Tell them you are at work and can’t deal with a private call

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Point out the absurdity of their belief that the product on offer is suitable– “Why would I need a stair lift when I live in a bungalow?”

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Question the validity of their supplier of relevant phone numbers. “They’re ripping you off!”

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Simply say nothing. Leave the phone off the hook and go away and make yourself a nice cup of tea.

“It’s amazing how long some of them spout on before realising there’s no one there.”

APRIL 2016 insurancepeople 29

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