Douglas Shillito
The UK woke up on Friday morning to the reality of a hung parliament. It is likely this could lead to a softer Brexit and, maybe, a more economic, business emphasis, particularly regarding the financial services sector. Meanwhile this week, the global insurance market moved on. Willis Towers Watson reviewed the readiness of UK businesses to combat cyber risk, and Marsh looked at captive trends in a new report. US severe weather in March could result in claims exceeding $2bn, said Aon Benfield, and the MIB reported that US individually underwritten life insurance activity remained sluggish in May. Insurance Europe commented following the publication of the European Commission’s mid-term review of its Capital Markets Union (CMU) project to unlock funding for growth in Europe, and the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) announced the formation of a Members’ Agents Committee.
AXA UK CEO Amanda Blanc commented that "Babies born today may never have to take a driving test" because of autonomous vehicle development. MAPFRE chairman and CEO Antonio Huertas said that to survive and thrive in today’s global world, insurance companies need to reinvent themselves and adapt to the new environments they do business in. Celent looked at European insurance business and IT priorities in a new report, whilst Cunningham Lindsey highlighted new and innovative ways to evaluate and manage claims in its 2017 Major and Complex Loss Review, and IBM's Watson Explorer is to automate and improve the pre- and post-hospitalisation claims process at Singapore-based NTUC Income. The Oasis HUB was formally launched in London, and Exari acquired Adsensa. Eptica research indicated that the digital customer service provided by UK insurers overall is dramatically worsening. Synechron signed an agreement marking the start of a new phase in its strategic partnership with Prima Solutions, and ValueMomentum in the US announced the availability of an enhanced version of its BizDynamics Digital Solution.
RSA is to set up a new subsidiary entity in Luxembourg as the headquarters of its existing European Union branches. Asta announced that Dubai-based Arma Underwriting has received full approval from all regulators and commenced operations last month, and Hamilton Re established its first special purpose vehicle. Markel created a new insurance division which combines its Wholesale and Global Insurance divisions, and XL Catlin extended its global property insurance capacity by 25% to $500m. There were management appointments at Chubb, Ed, and Willis Towers Watson.
Full articles on the above topics may be found on the Insurance Newslink and Financial Newslink global trends database services at www.onlystrategic.com.