Half of UK festivals now cancelled as insurance pleas mount June 25, 2021 More than half of UK festivals planned for this summer have now been cancelled due to ongoing uncertainty about coronavirus restrictions. Industry body the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) today said it estimates that 51 per cent of all festivals with more than 5,000 attendees have been called and warned the sector was at a [...]
Prince Charles partners with insurance firms to tackle climate change June 24, 2021 Prince Charles has teamed up with the Lloyd’s of London insurance market to launch a task force aimed at transitioning the industry to a net zero economy. The task force will be chaired by Lloyd’s, with support from Charles’ Sustainable Markets Initiative. It will include the chief executives of insurance firms such as AXA, Allianz, [...]
Javid calls for two percentage point hike to national insurance to fund social care September 3, 2021 Health secretary Sajid Javid has called for a higher hike to national insurance to fund clearing the swelling backlog of NHS work and social care, according to reports. Javid has reportedly pushed for a two percentage point increase to NICs in a bid to raise funds for England’s ailing social care system. Javid’s proposed level [...]
Aviva reports highest quarterly insurance sales in a decade May 27, 2021 Aviva has delivered its highest insurance sales in the first quarter for a decade, while savings and retirement flows soared to a new quarterly record. The insurance giant said its core general insurance gross written premiums grew four per cent to £2bn while its core operating ratio fell to 90.6 per cent. Its SME sales [...]
Festival insurance scheme ‘too little, too late’ for organisers of summer events August 6, 2021 Festival organisers have lamented after the government’s announcement of an insurance scheme comes “too little, too late” against a summer of cancelled events. The Treasury said costs associated with the cancellation of festivals, conferences and other live events due to Covid restrictions will be covered almost entirely by the government under a new £750m scheme. [...]
National insurance hike completely unnecessary says Brexit veteran Lord Frost as Tory calls to drop £12bn tax increase swell January 25, 2022 Lord Frost has urged Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak not to raise taxes in April as cost-of-living is set to increase for most Brits. The Prime Minister’s former Brexit chief joined the growing number of senior Conservatives to call for the planned national insurance hike to be scrapped. The former Brexit Minister – who resigned [...]
Insurer Direct Line’s first-half profits rise as pandemic restrictions ease August 3, 2021 Insurer Direct Line has today reported a rise in its earnings for the first half of the year, despite a difficult car insurance market, which its home businesses offset. The company reported an operating profit of just under £370m for the six months ended June 30, an increase from £265m a year earlier. Direct Line [...]
Spring Budget 2024: High earners set to pay more tax under band freeze, analysis suggests March 6, 2024 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that National Insurance will be cut by 2p to lower the tax burden ahead of a general election. But analysis from investment platform AJ Bell has found that high earners are set to pay more overall under the government's tax band freeze.
Insurance chief Nick Lyons picked as new Lord Mayor of London July 7, 2021 Insurance bigwig Nick Lyons has reportedly been appointed as the next Lord Mayor of London after a secretive election in the Square Mile. Lyons, who is chairman of insurer Phoenix and a board member of Bupa, is said to have been picked for the role last night by the City of London Corporation’s Court of [...]
Businesses face being hit by £2.4bn national insurance ‘tax bombshell’, Lib Dems warn October 25, 2021 The Government is creating a “tax bombshell” for small and medium-sized businesses by raising national insurance, the Liberal Democrats warned. Research commissioned by the party said businesses with fewer than 250 employees would pay an extra £2.4bn a year due to the 1.25 per cent rise in national insurance (NI) announced by Boris Johnson in [...]