Aviva on track to meet financial targets after sales jump five per cent May 18, 2022 British insurance giant Aviva today said it is on track to meet its financial targets after its sales increased by 5 per cent to £2bn, on the back of strong trading in the UK and Canada. The London insurer said it had brought in an extra 100,000 UK customers over the previous year brining its [...]
Coalition of football clubs file lawsuit against insurers in wake of landmark Axa ruling May 17, 2022 A coalition of football clubs have filed a multi-party lawsuit against six major insurers seeking a larger payout for money lost during Covid-19, after the UK’s Supreme Court said businesses are allowed to reclaim losses suffered due to the impacts of the pandemic. A consortium of 20 separate claimants – including Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston [...]
Allianz told to pay $6bn after SEC charges three execs with fraud over Structured Alpha funds scandal May 17, 2022 The US financial watchdog has told German financial services behemoth Allianz to pay $6bn (£4.8bn) after charging three of its senior executives with fraud in relation to the $11bn collapse of the firm’s Structured Alpha funds. Allianz agreed to pay $1bn to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and a further $5bn to investors, [...]
Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and 17 other top clubs hire City firm to take on UK’s biggest insurers in mega football claim May 17, 2022 Some of England’s biggest football clubs – including Arsenal FC, Aston Villa FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC and West Ham FC, have instructed City law firm Clifford Chance to launch a multi-party action against some of the biggest insurance players in London. The group of 20 claimants, which also includes Liverpool FC and Leicester City FC, [...]
Allianz sets aside an extra €1.9bn to cover costs of Structured Alpha funds scandal May 11, 2022 German asset manager Allianz has set aside another €1.9bn (£1.6bn) to cover the costs of lawsuits arising from the multi-billion-dollar collapse of its Structured Alpha funds. The extra sum brings Allianz’ total reserves to €5.6bn, after the Munich firm set aside €3.7bn to settle the lawsuits in February this year. The move comes as Allianz [...]
Aviva chair hits back at shareholders following ‘inappropriate’ comments at AGM May 11, 2022 The chair of Aviva has said he was left “flabbergasted” by a barrage of “inappropriate” comments targeted towards female board members at Aviva’s annual general meeting (AGM) this week. The Aviva chair hit out at shareholders, after investors subjected female company executives, including Aviva chief Amanda Blanc, to a barrage of sexist comments on Monday, [...]
Slater Investments slaps down Miami fund’s £482m Randall & Quilter takeover bid May 10, 2022 A major investor in AIM listed insurer Randall & Quilter has rejected a £482m offer to take the company private, after claiming the offer is too low. Slater Investments, which owns a 10 per cent stake in the Bermuda based firm, rejected Brickell’s offer, after slamming the Miami headquartered fund’s offer to pay 175p-per-share. “In [...]
EU mulls plans to ban insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil May 9, 2022 The European Union is considering banning insurers from insuring ships carrying Russian oil, as another means of draining Russia of the financial resources it needs to continue bankrolling its war in Ukraine. If brought into force, the new sanctions would come as another blow to Russia’s energy export industry, as the EU also weighs up [...]
Cost of Ukraine crisis akin to ‘mid-sized natural catastrophe,’ Axa finance chief says May 9, 2022 French insurance giant Axa has said it expects the costs it will incur the Ukraine crisis will be similar to the financial hit posed by a “mid-sized natural catastrophe”. Speaking to reporters, Axa chief financial officer Alban de Mailly Nesle said: “We currently expect the net underwriting losses from the crisis to be akin to [...]
Exclusive: Six-in-ten UK small businesses forced to borrow to pay insurance premiums, new figures show May 9, 2022 Almost six out of ten (59 per cent) UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are relying on credit to pay their insurance costs, due to rising premiums and lower incomes linked to the impacts of Covid-19. On average, UK SMEs have borrowed £1,105 to pay for insurance costs, while nearly one in ten have borrowed [...]