UK Auto Insurer Direct Line in Play as Private Equity Groups Circle
Direct Line, the UK’s largest motor [auto] insurer run by government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, is a takeover target for private equity groups looking to pre-empt what would be one of the biggest...
View ArticleBrokers Report Keen Direct Line Interest; But Some Investors Wary
Stockbrokers involved in the planned stock market listing of British insurer Direct Line reported good interest from private investors in London’s first big retail share offering for six years,...
View ArticleDirect Line Sells Overseas Businesses to Mapfre
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc sold its German and Italian businesses to Spain’s Mapfre SA for €550 million ($700 million) as the company pares back its international operations to cut costs and pay a...
View ArticleReports Show Insurers Lag Behind in Adopting Technology
At a time when the financial sector is racing to embrace digital technology to boost sales and drive profits, the traditionally staid insurance industry is in danger of falling behind. Some insurers...
View ArticleU.K.’s Direct Line 2014 Profit Misses Estimates on Less Premiums Written
Direct Line Insurance Group plc reported 2014 pretax profit that missed analyst estimates as the British home and car insurer wrote less premiums. Pretax profit for continuing operations rose 12...
View ArticleUK’s PI Insurance Sector Expected to Grow by Almost 6% Annually: Report
The professional indemnity and directors & officers insurance sector has grown constantly since 2012 and is expected to continue the upward trend until at least 2019, according to the findings of a...
View ArticleNew British Insurance Premium Tax Hike Could Further Squeeze Insurer Margins
A tax hike on British motor and home insurance policies effective from Sunday is set to hit consumers and could trigger a fresh round of margin-squeezing price competition among general insurers. The...
View ArticleUK’s Direct Line Hikes Motor Premiums as Result of Claims Inflation
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc, the UK’s largest car insurer, said pricing for its motor business increased in the last two quarters because of higher claims. Rates for car cover rose 8.4 percent in...
View ArticleGroup of UK Insurers Win BOE Approval for Solvency II Capital Requirements
Prudential Plc, Aviva Plc and Legal & General Group Plc are among large U.K. insurers to win Bank of England approval of the models they use to calculate capital requirements under the European...
View ArticleUpdate: U.K. Insurers Face Flood Claims up to $2.2B – with More Storms Ahead
Insurers are facing some of the costliest British floods on record as large parts of northern England, already inundated, brace for more heavy rain. Accountants estimate that insurers are currently...
View ArticleStorm Frank Batters North Britain; Total Storm Losses Could Top $4.5 Billion
Torrential rain and gale force winds battered northern Britain on Wednesday, cutting power to thousands of homes and forcing some to evacuate flooded streets in the third major storm in a month. The...
View Article‘Brexit’ Could Hurt Investments, Cause Regulatory Uncertainty: UK’s Direct Line
A British exit from the European Union could hurt UK insurer Direct Line’s investment portfolio and cause regulatory uncertainty, it said on Tuesday after posting a 3 percent rise in 2015 operating...
View ArticleInsurers Could Find an Early-Mover Advantage from Telematics: Fitch
The motor insurance industry faces a significant shake-up from two waves of technological innovation – the growth of telematics and the development of driverless cars, according to Fitch. Over the...
View ArticleBritain Raises Insurance Premium Tax to 10% to Fund Flood Defenses
Britain’s finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday he would raise the tax on motor and home insurance premiums by 0.5 percentage points to 10 percent to fund flood defenses, boosting insurance...
View ArticleUK to Alter ‘Ogden Rate’ Used to Calculate Personal Injury Payments
Britain plans to alter the rate used to calculate upfront personal injury payments, the Ministry of Justice said on Thursday, a move which will reduce those payments and insurance premiums. Motor...
View ArticleUK Auto Insurer Direct Line Offers Tesla Drivers 5% Discount if They Use...
Britain’s largest motor insurer Direct Line is offering Tesla Inc drivers in Britain a 5-percent discount for switching on the car’s autopilot system, seeking to encourage use of a system it hopes will...
View ArticleBritish Insurers Suspend Sale of Travel Insurance to New Customers
British insurers Admiral, Aviva and Direct Line are no longer offering travel insurance to new customers, they said on their websites on Friday. “The ongoing global situation with coronavirus means...
View ArticleGrowing Number of UK Insurers Cancel Dividends Amid COVID-19 Concerns
British insurers canceled more than 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of dividends on Wednesday, in moves welcomed by the Bank of England which had cautioned the sector about the risk of heavy costs from...
View ArticleUK Insurer Direct Line’s H1 Profits Beat Forecasts as Auto Claims Drop During...
Insurer Direct Line gave a double bonus to shareholders on Tuesday as first-half profits beat expectations due to a slump in motor claims as Britons drove less during the coronavirus lockdown....
View ArticleUK Auto Insurer Admiral Reinstates Special Dividend as Claims Drop During...
Insurer Admiral reinstated its special dividend on Wednesday as it reported a jump in first-half earnings, the latest car insurer to benefit from a slump in claims as coronavirus lockdowns kept Britons...
View ArticleUK Motor Insurer Direct Line to Raise Premiums After H1 Profit Hit
British motor insurer Direct Line is raising premiums after higher claims hit its first-half profits, as the company feels the effects of soaring prices for everything from used cars to spare parts....
View ArticleBritish Motor Insurers’ Shares Fall Sharply as Direct Line Scraps Dividend
Shares in Direct Line lost more than a quarter of their value on Wednesday after the British motor and home insurer unexpectedly scrapped its 2022 final dividend, with stocks in rivals Admiral and...
View ArticleCar Premiums to Rise Again as British Insurers Feel the Heat
Motorists in Britain should brace for another year of steep insurance rises as providers confront cost pressures, industry figures have warned. Admiral Group Plc will continue increasing motor...
View ArticleUK’s Direct Line Group Names Aviva’s Winslow as Group Chief Executive Officer
UK insurer Direct Line Group announced that Adam Winslow has been appointed as chief executive officer, subject to regulatory approval. It is expected that he will take up the role in the first quarter...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....