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News: Gove vows commission-chain ban as FCA buildings review on highest charging brokers imminent

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Opinion: Why Direct Line's disastrous profit warning should matter to brokers

Direct Line's profit warning sent shockwaves through UK insurer's share price yesterday, with Aviva and Admiral also suffering. Personal lines brokers should notice the problems Direct Line faces, as they are industry-wide and give insight into what to expect in 2023. It’s back to square one for Direct Line Group. Ten years ago, the group floated at 200p per share. After yesterday’s disastrous profit warning, the share price has fallen below the initial public offering level, and is currently tr

Certua: Rise of the embedded insurance specialist

Certua is helping insurers get products to brokers quickly through its advanced digital capabilities. Co-founder Luke Bewley explains how Certua will make its mark on the UK broking and insurance space.

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley had a problem. It wanted to expand into the UK’s fast growing digital schemes market.

How could it hook into broker’s websites fast and effectively without it taking months, if not years?

Certua is an embedded insurance specialist. In simple terms, it provides the techn

News analysis: Why are brokers offshoring to South Africa?

Complete Cover recently became the latest personal lines broker to offshore some of its operations to South Africa. Saxon East explores the attraction for intermediaries in outsourcing to a country over 6000 miles away from the UK

These are tough times for personal lines brokers.

First came the Covid-pandemic, knocking sales as motorists went into lockdown.

Then the Financial Conduct Authority hit them with a demand for fair value on products, with lucrative premium finance set to take a big

Blog: How Tech Can Drive Growth for Emerging Market Reinsurers

Artificial intelligence, automation, lightweight cloud systems – insurance technology is at the dawn of an exciting new era. With most investment and innovation to date having traditionally taken place in advanced economies, emerging market reinsurers can now take advantage.

Even amid the challenges of the pandemic, ongoing conflicts, energy-price volatility and high inflation, the outlook is very positive for emerging market reinsurers who, excluding China, enjoy world-leading forecasts for pr

Opinion: The good, bad and ugly - what I discovered at Biba 2022

Wow, that was good. To finally be back rubbing shoulders with your brethren at another Biba. Yes, the conference is as old as the houses – but we love it, and how we’ve missed it.

So after a frenetic two days of networking, here’s my quick highlights – warts and all.

The good – The FCA is finally waking up and talking to brokers. Good to see FCA consumer and customer chief Sheldon Mills on stage. What might worry brokers is his tone. The regulator has commissions clearly in its sights. Commiss