ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 17 May 2023

Known-unknowns of EVs set to test sector

ARC360’s specialist electric vehicle (EV) event is set to discuss the known-unknowns for the vehicle incident repair sector as the vehicle parc transitions to an electric future.

FNOL, repair capabilities, cost inflation, skillset requirements, health & safety, repairability and end-of-life vehicle management will be just some of the key topics to come under the spotlight on Tuesday 4 July at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry.

Policy premiums continue upwards trend

The ABI’s latest Motor Insurance Premium Tracker has found that the overall average premium paid for private comprehensive motor insurance was £478 in the first quarter of the year, 16% higher than the same period in 2022.

Autoglass warns against MOT extensions

Technical Training Manager at Autoglass Tim Camm believes that government proposals to extend MOTs for new vehicles to four years could create a false economy, with any money saved initially lost in more costly maintenance and repairs further down the line.

He also said it would lead to more unsafe vehicles on UK roads.

Copart Cares with continued commitment

Copart is marking Learning at Work Week by highlighting its training and development initiatives.

This includes company-wide Carbon Literacy Training, a Leadership Programme that has now been rolled out to 170 managers, a Driver Academy and the nearly £500,000 invested into apprenticeship schemes.   

Fix Auto UK names network winners

Fix Auto UK has announced its annual winners at its ‘Next Gen’ 2023 National Conference, held at The Vox, near Birmingham, with Fix Auto Weston-super-Mare being named as the network’s ‘Bodyshop of the Year’.

Is mould the new whiplash?

Sedgwick has warned that property claims involving mould caused by property disrepair could become the new ‘whiplash’ battleground, after a number of high-profile cases made the press.

Dan Peck, Sedgwick’s Regional Director for Complex Liability, said, “It’s not just damp and mould that can cause an issue. Floors, stairways and banisters that are poorly maintained can cause falls which could lead to far more than a housing repair claim as significant injury could occur.”

Construction output inches upwards

The Construction Leadership Council has reported that monthly construction output is estimated to have increased 0.2% in volume in March, with new work up 0.7% and repair and maintenance down 0.6%. Meanwhile, a 4.9% increase in repair and maintenance work drove an overall quarterly increase of 0.7%.

Munich makes SaaS investment

Munich Re has acquired apinity, a start-up that supplies application programming interface solutions in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS) for the insurance industry’s entire ecosystem.

IS2 builds on Markel partnership offering

Digital platform and distribution solutions provider IS2 has signed a partnership deal with specialist insurer Markel Direct.  The contract renewal is an extension of a seven-year long relationship between Markel Direct and IS2.

IS2 will deliver a digital roadmap for Markel with multi-channel distribution including mobile applications and embedded insurance for schemes, via its API hosted scheme capabilities.

Ravin AI secures investment from IAG

Ravin AI, a leader in deep learning vehicle inspection technology, has secured its first Australian Investment from Firemark Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of IAG, the largest insurer in Australia and New Zealand.

100 up for Konsileo

Commercial brokerage Konsileo has appointed its 100th broker and taken its gross written premium to over £40m.

Prestige joins BGL panel

Prestige Underwriting has joined BGL Insurance’s own brand motor panel with its non-standard motor proposition.

Prestige Underwriting’s non-standard motor product will provide customers of BGL Insurance with a new, flexible solution for a diverse range of risk types including modified and high-performance vehicles, imported vehicles and cover options for poor driving history and motoring or criminal convictions.

A Wiser approach to recruitment

Businesses have been urged to consider emerging and future skills rather than focusing on those that are already needed when planning their training and development strategies.

Crescens George, CEO, Wiser Academy, said that technology and insurance is evolving so rapidly that only by thinking ahead in terms of talent and training can businesses stay in front of the curve.

FCA warning ahead of Consumer Duty

With fewer than 90 days until the introduction of the Consumer Duty, Sheldon Mills, Executive Director of Consumers and Competition at the Financial Conduct Authority has warned that firms who ignore the Duty can expect swift action.

He said, “We will prioritise the most serious breaches and act swiftly and assertively where we find evidence of harm or risk of harm to consumers.”  

WTW enhances data science services

WTW has launched a new Data Science Consultancy unit within its Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT) business. The unit will specialise in helping insurers extract greater value from data science and machine learning.

Spreading the word

ILC CCO Nic Sproul took part in a recent Insurtech Insights webinar, P+C Claims Orchestration – A Source of Competitive Advantage? He was joined by Rory Yates, Global Head of Strategy for EIS and esure Group’s Head of Claims Transformation James Russell.

ACSO argues for greater LEI awareness

A new report from the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has concluded that legal expenses insurance (LEI) must play a vital role in maintaining access to justice for citizens.

Generative AI here to stay

McKinsey has published a feature considering the potential impact of generative AI on industry. This comes after the public-facing version of ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months, becoming the fastest-growing app ever.

Generative AI differs from previous forms of AI as it can generate new content, such as text or images.

Britton moves on US market

Global consultancy Alpha FM is launching a dedicated US Insurance Consulting offering.

Led by Executive Director Britton Van Dalen, the business will serve clients in the insurance market, across property and casualty, life, health and annuity.

Closing the gender gap

Carpenters Group director Donna Scully has attributed the company’s success partly to its approach to gender equality.

She said, “Our gender equality has been achieved very naturally and fairly. We operate a transparent meritocracy, where the best and right people get the jobs. That gender equality is a huge part of our success.”

People

EY has appointed two new UK Partners, with Elizabeth Armstrong joining its growing Manchester office and Aran Mustafa has joined the London office.

Melissa Collett will leave her role as Executive Director for Professional Standards at the CII.

Pen Underwriting has appointed Catriona Thomson as Chief Financial Officer.