ILC ARTICLE

ILC Breakfast News – Wednesday 4 January 2023

4th January 2023

Happy new year

From all of us at ILC, wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2023.

Key ILC event dates 2023

Click here to see all of ILC’s key event dates for 2023.

Motor

Motor Claims Networking Lunch countdown is on

January’s Motor Claims Networking Lunch, featuring special guest footballing superstar and Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott MBE is only weeks away.

Taking place on Friday 20 January 2023, the highly anticipated annual event is supported by Gold sponsors Davies, Gallagher Bassett, Nationwide Vehicle Recovery Assistance and Suretrak, along with Silver Sponsors Avant Consult Ltd, Edam Group, Kindertons Accident Management and Repairify UK.

The event will once again support children’s charity Rainbow Trust with a host of fundraising activities on the day.

Enterprise enhances footprint in Welsh capital

Enterprise Rent-A-Car is opening a third branch in Cardiff, creating five new jobs including graduate positions in its management trainee scheme.

Belron makes SBTi commitment

Belron has announced it is committing to the Science Based Targets initiative, a global organisation set up to help companies set environmental standards that are in line with the latest climate science.

Belron will now establish emission-reduction targets that meet SBTi criteria and, once approved, publish those targets to ensure public accountability.

Gemini goes live with new website

Gemini has followed up the unveiling of its new logo by going live with a revamped and refreshed website.

The website is accessible from any digital device and includes a new ‘Connect with our branches’ section to enable users to quickly and easily find their nearest Gemini site.

Motor premiums continue steady climb

Average motor insurance premiums have increased 17.4% in the last 12 months.

Data released by Consumer Intelligence found that the average motor premium has now risen to £877, which represents a rise of 32.3% since Consumer Intelligence first started recording prices in October 2013.

Car production gathering momentum

Car production in the UK ended 2022 on a positive note with output up 5.7% to 80,091 units in November. Meanwhile, electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for 36.6% of total production at 29,318 units.

However, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that the overall figure is still 44.1% down on the pre-pandemic five-year average for the month.

Home

Major moves afoot for subsidence conference

ILC’s specialist conference – The Subsidence Surge – is gearing up to debate the key concerns faced by the property insurance claims sector in 2023.

Headline sponsored by Optera Structural Solutions, along with Gold Sponsors 360 Globalnet and Geobear, as well as Silver Sponsor Davies, the event will assemble leading experts from all corners of the claims industry to explore what the impacts of 2022’s dry summer has meant for subsidence claims.

Construction supply nearing pre-Covid levels

Overall availability of construction materials and products is returning to pre-Covid levels, although there are still challenges around the supply of gas boilers and items that contain semi-conductors.

This is according to a statement by co-chairs of the Construction Leadership Council’s Product Availability working group, John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation, and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association, who also warned that supply disruption may soon impact the availability of solar and environmental products.

ABI reissues flood guide

The Association of British Insurers has responded to recent weather warnings by reissuing its flood guide, ‘Responding to Floods: What you need to know.’

The guide offers advice on how to minimise the impact of flooding, what to do if homes have been flooded and what to expect during the claims process.

ClaimsTech

Verisk continues growth strategy in Europe

Verisk is accelerating its expansion into Europe with the acquisition of Sweden-based insurtech Mavera.

Mavera’s SaaS platform, which blends customer data with expertise from a network of medical advisers to tackle complex personal injury claims, will be integrated with the Verisk ecosystem of insurance solutions.

MGA

Pen launches southern claims hub

Pen Underwriting has launched a new regional claims hub in Chelmsford dedicated to managing commercial property and liability claims, which will complement its existing team of specialists in Manchester.

As part of its investment in the southern hub, Pen has appointed two experienced technical leads for liability and commercial property claims respectively, as well as a specialist in large and complex liability losses.

Industry News

Rising risks revealed in new report

A new report by LexisNexis Risk Solutions has revealed the growing risk of fraud.

Its Global State of Fraud and Identity Report found malicious bot attacks on businesses had increased 38% in the last year, while human-initiated attacks were up 32%.

Meanwhile, as companies invest ever-more in digital solutions, the report warned that mobile app logins attacks were up 211% in a year.

Emphasis on ESG continues to grow

A study of more than 900 organisations found that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) measures are becoming a growing priority at executive level.

WTW found that the use of ESG metrics in UK executive incentive plans has grown from 81% to 89% in the last year, while 85% of UK companies tied their short-term incentive plans to at least one ESG measure, up from 79%.

CII left with ‘no alternative’

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Group has announced that it will appoint a majority of directors to the board of its subsidiary, the Personal Finance Society, after discovering serious governance failures.

Helen Phillips, CII Group Chair, said, “The CII team has worked hard for many months, initiating independent mediation, and responding to the PFS Board’s demands diligently, professionally and with immense goodwill. It is deeply disappointing that independent mediation has failed, and serious and significant governance failures have arisen, which leave the CII Group Board with no alternative but to take this action to resolve matters.”

Aviva targets approved by SBTi

Aviva’s carbon-emissions targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This represents a key step on the company’s journey to achieve net zero by 2040.

As part of its environmental commitment, Aviva has set out to achieve a 90% reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, while ensuring that that 70% of suppliers (by spend) will have science-based targets by 2025.