May 2017/3

Small commercial and lower mid-market insurance will be the segments most impacted by InsurTech initiatives, according to senior executives speaking in New York last week.

While everyone is agreed that there's no end in sight for UK broker consolidation - there are still 3,000 of them all after all - the days of 13x-15x Ebitda could be numbered.

Rising regulatory requirements, succession issues and pressures on margins are driving the recent consolidation wave in UK broking businesses, according to sources.

Under the unforgiving light of quarterly reporting it is sometimes difficult for management to express the long-term goals and needs of a company.

Lloyd's insurer Novae has said it will focus on classes in which it is an established leader to drive an underwriting turnaround following a succession of profit warnings that have led to a negative re-rating of the carrier's shares.

It's no wonder it took AIG so long to confirm rumours Brian Duperreault would become its next CEO when one looks at the deal that was required to release the executive from his contract with Hamilton whilst ensuring the future viability of the firm he founded.

Brian Duperreault had quite a payday on Sunday (14 May) and if all goes right for the veteran CEO, he stands to make $110mn within four years.

Cost-cutting measures - and, most emotively, headcount reductions - are all too often viewed through a negative lens.

Equity analysts gave Aon's first quarter results and restructuring moves a largely warm response last week by raising forward earnings estimates and pricing targets for the company's stock.

Two years ago, English football (soccer, if you must) team Chelsea won the Premier League title - the UK equivalent of the Super Bowl.

New AIG CEO Brian Duperreault has chosen to waive the period of grace normally granted to a new leader of a beleaguered business by using his first day to set out a strategic vision for the insurance giant's future.