Insurance Post’s view on May

Hello from Insurance Post,

May saw the great and the good of the insurance industry head to Manchester Central for the British Insurance Brokers’ Association Conference and Insurance Post shining a spotlight on leaders in the sector by publishing our Insurance Post Power List.

The theme of this year’s BIBA Conference was Rising to the Challenge and the inspirational environmental, governance, diversity, and inclusion work of the 40 individuals on the Power List show what it takes to climb to the top of the industry today.

Rising to the challenge and the top of this sector means you must be a mover and a shaker in not just the industry but the wider world these days.

You can read five free articles each month on Insurance Post — Register for free.

BIBA Fever

The British Insurance Broker’s Association Conference swept Manchester once again this year with networking, learning sessions, deals being struck galore and goodie bags brimming with Tokio Marine’s plants gathered.

Despite the delights on offer last year’s smiles at simply seeing each other face-to-face again were sometimes replaced with grumbles from brokers having to point out insurers can’t blame poor customer service on staff working from home three years on from the first Covid lockdown.

The power of the BIBA Conference is brokers get to challenge insurers face-to-face about customer service rather than be left hanging on the telephone waiting forever for a worn out, overworked underwriter to pick-up.

Movers and shakers

What it takes to be a power player in the industry today was revealed by Insurance Post’s Power List this year.

It was great to see so many of the individuals who featured on the list at this year’s BIBA Conference and see the industry unite to congratulate the likes of Donna Scully, joint owner and director at Carpenters Group, Stephanie Ogden, managing director of UK and Ireland for HDI Global, Ajay Mistry, co-founder of iCan, Hannah Gurga, director general of the Association of British Insurers, plus Tim Bailey, Zurich UK chief executive, on LinkedIn.

I get the sense that chief-Twit Elon Musk is waiting to be first on a future ranking before he posts about his appearance on the Power List.

A list of the wealthiest people working in insurance also attracted Insurance Post subscribers’ attention this month. Douw Steyn, who founded Compare the Market parent BGL Group, and his family were the only famous faces from the sector to make it into the top 100 of this year’s Sunday Times Rich List. Cardiff-based founder of Admiral Henry Engelhardt made it to 194th position, down from 182nd in 2022, with his and his wife Diane Briere de l’Isle’s fortune estimated to be ￡863m this year. Look out for an exclusive profile interview with Engelhardt, which will be published by Post next month ahead of out Motor & Mobility event.

Whispers to waves

The volume of whispers and waves you make when you expand your reach, move companies, or simply enter talks to buy a rival also shows how powerful a player you are in the industry today.

Rumours began to circulate ahead of the BIBA Conference, but when attendees spotted Ardonagh CEO David Ross meeting with Markerstudy founder Kevin Spencer, those whispers of a merger started to get louder and louder.

While the details of the potential merger are still unknown, it is understood both Ardonagh and its shareholders, as well as Markerstudy would have a stake in the new enterprise, with Ardonagh Retail CEO Ian Donaldson lined up to lead.

Insurance Post promises to keep a close eye on the talks between the two and unpick what a deal will mean for the wider industry.

What to watch

This month also saw the return of Insurance Post's fantastic Claims Apprentice series, sponsored by Kennedys.

Make sure you watch the episode where the apprentices have to call claimant’s bluff and let me know if you were able to spot the true claims as well as weed out the ones that are fake.

Stay tuned in June to find out who wins Claims Apprentice 2023.

Emma Ann Hughes

Editor, Insurance Post

Enjoyed this newsletter?

Know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Encourage them to follow Insurance Post and share this newsletter with them.